Guatemala was officially "at peace." The last of twelve peace accords had been signed. putting in place a broad mandate for reform to address many of the historical grievances of the country's marginalized and impoverished majority. Real hopes were born that a time of democracy and progressive change had finally arrived in Guatemala, after thirtysix years of terrible conflict. Alongside the internal peace process, Guatemala has taken part in negotiations toward a hemispheric free trade zone, the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), along with the thirty-three other countries that launched the project in Miami in 1994. Their declared purpose in pursuing an FTAA is a laudatory one. According to the opening words of the Miami Declaration: "The elected Heads of State and Government of the Americas are committed to advance the prosperity, democratic values and institutions, and security of our Hemisphere. For the first time in history, the Americas are a community of democratic societies."