Maya Perspectives on the 1999 Referendum in Guatemala: Ethnic Equality Rejected?

Guatemala's 36-year civil war ended when the government and the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca insurgency forces signed the Peace Accords on Dec. 29, 1996. Among the goals of the Accords were the official recognition of Guatemala as a pluriethnic, multicultural, and multilingual country, and the strengthening of guarantees of human rights, particularly for Maya. Unfortunately, few of its provisions were implemented in the aftermath of the cease-fire, and on May 16, 1999, the Guatemalan populace rejected a referendum or consulta popular (CP) that proposed indigenous equality. As a result, Maya maintained their status a second-class citizens in the eyes of the state. Paradoxically, however, the Maya themselves did not necessarily view it as a permanent barrier to peaceful and egalitarian relations in Guatemala. In fact, many objected to both the logic and process, if not the goals, of the CP. Oral accounts from Maya-Kaqchikel informations are used here to analyze the processes and results of the CP from Maya perspectives.