Guatemala

Introduction | Background | News & Photos

Like many Central American countries, Guatemala has a long history of foreign domination and intervention.

About Guatemala

In the early 1960s the country erupted into the longest-standing civil war in Central America. By the time the Peace Accords were signed in 1996, an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 people had been killed, 100,000 people are still missing, and 70,000 families were displaced. The majority of deaths were among the indigenous Mayan descendents. Tensions grew not only among the indigenous tribes, who form the majority of Guatemala’s population, but also between the Indios and the Ladino peoples, the small percentage of the population descended from the Spanish who colonized the region 500 years ago. As with any protracted conflict, this war has had far-reaching effects upon the people, economy and social structure of the country. UNICEF estimates that the people of Guatemala suffer from a 90-percent poverty rate, with 65 percent living in extreme poverty. This economic situation, coupled with political oppression, leaves the country's youth with few opportunities to interact with their peers from different cultures.