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The Guatemala Role Play is a simulation from the Workable Peace Curriculum Series unit on Indigenous Rights and the Environment in Latin America.
Overview of the Guatemala Role Play: Guatemala has been an ethnically, economically, and politically divided society for over 450 years. In the early 1960s, some army officers who opposed the military government organized small guerrilla rebel factions. Soon, these rebel factions organized into a larger military force known as the URNG. As the URNG began to defeat government forces in the countryside, the government decided to put pressure on the URNG and their supporters. Thousands of indigenous people were killed and their villages destroyed.
After years of negotiations, the Guatemalan government and the URNG signed an "Accord for a Firm and Lasting Peace" in 1996. Despite the peace accord, several issues remain to be resolved. This follow-up negotiation takes place in 1998. The Guatemalan Minister of the Interior will chair a negotiation that includes representatives from the Guatemalan military, the URNG, and the ethnic Mayans living in Guatemala, as well as the U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala. The three issues on the table are how to protect human rights, how to deal with Mayan land claims, and how to recognize Mayan cultural and political rights.
Major Lessons:
- This role play underscores the relevance of general lessons about "basic" negotiation skills as they apply to multi-party, multi-issue negotiations: e.g., active listening, improving one's BATNA, focusing on interests rather than positions, inventing options for mutual gain, etc.
- Provides a means for exploring the political dynamics and economic issues likely to emerge during an actual negotiation
- Imparts an understanding of the processes of international treaty negotiations as they are currently conducted
- Highlights the importance of understanding the human dimension in ethnic conflict and the difficulty of proposing solutions without grasping the complexity of the relationships.
- Emphasizes the importance of understanding the interests of internal constituencies and designing negotiation strategies which manage the link between internal and external negotiations, as well as the importance of creating external coalitions without letting internal coalitions crumble.
- Demonstrates how members of groups in conflict can take steps toward a workable peace by negotiating truces, recognizing each others' right to meet basic needs, and making rules for settling their conflicts and meeting their needs without violence.
Teacher's Package Includes:
If you would like additional information about the Workable Peace framework and teaching materials, including information about teacher training and support, please contact Workable Peace Co-Directors David Fairman or Stacie Smith at: The Consensus Building Institute, Inc.
238 Main Street, Suite 400
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-492-1414
Fax: 617-492-1919
Website: www.cbuilding.org
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