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Modern Times
Civil war in Guatemala began in 1954, when a military coup unseated the country’s popularly elected president. Under the military rule that lasted until the mid-1980s, plantation development escalated, especially on lands formerly held by Mayas. The land and human rights abuses that occurred remain problematic today.

Determination of land rights among Mayas is hampered by their inability to speak or read Spanish, which is the language of law and government. Many Mayas are also illiterate in their own language. As reported by Nobel Peace laureate Rigoberta Mench’u Tum of her own K’iche’-speaking father, land evictions have been commonplace even among village elders. In addition, Mayas resist cultural assimila-tion into mainstream Guatemalan society because of a deep commitment to preserving their own traditions. Some Mayan parents, for example, refuse to send their children to school to learn Spanish.

Peace Accord
Recently, a Guatemalan Peace Accord that affirms the importance of including Mayas in the development process was signed. The Accord attempts to reverse trends in the under-investment in education and to promote economic opportunity, democratic participation, social inclusion, and multicultural understanding. For example, the Accord on the Identity and Rights of Indigenous Peoples mandates the teaching of all indigenous languages and expansion of bilingual and multicultural education at all levels. It also stipulates the inclusion of indigenous representation in educational decision making and, specifically, the obligation to contract, train, and place bilingual teachers and administrators, as needed, to increase student learning outcomes.