Todos Por Guatemala / All for Guatemala, the signatory organizations and individuals below, to the national and international community, condemn the brutal and senseless murder of Maya-Kek’chi spiritual guide, sage and defender of mother earth, Domingo Choc Che, which occurred in the village of Chimay, San Luis municipality, department of Petén, Guatemala, on June 6 this year, by a group of people who detained and tortured him for several hours, then covered him with gasoline and burned him alive.

Domingo Choc Che was Ajq’ij, Aj ilonel, very knowledgeable about traditional Mayan medicine, a member of the Releb’aal Saq’e’ Council of Spiritual Guides, based in Poptún, Petén; he was a member of an interdisciplinary team of scientists – Mayan, Guatemalan and European – associated with the University of Zurich in Switzerland, University College London in England, and the Medical Anthropology Unit of del Valle University in Guatemala.

This criminal act is not isolated, and forms part of the systemic racism embedded in the structures of Guatemalan society for hundreds of years, since the time of Spanish colonization, which has raged against the indigenous peoples, satanizing all aspects of our culture and identity. This racism has permeated Guatemalan society at every socioeconomic level as a result of the racist and discriminatory policies that the Guatemalan State has pursued through the various governments of the time, linked to business sectors organized in CACIF (Comité Coordinador de Asociaciones Agrícolas, Comerciales, Industriales y Financieras), institutions in charge of civil security, such as the national police and army, the communications media controlled by the same sectors associated with CACIF, and the activities of certain religious denominations.

Well recognized is the role of ideological transmission that the churches, in the majority evangelical, have played in various governments, including the present, since the period of the internal armed conflict. Neo-Pentecostal Protestantism, in particular, is an agent that inculcates in its believers negative beliefs and ignorance concerning Mayan knowledge and cosmology. It also instills hatred and a racist attitude toward their leaders, elder sages and defenders of mother earth in Guatemala.

Unfortunately, this crime is not the only one, as is reflected in the following occurrences:

– Murder of spiritual leaders: during the past 16 years about 20 Mayan spiritual leaders have been killed in different parts of the country; José Andrés López in San Juan Atitán, 23/01/2020; Bernardino Solval Morales, El Progreso village, San Bernardino Suchitepéquez, 13/06/2017; Sebastián Sajic Córdova, San Juan Cotzal, Quiché, 15/09/2015; Lisandro Guarcax, El Tablón, Sololá, 26/08/2010, and others.

– Murder, persecution and imprisonment of dozens of community leaders and land defenders: to mention a few; Alberto Cucul, forest steward of Lake Lachuá, Petén, killed on June 8, 2020; José Xol Can, Mateo Chamán Paau and Ramón, Choc Scrab, members of CCDA (Comité Campesino del Altiplano) in the Verapaces, killed in May, 2020; seven leaders of CODECA (Comité de Desarrollo Campesino), killed in the last few months in different regions of Guatemala.

– Death threats and racist attacks against cultural personalities, journalists and human rights leaders: racist attacks against Maya-Kaqchikel singer and activist Sara Curruchich; a break-in at the home of human rights defender Tania Palencia; recurring death threats against journalists Carlos Ernesto Choc y Baudilio Choc by personnel of the mining company that operates in Estor, Izabal; death threats this past June 11 against journalist and correspondent of the Prensa Communitaria news agency, Elías Caal Oxom, due to his family’s practice of Mayan medicine; arbitrary detention of journalist Francisco Chox of APECCOS (Asociación de Periodistas y Comunicadores Sociales) in Sololá.

– Criminalization of peasant organizations defending the rights of farm workers, amongst others.

Because of what is stated above, we demand:

That the Public Ministry: act and investigate such that those responsible for the death of Domingo Choc Che and other crimes be submitted to justice, and that these crimes do not remain in impunity.

That the Guatemalan government:

End the militarization of Guatemalan society through establishing states of exception in areas of social conflict, and seek other mechanisms within the framework of the law to resolve the conflicts present there.

Cease the policy of criminalization of Mayan community and spiritual leaders, defenders of mother earth, journalists, activists and human rights defenders, as well as the organizations representing those communities.

Create the conditions to change this endemic racist environment which permeates Guatemalan society.

Respect Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO), as well as the Accord on the Identity and Rights of the Indigenous Peoples.

To national and international public opinion, we ask for your solidarity and to speak out against this wave of violence, racism and discrimination against the Mayan peoples of Guatemala.

June 2020

LIST OF SIGNATORIES

TODOS POR GUATEMALA/ALL FOR GUATEMALA, KITCHENER, HAMILTON, LONDON, TORONTO, OTTAWA, MONTREAL – CANADA

AGRUPACION VICTOR JARA, TORONTO – CANADA

ALBA SUIZA – SWITZERLAND

ALTERNATIVA LATINOAMERICANA, UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH RADIO – CANADA

AMANDLA RADIO PROGRAM CKUT, MONTREAL- CANADA

AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE, OFICINA REGIONAL PARA AMERICA LATINA Y EL CARIBE (AFSC) – GUATEMALA

ASOCIACION ARNATIVAS – GUATEMALA

ASOCIACION COMUNICARTE – GUATEMALA

ASOCIACION COMUNITARIA MULTISECTORIAL DE MONITOREO COMUNITARIO EN SALUD Y APOYO A MIGRANTES (ACOMUMSAM) – GUATEMALA

ASOCIACION CONSEJERIA OXLAJUJ IX PARA CENTROAMERICA Y MEXICO (CAMEX) – GUATEMALA

ASOCIACION COORDINADORA COMUNITARIA DE SERVICIOS PARA LA SALUD-GUATEMALA (ACCSS) – GUATEMALA

ASOCIACION DE DESARROLLO SOCIAL DE IXCAN (ADESI) – GUATEMALA

ASOCIACION DE FAMILIARES DE MIGRANTES DESAPARECIDOS DE GUATEMALA (AFAMIDEG) – GUATEMALA

ASOCIACION DE MUJERES DE GUATEMALA (AMG) – SPAIN

ASOCIACION LAMBDA – GUATEMALA

ASOCIACION POP NO’J- GUATEMALA

ASOCIACION SALVADORENA CANADIENSE (ASALCA) – CANADA

ASSOCIATION DES GUATEMALTEQUES DU QUEBEC – CANADA

BC CASA/CAFÉ JUSTICIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA – CANADA

CENTRO DE DERECHOS HUMANOS ORALIA MORALES – MEXICO

CENTRO DE DERECHOS HUMANOS FRAY MATIAS DE CORDOVA – MEXICO

CHE PROJECTS – CANTABAL HEALTH AND EDUCATION PROJECTS, HAMILTON – CANADA

CIPREVICA – GUATEMALA

CIRCULO BOLIVARIANO LOUIS RIEL, TORONTO – CANADA

CIRCULO SAGRADO DE ABUELAS Y ABUELOS DE GUATEMAYA – GUATEMALA

COALICION INDIGENA DE MIGRANTES DE CHIAPAS (CIMCH) – MEXICO

COMITÉ DE DERECHOS HUMANOS FRAY PEDRO LORENZO DE LA NADA A.C. – MEXICO

CLAVEL ROJO – GUATEMALA

COLECTIVO GUATEMALTECO EN LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA – UNITED STATES

COLECTIVO MADRESELVA – GUATEMALA

COLECTIVO MIRADAS EN RESISTENCIA – GUATEMALA

COLOMBIAN ACTION SOLIDARITY ALLIANCE, TORONTO – CANADA

COMISION DE MIGRANTES – GUATEMALA

COMITÉ MUNICIPAL DE MIGRACION – GUATEMALA

COMITÉ POR LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS DE AMERICA LATINA (CDHAL) – MONTREAL, CANADA

COMUNIDADES ECLESIALES DE BASE DE GUATEMALA

CONSEJO DE JUVENTUD PARA EL DESARROLLO IXCOYENSE (COJDI) – GUATEMALA

CONSEJO NACIONAL DE AJQ’IJAB’ OXLAJUJ AJPOP – GUATEMALA

CONSEJO OXLAJUJ IMOX, CHUARRANCHO – GUATEMALA

CONSEJO PRO-BOLIVIA – EUROPE

CRAIG M. COGUT, PROFESSORSHIP, LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES, BROWN UNIVERSITY– UNITED STATES

DESPERTAR MAYA, LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA – UNITED STATES

EQUIPO DE ESTUDIOS COMUNITARIOS Y ACCION PSICOSOCIAL (ECAP) – GUATEMALA

EDWARD LAROQUE TINKER PROFESSORSHIP, CENTER FOR LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES, STANDFORD UNIVERSITY– UNITED STATES

FEDERACION GUATEMALTECA DE ESCUELAS RADIOFONICAS (FGER) – GUATEMALA

FESTIVALES SOLIDARIOS/PANAL – GUATEMALA

FORMACION Y CAPACITACION A.C. (FOCA) – MEXICO

FUNDACION CULTURAL LA NAVE DE PAPEL – COLOMBIA

FUNDACIÓN RIGOBERTA MENCHU TUM (RMT) – REPRESENTACION CANADA

GOBIERNO ANCESTRAL – GUATEMALA

GUATEMALA COMMUNITY NETWOK, TORONTO – CANADA

INICIATIVA CIUDADANA PARA LA PROMOCION DE LA CULTURA DEL DIALOGO, A.C. – MEXICO

INICIATIVAS PARA EL DESARROLLO HUMANO A.C. – MEXICO

INSTITUTO MEXICANO PARA EL DESARROLLO COMUNITARIO (IMDEC) – MEXICO

INSTITUTO PARA LAS MUJERES EN LA MIGRACION A.C. (IMUMI) – MEXICO

JOVENES POR EL CAMBIO – GUATEMALA

KAIROS CANADA

KITCHENER-WATERLOO MAYAN PROJECT – CANADA

LATIN AMERICA WORKING GROUP, WASHINGTON DC. – UNITED STATES

LA 72, HOGAR -REFUGIO PARA PERSONAS MIGRANTES – MEXICO

MAMA MAQUIN – GUATEMALA

MEDICOS DEL MUNDO FRANCE – SPAIN – MEXICO

MELLON VISITING PROFESSORSHIP, CENTER FOR LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN STUDIES, DUKE UNIVERSITY, UNITED STATES

MESA NACIONAL PARA LAS MIGRACIONES EN GUATEMALA (MENAMIG) – GUATEMALA

MESA TECNICA DE MIGRACION, IXCAN – GUATEMALA

MOLANIL K’INAL B’E – GUATEMALA

MONTREAL ELDERS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE – CANADA

MOVIMIENTO DE ORGANIZACIONES SOCIALES Y CAMPESINAS DE PETEN – GUATEMALA

OLDER WOMAN LIVE (OWL) COLLECTIVE – CANADA

ORGANIZACIONES LIBRES DEL PUEBLO-RESISTIR Y LUCHAR (OLP-RL) -ARGENTINA

PARROQUIA DE FRONTERA COMALAPA – MEXICO

PARTITO OPERAIO E POPOLARE – TICINO, SWITZERLAND

PASTORAL DE MIGRANTES – MEXICO

PASTORAL SOCIAL LA LIBERTAD CRISTO DE ESQUIPULAS – GUATEMALA

PERIODICO RESUMEN LATINOAMERICANO (ARGENTINA, CUBA, VENEZUELA, PERU)

PLANTONES POR LA DIGNIDAD – GUATEMALA

PLATAFORMA 51 – GUATEMALA

PLATAFORMA CANADA – CANADA

PROGRAMA LA ESQUINA, RADIO VOCES LATINAS, TORONTO- CANADA

RED DE INTELECTUALES ARTISTAS Y MOVIMIENTOS SOCIALES EN DEFENSA DE LA HUMANIDAD

RED JUVENIL AK’MOLAM – GUATEMALA

RED LATINOAMERICANA Y DEL CARIBE DE SOLIDARIDAD, TORONTO – CANADA

MARITIMES-GUATEMALA BREAKING THE SILENCE NETWORK – CANADA

RESUMEN LATINOAMERCIANO – ARGENTINA

SECRETARIADO INTERNACIONAL POR EUROPA DEL CONAICOP

SERVICIO JESUITA A MIGRANTES (SJM) – MEXICO

SERVICIO JESUITA A REFUGIADOS (SJR) – MEXICO

SERVICIO PASTORAL A MIGRANTES SAN MARTIN DE PORRES (SEPAMI-SMP) – MEXICO

SERVICIO INTERNACIONAL CRISTIANO DE SOLIDARIDAD CON LOS PUEBLOS DE AMERICA LATINA: OSCAR ROMERO (SICSAL) – CANADA

SOCIEDAD CIVIL – GUATEMALA

TINKER PROFESSORSHIP, TERESA LOZANO LONG INSTITUTE OF LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS – AUSTIN, UNITED STATES

TZIJOLAJ, OTTAWA – CANADA

UNA AYUDA PARA TI MUJER MIGRANTE A.C. – MEXICO

VOCES MESOAMERICANAS, ACCION CON PUEBLOS MIGRANTES, A.C. – MEXICO

WOMAN BUILDING FUTURES – CANADA

Capitulo Guatemala

American Friends Service Commiee, Ocina Regional para América Lana y El Caribe (AFSC);

Asociación Comunitaria Mulsectorial de Monitoreo Comunitario en Salud y Apoyo a Migrantes

(ACOMUMSAM); Asociación Consejería Oxlajuj Ix para Centroamérica y México (CAMEX);

Asociación Coordinadora Comunitaria de Servicios para la Salud-Guatemala ACCSS; Asociación de

Desarrollo Social de Ixcán (ADESI); Asociación de Familiares de Migrantes Desaparecidos de

Guatemala (AFAMIDEG); Asociación Lambda, Consejo de Juventud para el Desarrollo Ixcoyense

(COJDI); Comisión de Migrantes; Comité Municipal de Migración; Equipo de Estudios Comunitarios

y Acción Psicosocial (ECAP); Federación Guatemalteca de Escuelas Radiofónicas (FGER); Gobierno

Ancestral; Jóvenes por el Cambio; Mamá Maquin; Médicos del Mundo Francia – España; Mesa

Nacional para las Migraciones en Guatemala (MENAMIG); Molanil K´inal B´e; Pastoral Social La

Libertad Cristo de Esquipulas; Pop Noj’; Red Juvenil Ak´Molam; Mesa Técnica de Migración, Ixcán;

CAPITULO GUATEMALA

AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMIEE, OCINA REGIONAL PARA AMÉRICA LANA Y EL CARIBE (AFSC);

ASOCIACIÓN COMUNITARIA MULSECTORIAL DE MONITOREO COMUNITARIO EN SALUD Y APOYO A MIGRANTES

(ACOMUMSAM); ASOCIACIÓN CONSEJERÍA OXLAJUJ IX PARA CENTROAMÉRICA Y MÉXICO (CAMEX);

ASOCIACIÓN COORDINADORA COMUNITARIA DE SERVICIOS PARA LA SALUD-GUATEMALA ACCSS; ASOCIACIÓN DE

DESARROLLO SOCIAL DE IXCÁN (ADESI); ASOCIACIÓN DE FAMILIARES DE MIGRANTES DESAPARECIDOS DE

GUATEMALA (AFAMIDEG); ASOCIACIÓN LAMBDA, CONSEJO DE JUVENTUD PARA EL DESARROLLO IXCOYENSE

(COJDI); COMISIÓN DE MIGRANTES; COMITÉ MUNICIPAL DE MIGRACIÓN; EQUIPO DE ESTUDIOS COMUNITARIOS

Y ACCIÓN PSICOSOCIAL (ECAP); FEDERACIÓN GUATEMALTECA DE ESCUELAS RADIOFÓNICAS (FGER); GOBIERNO

ANCESTRAL; JÓVENES POR EL CAMBIO; MAMÁ MAQUIN; MÉDICOS DEL MUNDO FRANCIA – ESPAÑA; MESA

NACIONAL PARA LAS MIGRACIONES EN GUATEMALA (MENAMIG); MOLANIL K´INAL B´E; PASTORAL SOCIAL LA

LIBERTAD CRISTO DE ESQUIPULAS; POP NOJ’; RED JUVENIL AK´MOLAM; MESA TÉCNICA DE MIGRACIÓN, IXCÁN;

ORGANIZACIONES GUATEMALATECOS

AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMIEE, OCINA REGIONAL PARA AMÉRICA LANA Y EL CARIBE (AFSC);

ASOCIACIÓN COMUNITARIA MULSECTORIAL DE MONITOREO COMUNITARIO EN SALUD Y APOYO A MIGRANTES

(ACOMUMSAM); ASOCIACIÓN CONSEJERÍA OXLAJUJ IX PARA CENTROAMÉRICA Y MÉXICO (CAMEX);

ASOCIACIÓN COORDINADORA COMUNITARIA DE SERVICIOS PARA LA SALUD-GUATEMALA ACCSS; ASOCIACIÓN DE

DESARROLLO SOCIAL DE IXCÁN (ADESI); ASOCIACIÓN DE FAMILIARES DE MIGRANTES DESAPARECIDOS DE

GUATEMALA (AFAMIDEG); ASOCIACIÓN LAMBDA, CONSEJO DE JUVENTUD PARA EL DESARROLLO IXCOYENSE

(COJDI); COMISIÓN DE MIGRANTES; COMITÉ MUNICIPAL DE MIGRACIÓN; EQUIPO DE ESTUDIOS COMUNITARIOS

Y ACCIÓN PSICOSOCIAL (ECAP); FEDERACIÓN GUATEMALTECA DE ESCUELAS RADIOFÓNICAS (FGER); GOBIERNO

ANCESTRAL; JÓVENES POR EL CAMBIO; MAMÁ MAQUIN; MÉDICOS DEL MUNDO FRANCIA – ESPAÑA; MESA

NACIONAL PARA LAS MIGRACIONES EN GUATEMALA (MENAMIG); MOLANIL K´INAL B´E; PASTORAL SOCIAL LA

LIBERTAD CRISTO DE ESQUIPULAS; POP NOJ’; RED JUVENIL AK´MOLAM; MESA TÉCNICA DE MIGRACIÓN, IXCÁN;