LynchinginGuatemala2

disputes can quickly deteriorate to violence. Furthermore, more than 35 years of internal arm conflict have caused significant psychological harm to its participants. It is hard to imagine that a simple signature on a piece of paper signaling the end of the war can change the mentality and actions of thousands of individuals who for most of their lifes lived in an anarchistic and chaotic environment.

However, the government and the media?s portrayal of the problem are only partial. In reality, lynching reflects a systemic problem. The action of people to take the law into their own hands reflects a strong lack of government legitimacy. Legitimacy reflects the trust of the people on the government as the agent that regulates social interaction through just/fair laws, regulations and institutions. The level of legitimacy, or trust of the people on the government and its institutions (such as the judicial system), derives from two main factors: First, the level of physical presence of the government through its infrastructure (schools, administrative buildings, security forces); and second, the qualitative degree of those laws/ institutions and their outcomes. In the case of rural Guatemala, these two factors are lacking. The strong centralized structure of the political system in Guatemala has dramatically reduced the presence of government institutions outside Guatemala City. In addition, the current high rates of illiteracy, poverty and inequality in the rural areas (specially the North-West region) exemplify the lack of efficiency of government institutions. Consequently, both of these factors have dramatically de-legitimized the Guatemalan government.

Thus, addressing the problem of lynching in Guatemala requires two steps:

1. Increasing the physical presence of government institutions (mainly in rural areas); which requires increasing the presence of police, but also the expansion and decentralization of other government institutions such as the judicial, educational and electoral systems.
2. Increasing the effectiveness of the government to address issues of illiteracy, poverty and inequality, which requires the creation of education, land and labor programs.

These two steps will accurately address the problem of lynching by increasing government legitimacy through increased presence and efficiency. Nevertheless, there are many obstacles for the undertaking of such approach. In relations to Guatemala, this approach will encounter strong opponents from actors that benefit from the current power system. For example, the expansion of the government and its institutions puts pressure on limited financial resources controlled by interest groups, such as the military and bureaucracy. In addition, institutional decentralization threatens current political leaders who through favoritism, nepotism and corruption obtain political support.

Lynching is a horrible crime that needs to be stop. However, superficial understanding of the problem can only lead to partial solutions that will not address the roots of the problem and may only worsen the situation.