Education in Guatemala: between the war and the peace agreements

Authors

  • Carlos Aldana Mendoza Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala (Guatemala)

Keywords:

armed conflict, peace agreements, popular education, education in human rights, education for peace, education reform.

Abstract

The history of Guatemala is marked by violence, oppression and inequalities, and also by resistances which from a liberating way of thinking and doing are projected as alternatives to past and present injustices. The content of the article takes stock of the pedagogic trail followed after the Peace Agreements signed at the end of 1996, after 36 years of internal armed conflict. An analysis is conducted of the advances in the right to education for everyone owing to the contributions of non-government organisations, as well as the Archbishopric of Guatemala which plays a significant role in recovering the historical memory. In the different sections, evidence is provided of the efforts made towards education in human rights and in favour of peace whilst being attentive to the situation of the direct victims of the conflict. This historical review converges in the present-day situation in which the neo-liberal policies of the latest governments are bringing about a regression in the initiatives for a critical and transformative education system, an education system that continues to be mobilised through the thinking of women and men emboldened by life.

Key words: armed conflict, peace agreements, popular education, education in human rights, education for peace, education reform.

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Issue

No. 27 (2016): gener-juny

Section

Monographic theme

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