Guatemala, though unique in many respects, has been part of the recent movement toward consitutional regimes and democracy in Latin America. By 1986, a constitution and an elected civilian government were in place; in 1990, a second round of elections culminated in the country's first transfer of the presidency from one elected civilian to another; and as of the end of 1992, many of the formal ingredients for a transition to democracy were in place. But might this be a misleading picture? Trudeau expands the discussion of the formal transition to democracy in Guatemala to focus on popular political participation between elections and on the public policy of recent government. He concludes that the new political space created by the constitutional regime has come about not as a result of government or elite-reformist efforts, but because of pressure from popular-sector organisations. Persistent social injustic and concentrated power - still in the hands of the military - provide both an explosive mixture and a constant threat to the democratic movement nurtured by the popular sector.