This article seeks to understand Guatemala's continued failure to recognize indigenous law as part of the country's legal system. Indigenous law is a form of customary law comprised of unwritten norms that are accepted and applied by Guatemala's various indigenous populations. Guatemala promised recognition of indigenous law and other reforms to incorporate indigenous people into the social, political, and legal structure of the country in the 1996 Peace Accords that ended the thirty-six-year Armed Conflict. That promise remains unfulfilled. In 2017, there was an attempt to amend Article 203 of the Constitution to recognize indigenous law as a part of the country's legal system. There was stronger support among members of Congress than had ever been shown before, but ultimately the proponents lacked the votes and tabled the proposal. The issues posed by the reform were debated in the public press in the period leading up to key votes. However, the opposition - comprised of powerful business and legal groups - clearly dominated the debate. To counterbalance the points of view that dominated the public debate on the topic, we interviewed a variety of stakeholders who we thought could offer different insights about the issues and interests in play. These interviews both confirmed and disputed arguments that pervaded the debate, and provided insights about how the formal justice system and political units in some areas coordinate with indigenous authorities in the absence offormal recognition of indigenous justice. As observers from outside the country, we acknowledge that there are pros and cons to formal recognition, but in our view, constitutional reform is important for Guatemala, and we hope that some of the insights gained from this research may inform the debate the next time the issue is raised