Over the past decade in Guatemala, criminalization has increasingly served as a strategy to stifle public participation in civic life. In most cases, Guatemalan authorities have collaborated with both business and military interests to criminalize those who seek justice and fight against impunity. Unending criminalization of Indigenous land defenders Early [...]
Nueva Jerusalen homes burned in violent eviction, photo credit: CCDA On the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples - Wednesday, August 9th - police and private security forces attacked the Xinka community of Nueva Jerusalen and ruthlessly burnt people's homes and possessions. Located in Escuintla, the sugar-cane [...]
Guatemalan presidential elections took place on Sunday. Hopes were low in the lead-up given a slate of far-right candidates backed by the Pacto de Corruptos (Covenant of the Corrupt), high-level bribery accusations, months of rival presidential candidates’ exclusions from the race, and a context of ever-increasing repression and criminalization. But [...]
Guatemala will hold elections on June 25. With none of the presidential candidates likely to receive the necessary majority to win outright, runoffs for president will almost inevitably be held in August. Candidates Blocked Several significant presidential contenders have been excluded from the race. Popular presidential candidate, Thelma Cabrera, was [...]
Guatemala will hold presidential, congressional, and municipal elections on Sunday, June 25. The outgoing administration, led by President Alejandro Giammattei, has been marked by corruption scandals, the dismantling of judicial and accountability systems, the criminal prosecution of judges, prosecutors, and journalists, and the ever-increasing criminalization of land defenders and entire [...]
photo credit: RudaGT Former anti-corruption prosecutor Virginia Laparra Rivas faced another hearing date today. The court was considering Laparra's release from detention. Laparra, who formerly worked with the Special Prosecutor's Office against Impunity (FECI), has been arbitrarily detained since February 2022. For the sixth time, court magistrates dismissed [...]
(In the Plaza de Niñas, families of the victims and survivors of the Hogar Virgen de la Asunción fire place flowers in the cardinal directions in preparation for a ceremony on the morning of International Women’s Day. Credits: Laura Robinson) Around the world, March 8th, 2022, International Women’s Day, [...]
A Guatemalan healthcare worker receives one of the donated vaccines. Photo Credit: Prensa Libre The COVID-19 pandemic has had an enormous health, social and economic impact, claiming a very high number of lives in Latin American and Caribbean countries. In 2021, as the government's public health strategy shifted [...]
Download the Bulletin in English (full text below): Descargar el Bulletin en Español: Téléchargez le Bulletin en français: MILITARY DIARY CASE: SPECIAL BULLETIN No. 23 FROM SEPTEMBER 14 TO 21, 2021 Preliminary hearings / Gustavo Adolfo Oliva Blanco and Víctor Augusto Vásquez Echeverría [...]
“We refuse to live in a dictatorship” Action taken during manifestations on Martí Street, Guatemala City during the National Strike, July 29th, 2021 Credits: Festivales Solidarios By: Laura Robinson “In this context, the government has played an antagonistic role due to the collapse of hospitals, the lack of [...]
