This paper builds a theory of wait-citizenship, wherein the lack of opportunities for structural inclusion has contributed to young people's liminal positioning in society and their struggles to become social adults while seeking equality, democratic freedoms, and a sense of belonging. Two decades after civil war, Guatemalan youth are routinely reminded of the fragility of their democracy and instructed not to make demands for inclusive and transformative citizenship. As young people become 'wait-citizens' they develop strategies for navigating precarious openings between dangerous actions and coercive structures, often in ways that do not conform to Western, liberal expectations. The paper argues for broader conceptions of civic agency to account for how young people make decisions about exercising their civic voice, particularly in settings where legacies of authoritarianism constrain long-awaited democratic freedoms.