De la lucha guerrillera a la marginalidad electoral. Un análisis de las organizaciones revolucionarias guatemaltecas desde su aparición hasta las elecciones de 2003

Abstract

This text explores the changes that have occurred within the left in Guatemala, from the military coup that ousted Jacobo Arbenz in 1954, up to the start of the 21st Century. Throughout this period, Guatemala’s left has undergone a process of transformation. Initially, one sector established itself as a political-military (guerrilla) organisation. Meanwhile, another sector (led by the communistorientated Partido Guatamalteco del Trabajo) maintained its organisational format and support for elections. Later on, these organisations joined together in a guerrilla platform (the URNG) which fought against the State throughout the 1980s, in the context of a profound crisis in Central America. Some years afterwards, the URNG negotiated the end of the longest armed conflict that Latin America has ever seen. As a result of this process of negotiation that came to an end in 1996, the guerrilla group once again became a political party and competed in elections. Finally, we analyse the (modest) electoral performance of the post-guerrilla left and highlight the challenges it faces in Guatemala at the beginning of the 21st Century.