The peace accords may have brought relief after decades of bloodshed, but they also exposed what the country’s politicians already knew: the military had lost none of its influence. In principle, the government had agreed to address the systemic problems that led Guatemala into civil war in the first place: gross inequality, overt racism, and the overwhelming need for land reform. But in practice these were open-ended promises that depended on flagging political will. Crossing the military, or threatening its bottom line, was suicide. A large contingent of the senior officer corps turned to
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