hos plays a major role in the discourse that has ensued in this debate over the need for the redistribution of resources. The political disputation over this reform has evolved into a harsh prattle between farmers or peasant farmers and planters, the political and economical elite. In the midst of this ongoing struggle over cultural inequalities, there has been upheaval, but in the end it has only led to restoration of political policies of the past.In the frame of cultural ethos, the major affronts arising from both sides are in the areas of sweat equity, optimization of land production, and elite paternalism. The right to land ownership is a heated battlefield, involving the issue of sweat equity from the farmers and in turn the issues of ownership and sweat equity from the planters side. The optimization of farm production through the scale of ownership is also a much contested ethical issue. Finally, it is the position of elite landowners that peasants need to be provided for and could not possibly manage land by themselves. Next, I will traverse into the violent and unnerving conflict in Guatemala and the cultural factors involved therein.Cultural Factors in GuatemalaThe violence in Guatemala stems from cultural factors, primarily resulting from a wide separation in racial identities. Specific to these racial differences are the conflict between ladinos and Mayan guerrilla factions, as well as the differing cultural aspects of Mayan groups. A horrific climate of violence between guerrillas and the ladino controlled governments militarization, as Kay B. Warrens (31) relation, through Trixano accounts of the events, describes, There was great fear. People frequently appeared along the highways dead, dumped. You didnt know what town they were from.. These circumstances, while on the surface painting a picture of mistrust between Mayans, have been counteracted somewhat through the Mayan art of storytelling. These stories, W...
