Racism and Ethnic Discrimination in Guatemala - Institute of Latin ...

Roddy BrettRacism and the Guatemalan Stateas such, extend to all social fields and, as a result, form part of thecollective imagination. They can originate from within a social class, anethnic group, or a community movement; however, such attitudes mayalso come directly from the institutions of the state, in which case, weshould talk of state racism….which in itself functions as a mechanismto legitimate the dominant class (Casaús Arzú, 2002: 29-138; emphasisadded).In 2002, former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Fundamental Freedomsof Indigenous Peoples, Professor Rodolfo Stavenhagen, highlighted with seriousconcern the daily racism suffered by the indigenous populations in Guatemala,focusing in particular upon racism stemming from institutional practices. Morerecently, Doudou Diene, UN Special Rapporteur on the Theme of Racism,signaled emphatically that: “The roots of racism are profound in Guatemala…Guatemala has lived too much violence provoked by discrimination” (PrensaLibre, 03/07/04). Moreover, one of the most serious concerns presented by theUnited Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA), prior to theirexit from the country in November 2004, were daily practices of racism anddiscrimination. In the Secretary General’s report of August 2004, Koffi Annanstated that, despite evident advances in the peace process in general and thehuman rights situation in particular, the most important challenge facing thecountry was the struggle against racism (MINUGUA, 2004).Given the above, this article begins then with the lamentable recognition oftwo intimately interrelated phenomena: the perpetration of genocide during theinternal armed conflict, and the continuing existence of institutional, structuraland interpersonal racism within Guatemalan society. It is argued here that stateracism was a key historical-contextual determining factor that facilitated thegenocide during the internal armed conflict. Whilst racism was a fundamentalmotor behind the genocide, today in Guatemala state racism has taken on adifferent form, articulated as it is from within a state, supported broadly bythe international community, and lauded publicly by successive governments asmulti-cultural (plural).The present article seeks to understand the different forms through whichracist ideology and practice have been manifest and operationalized by thestate during two distinct historical periods, periods which represent importantcases for comparative analysis, given that they possess categorical contextualdifferences, yet share certain significant characteristics in terms of the racistorientation of contemporary state institutions, orientations that, in the wake ofthe armed conflict, have continued in a mutated form. 4STOCKHOLM REVIEW OF LATIN AMERICAN STUDIESIssue No. 6, March 201045