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drug cartels, forced him to declare an autocoup in May 1993. He assumed dictatorial
powers, citing the country's purported spiral into anarchy, and also dissolved congress, cit-
ing the gross corruption of the legislative body while calling for the election of a new one.
Widespread protests and the withdrawal of U.S. support for Serrano's government res-
ulted in his removal from office just two days later. Congress met and voted on the ap-
pointment of Ramiro de León Carpio, the country's human-rights ombudsman, to succeed
Serrano and finish out his term.
DeLeónquicklysetaboutrearrangingthemilitaryhighcommandinanattempttopurge
some of the more radical elements and achieve a measure of political stability, though it
was clear his powers over the military were limited. The URNG declared a cease-fire as
a measure of goodwill toward the new administration. The guerrillas made some progress
withthenewadministration,eventuallysigninganaccordonindigenousrightsandidentity
aswellasahumanrightsaccordestablishingthecreationofU.N.-mandatedMINUGUAto
overseetheimplementationofthepeaceaccordsoncethefinalagreementwasreached.Al-
though optimistic at first, Guatemalans soon lost hope in the De León administration when
they saw he was incapable of addressing crime, constitutional reform, and land and tax is-
sues.
Alvaro Arzú Irigoyen
Former Guatemala City mayor Alvaro Arzú won the 1996 presidential elections thanks to
a strong showing in the capital despite widespread electoral abstention elsewhere. Arzú, a
businessman, represented the Partido de Avanzada Nacional (PAN, National Advancement
Party), with deep roots in the oligarchy and a commitment to economic growth fostered
by the development of the private sector under a free market. He quickly appointed new
defense, foreign, and economic ministers and set out to sign a final peace accord with the
URNG.
Theagreement fora“FirmandLastingPeace”wassignedonDecember29,1996,inthe
PalacioNacionaldelaCultura,whichonceservedasthepresidentialpalace.Afteryearsof
bloodshed,thefinaldeathtollstoodat200,000withabout50,000beingcasesofforceddis-
appearance. A subsequent U.N. report by the Historical Clarification Commission (CEH)
squarely placed blame for most of the violence in the hands of the military and the civil-
defensepatrols,with80percentofthevictimssaidtobeofMayanorigin.“Themajorityof
human rights violations occurred with the knowledge or by order of the highest authorities
of the state,” the report declared. It further stated that, “State terror was applied to make it
clear that those who attempted to assert their rights, and even their relatives, ran the risk of
death by the most hideous means. The objective was to intimidate and silence society as a
whole, in order to destroy the will for transformation, both in the short and long term.”
The ambitious peace accords marked the culmination of years of negotiations between
the government and guerrillas; if properly implemented, they would serve as the basis for
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