For more than 36 years, between 1960 and 1996, Guatemala went through a non-international armed conflict that resulted in a broken community, with hundreds of thousands of victims. The confrontations between the State and militias and the insurgent groups during the Cold War added to the complexity of the Guatemalan society, a multiethnic and pluricultural nation affected by poverty, injustice and social inequality.

November 13, 1960, is considered the date on which the conflict started, when a group of Army officers attempted a coup d’etat against the government of Miguel Ydígoras Fuentes. The movement was defeated, but created the political-military organization “Movimiento 13 de noviembre” (MR13) that would have an important role in the entire Guatemalan process.
During the ‘60s, many revolutionary movements emerged. In 1963, the Army carried out a coup d’etat and imposed a dictatorship for the purpose of defeating the guerrilla. Thus, a long period of political persecution, kidnappings and significant massacres began and it lasted until the mid-’80s. In 1986, a National Constituent Assembly was summoned and democratic elections were held; an incipient period of peace began.
The rural population was particularly affected by the violent events. During the period 1981-1982, about fifty thousand people had to leave their homes and settled in jungle areas in the Quiché Department. They spent several years there, isolated from the outside world in tough conditions. However, they developed a strong organizational bond that led them to form the so-called “Communities of Population in Resistance” (CPR), which were characterized by having its own political, social and economic system. They became publicly known in February 1990, after a campaign was held to denounce the government so as to obtain national and international support.

In 1996, the Peace Agreements signed between the government and the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) (which brought together the four most important guerrilla organizations in Guatemala) formally ended the conflict. According to the United Nations Historical Clarification Commission, during the armed conflict in Guatemala more than 200,000 people were murdered, out of which 45,000 are still missing and nearly one million were forcibly displaced.