Ancestral Authorities stand alongside the President and Vice President elect. Photo: Festivales Solidarios Inauguration is around the corner: on January 14, Berardo Arévalo should assume the presidency, following his landslide win in August. But Guatemala's "Pact of the Corrupt" is pulling out all the stops to try to [...]
More than a Hundred Organizations Demand Justice for Assassination of Xinka Leader Noé Gómez Barrera A sign commemorating Noé Gómez Barrera's life says, "Martyr of the social struggle: Human Rights Defender Noé Gómez Barrera. We will follow the example of his struggle." Following the murder of Xinka human [...]
The Xinka Parliament accepts the Robert F. Kennedy Foundation's Human Rights Award, photo credit: Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Foundation On June 6, the Xinka Parliament was awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Foundation's annual Human Rights Award. The award honors human rights defenders who face oppression [...]
By Jim Hodgson An Indigenous Xinca community on the Pacific coast, south of the Guatemalan capital, has the support of a Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking The Silence Network (BTS) partner in its effort to remain on their land. The 53 families of Nueva Jerusalén (New Jerusalem) have the backing of the Comité [...]
Topacio fue una joven artista, activista y líder en su comunidad de Mataquescuintla, Jalapa. Tocaba la guitarra, cantaba, escribía y recitaba poemas, dibujaba, pintaba, era hija, hermana, amiga, y alzaba la voz para defender a su comunidad contra la explotación minera. Como muchas otras personas en Guatemala, Topacio [...]
A la Resistencia Pacífica de Mataquescuintla, Jalapa En el marco del 9a aniversario de la consulta municipal de Mataquescuintla, las organizaciones firmantes deseamos expresar nuestras felicitaciones a la lucha digna de la Resistencia Pacífica del pueblo de Mataquescuintla. Sabemos que ustedes están enfrentando un monstruo del modelo extractivista - el [...]
Today six U.S. and Canadian human rights and environmental organizations filed a letter with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) supporting a request to extend precautionary measures for activists opposed to the Escobal mine in Guatemala. The mine has faced strong local opposition from the day it started operations in 2011, opposition that [...]
Photos taken during the pre-consultation phase meetings for the Escobal Mine (Photo credit: Xinka Parliament) In Guatemala, the unfortunate social and economic effects of the spread of COVID-19 can be observed. Guatemala is currently situated 2nd amongst Central American countries based on biweekly confirmed COVID cases per million. [...]
[Direct Translation from Spanish, Original Below] Pre-consultation Process for the Mining Rights of the Escobal Mine Begins The office of the Xinka Parliament of Guatemala (PAPXIGUA), located in Cuilapa, Santa Rosa, was present at the first meeting of the pre-consultation phase for the Escobal mining law case, a milestone in [...]
Vancouver-based mining company Pan American Silver held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on May 12th: the final shareholder meeting for retiring founder and Board Chair Ross Beaty. To shareholders attending online, Beaty narrated a glowing chronicle of Pan American Silver’s socially and environmentally responsible history in Latin America. Yet, when [...]
