A Mayan spiritual guide arranges crosses, marked with the names of people who died in the nation’s civil war, in a circle in preparation for a ceremony marking the National Day of Dignity for the Victims of Armed Internal Conflict. Guatemalans annually honor the victims of the 36-year civil war that ended in 1996 on Feb. 25.
(AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Twenty-five years after the signing of a peace accord that ended a 36-year civil war, Guatemala is still struggling with violence and corruption.
Alejandro Giammattei is a former prison official whose tenure was tainted by the 2006 mass killing of seven prisoners. He was accused but never indicted on conspiracy charges in those deaths.
AP Photo/ Santiago Billy
Naomi Roht-Arriaza, University of California College of the Law, San Francisco
Conservative Alejandro Giammattei beat former first lady Sandra Torres with 60% of the vote. But turnout was the lowest in Guatemala’s modern history, in apparent protest of both candidates.
Indigenous rights defender Thelma Cabrera, presidential candidate of the Movement for the Liberation of the People, delivers a speech during a campaign rally in Palin, Guatemala. She finished fourth, but made history.
(AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Maya candidate Thelma Cabrera’s unprecedented campaign for president was unsuccessful, but hope has not been dashed. Her run suggests that Guatemala’s grassroots opposition is slowly gaining ground.