Inequalities that exist between the indigenous Mayans of Guatemala and the white population have received minimal international or domestic attention. Dominated by Ladinos, a minority group of westernized Mayans, and Mestizos, who are people of mixed indigenous and European ancestry, the indigenous Guatemalan community suffers from exclusion in the political and economic spheres of their governance.

In Guatemala, there are 23 recognized Amerindian languages spoken by 40 percent of the population. Hundreds of years have not erased the Mayan identity from many Yucatan groups in Guatemala and its neighboring countries. Many Mayan women continue to weave the same patterns and symbols of their ancestors, and most of the Mayan people live in rural, traditional communities. These Mayan descendants have established close-knit communities that rarely interact with the other ethnic groups in Guatemala. Some Guatemalans have even discriminated against the indigenous groups for their ethnic exclusivity. Furthermore, the Roman Catholic majority looks on native religious practices and the mixture of ancient and Protestant tradition practiced by the rural Mayan communities with disdain.

Like the American Indians in the United States during the 19th century, the indigenous peoples of Guatemala are facing lives of isolation and poverty. According to the United Nations, 70 percent of all Guatemalans living in extreme poverty are indigenous people. In Latin America, Guatemala is second only to Brazil in the magnitude of the socioeconomic disparities between the rich and the poor.

Much of this income gap results from past internal conflict. Frequent fighting between far-right military groups and leftist radicals made Guatemala the battleground for one of Latin America’s longest civil conflicts. After the failed overthrow of General Ydigoras Fuentes by junior military officers in 1960, a sect of leftists took shelter in Cuba for a few decades and conducted a guerilla war against the government. Of the 200,000 people killed in the conflict that lasted from 1960 to 1996, 140,000 were Mayan natives. Today, 250,000 people are considered “displaced.” Most of those “displaced” are members of indigenous communities devastated by land seizure and scorched earth policies of the government during the 1980s. Entire indigenous villages, like Plan de Sanchez in 1982, were destroyed by paramilitary troops who sought to suppress leftist insurgencies. In 1999, the UN-sanctioned committee—the Historical Clarification Commission—found evidence that a majority of the individuals who were raped, tortured, or killed during the conflict were indigenous and that 85 percent of the perpetrators were members of the Guatemalan army. Victims were children, elders, and pregnant women.

In 1995, directly preceding the end of the conflict, former Guatemalan President Ramiro de Leon Carpio promised to reform Guatemala’s human rights record with the indigenous peoples. His peace process and the resultant 1996 Peace Accord included signed agreements on human rights, indigenous rights, and resettlement of displaced victims of the war. He also made significant moves toward reducing military influence in the government and central planning.

However, even despite these efforts, this administration as well as subsequent administrations have had few tangible results. Following the end of erstwhile President Alfonso Portillo’s apathetic government in 1999, compensating war victims seemed only a remote possibility. A large portion of government expenditures was instead directed to paramilitary veterans. To further exacerbate the situation, the Peace Accord was violated in 2001, when the President named the Minister of Defense, General Eduardo Arevalo Lac, to be Minister of the Interior. This appointment, along with increased funding to the military, was contrary to the original Peace Accord which aimed to reduce and eliminate the Presidential Military Staff (EMP).

The current Guatemalan administration’s actions, however, offer some hope for the Mayans. In 2004, President Oscar Berger called for the compensation of Mayan war victims. Though the 13-year, US$37.5 million plan has been implemented, whether or not it is adequate remains ambiguous. These payments alone are not enough to raise the standard of living of those permanently affected by the fighting, especially the Mayans. Nevertheless, they represent a step in the right direction.

Perpetual racism, along with the socioeconomic polarization of the country’s elites and the indigenous Mayan groups, requires more political attention. In the aftermath of Hurricane Stan in October 2005, when funds from the army were offered to help the Mayan groups, many Mayan communities became suspicious of the army’s gestures. Some Mayans even refused the financial assistance. Though villages desperately needed supplies, Mayan resentment of the Guatemalan government created a sense of reluctance to accept help in even the most affected of the Mayan regions. Hurricane Stan highlighted the need for an activist government role in maintaining and supporting indigenous Guatemalan communities.

The government has done other things to rectify injustices against the Mayans. Almost ten years after the end of the civil war, the Berger administration has recently begun admitting to past human rights abuses and conducting trials against soldiers who committed war crimes. Berger’s influence and policies have helped end abuses of the Mayans. However, the weakness of Guatemala’s government in controlling crime and violence limits the success of effective human rights campaigns.

While acknowledging past wrongs is key to improving Guatemalan-Mayan relations, what is required now is an active law enforcement system that will prevent and stop further war crimes and human rights abuses. Only when the Guatemalan government pushes human rights and military reforms further, will the credibility of the Guatemalan government be restored for the Mayans.