LEGACIES OF EXCLUSION: SOCIAL CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE IN COMMUNITIES AND HOMES IN GUATEMALA’S WESTERN HIGHLANDS GUATEMALA CONFLICT VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT FINAL REPORT PUBLIC VERSION OCTOBER 2015 This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared by Democracy International, Inc. under Order No. AID-OAA-TO-14-00010, Contract No. AID-OAA-I-13-00044. DISCLAIMER The authors’ views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government Submitted to: USAID/DCHA/CMM Prepared by: Tani Adams, Team Leader Contractor: Democracy International, Inc. 7600 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 1010 Bethesda, MD 20814 Tel: 301-961-1660 www.democracyinternational.com LEGACIES OF EXCLUSION: SOCIAL CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE IN COMMUNITIES AND HOMES IN GUATEMALA’S WESTERN HIGHLANDS GUATEMALA CONFLICT VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT FINAL REPORT PUBLIC VERSION OCTOBER 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ACRONYMS ...................................................................................................................... I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................... 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................. I FINAL REPORT ................................................................................................................................. 1 SECTION I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 1 SECTION II. STRUCTURAL SOCIETAL PATTERNS CREATE CONDITIONS FOR CONFLICT & VIOLENCE ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 SECTION III: VIOLENCE IN FAMILY AND COMMUNITY ................................................................................ 7 SECTION IV. LOCAL GOVERNANCE CONFLICTS: ADULT FEARS, YOUTH REBELLION, GANGS, AND “SECURITY” RESPONSES ........................................................................................................................................ 13 SECTION V. THE “LEGAL STATE” AND THE “REAL STATE”: CONFLICT BETWEEN STATE AND PARA-STATE GOVERNANCE ................................................................................................................................ 17 SECTION VI: LICIT AND ILLICIT EMPLOYMENT OPTIONS ......................................................................... 22 SECTION VII. CONFLICTS INVOLVING EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES, NATURAL RESOURCES, AND CLIMATE CHANGE .................................................................................................................................................. 27 SECTION VIII: POTENTIAL TRAJECTORIES OF SOCIAL CONFLICT ............................................................................... 33 RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................................................................................... 34 ANNEX A: LIST OF WORKS CONSULTED ........................................................................... A-1 ANNEX B: SOCIAL INDICATORS ............................................................................................ B-1 ANNEX C: BACKGROUND ON INDIGENOUS LAW ........................................................... C-1 ANNEX D: MUNICIPALITIES WITH INDIGENOUS LAW AUTHORITIES ...................... D-1 ANNEX E: CASE STUDIES OF NON-STATE JUSTICE OPERATIONS ON THE GROUND ......................................................................................................................................................... E-1 ANNEX F: DYNAMICS OF ILLICIT ENTERPRISES IN TARGETED COMMUNITIES: QUESTIONS TO EXPLORE ........................................................................................................ F-1 ANNEX G: LAND CONFLICTS IN TARGET DEPARTMENTS ............................................ G-1 ANNEX H: THE SANTA CRUZ BARILLAS CONFLICT WITH THE HYDROELECTRIC PLANT ........................................................................................................................................... H-1 LIST OF ACRONYMS ANAM Asociación Nacional de Municipalidades [National Association of Municipalities] ASIES Asociación de Investigación y Estudios Sociales [Research and Social Studies Association] CAF Conflict Assessment Framework CAFTA Central America Free Trade Agreement CAFTA-DR Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement CALAS Centro de Acción Legal Ambiental y Social de Guatemala [Guatemala Environmental and Social Legal Action Center] CARSI Central America Regional Security Initiative CEDER Centro para el Desarrollo Regional [Regional Development Center] CDCS Country Development Cooperation Strategy CICIG Comisión Internacional contra la Impunidad en Guatemala [International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala] CMM USAID’s Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation COCODES Consejos Comunitarios de Desarrollo [Community Development Councils] CPO Consejo del Pueblo Maya [Mayan People's Council] CSO Civil Society Organization DEMI Defensoría de la Mujer Indígena [Office for the Defense of Indigenous Women] DI Democracy International, Inc. DO Development Objective FLACSO Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales [Latin American Social Sciences Institute] FNL Frente Nacional de Lucha [National Front for the Struggle] FUNDAMAYA Fundación Maya [Maya Foundation] GDP Gross Domestic Product GIZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit [German Corporation for International Cooperation] GOG Government of Guatemala IACHR Inter-American Commission on Human Rights IAD Inter-American Dialogue GUATEMALA CONFLICT VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT – FINAL REPORT ICEFI Instituto Centroamericano de Estudios Fiscales [Central American Institute for Fiscal Studies] IFC International Finance Corporation ILO International Labour Organization INGO International Non-Governmental Organization INFOM Instituto de Fomento Municipal INTERPOL International Criminal Police Organization IOM International Organization for Migration LAPOP Latin American Public Opinion Project LIDER Libertad Democrática Renovada [Renewed Democratic Liberty] NGO Non-Governmental Organization OAS Organization of American States PAC Patrullas de Autodefensa Civil [Civil Auto-Defense Patrols] PAHO Pan American Health Organization RIC Registro de Infomación Catastral [Cadastre Information Registry] SAA Secretaría de Asuntos Agrarios [Secretariat for Agrarian Affairs] SSO Social Support Office TSE Supreme Electoral Tribunal (Tribunal Supremo Electoral) UN United Nations UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNDRIP United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People UNE Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza [National Unity of Hope] UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime USAID United States Agency for International Development WHIP Western Highlands Integrated Program WHO World Health Organization GUATEMALA CONFLICT VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT – FINAL REPORT ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My thanks to all involved in this stimulating learning project: to the staff of the USAID Mission in Guatemala who posed the leading questions: Kerry Monaghan-Hogler, Andrew Lucas, Shannon Schissler, and Claudia Agreda, and to Mission Director Bill Brands for his enthusiastic support and probing questions. The staff at CMM in Washington who trained the team to use a provocative and productive methodology and guided the process: Rachel Locke and Lisa Chandonnet-Bedoya and their colleagues Elisabeth Dallas and David Hunsicker. The Democracy International staff Yemile Mizrahi and Lucille Jan who were responsible for producing this report and who selected the Guatemala-based team: researchers Claudia Villagrán, José Serech, and Vivian Mack Chang; logisticians Lorena Claveria, Georgina Herbruger, and Maritza Velasquez; and myself. Particular thanks to Rachel Locke, Lisa Chandonnet-Bedoya, Shannon Schissler, Claudia Agreda, Andrew Lucas, Kerry Monaghan, Carlos Rosales, and Alexandra Riboul for reading and commenting on the report and for useful suggestions. Special appreciation for Morgan Simpson who coordinated the process from multiple time zones for Democracy International with unfailing equanimity and patience. Thanks to each of you for your persistence, curiosity, and good humor. It was a pleasure to collaborate in this effort. GUATEMALA CONFLICT VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT – FINAL REPORT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this report is to provide USAID with a comprehensive assessment of social conflict and violence in the Western Highlands of Guatemala, particularly in the departments of Quiché, Totonicapán, San Marcos, Huehuetenango, Quetzaltenango, and Sololá. This report looks at the approaches used in USAID/Guatemala’s current Country Development and Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) (2012-2016), which has three major Development Objectives (DOs)—(1) greater security and justice for citizens; (2) improved levels of economic growth and social development in the Western Highlands; and (3) improved management of natural resources to mitigate the impacts of global climate change—in order to provide recommendations for the Mission’s 2017-2021 CDCS and inform