The Central American Peace Process: Possible Lessons from El Salvador and Guatemala

Abstract

Each peace process was a result of the interplay between the international, regional and domestic political changes and the social movements’ internal dynamics. Specifically, the outcome of the peace negotiations depended upon (1) the degree of domestic political opening (2) the support and impact of international actors; and (3) the ideological flexibility, pragmatism and confidence of the revolutionary movement’s leadership that the movement had sufficient strength to make significant political gains from the peace process. Two Central American peace processes—one which concluded with a peace accord in El Salvador and the other which is on-going in Guatemala—was examined. The peace processes in both countries showed that democratic transitions force social movements to elaborate new frames of collective action and define their respective positions towards electoral politics and peace process.