James Rodríguez has put together a new piece of photo-reportage regarding the first payments of the government reparations to the survivors of the massacres and forced displacements of communities in the Chixoy River basin. “On October 15, 2015, the Guatemalan… Read More ›
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples’ rights and hydro-electric projects in Guatemala: The case of the Ch’orti’ in Chiquimula
We were born here, We did not come here Aquí hemos nacido, no hemos venido Machiwar kayopá temeyum Iranon kuxpon tará The indigenous Maya Ch’orti’ community in Chiquimula, Guatemala, is in conflict with the companies Las TresNiñas and Jonbo which… Read More ›
Dam protests met with repression in Ixil region of Guatemala
This video footage compiled by Guatevision includes a selection of brief clips showing some of the protests and state response. On April 28th, a massive contingent of police was sent into the Ixil triangle in Guatemala to evict a road… Read More ›
Indigenous Campesinos in Guatemala Demand an End to Violent Evictions
Early in the morning on April 17, the international day of the campesino’s struggle, nearly 450 indigenous Q’eqchi’ Mayan families from the Guatemalan departments of Alta Verapaz, Baja Verapaz, and Izabal arrived in the historic centre of Guatemala and began… Read More ›
Rights under siege: the remilitarisation of Guatemala
“There were around 2,500 police and army in the region,” Francisco tells me. “With tanks and trucks and everything it seemed as if they were coming to war.” Since the construction of the Escobal silver mine in the neighbouring village… Read More ›
‘Water that will extinguish the flames’
“Three and a half decades had to go by in order to achieve justice for a horrendous moment in the history of the country. At the time, television cameras recorded the burning of the Spanish Embassy in Guatemala and showed… Read More ›
Mining interests in Guatemala challenged by indigenous direct democracy
We featured a piece, here, recently by James Rodríguez about a Consulta that took place in Santa María Chiquimula. This is by Jeff Abbott on Waging Nonviolence. Conflicts over mining are expanding across Guatemala. According to a recent report by… Read More ›
Spanish Embassy Case Nearing Close
On October 1, 2014, 34 years after the deadly fire that killed 37 protesters, diplomats, and others, Guatemalan judges for the first time convened to consider the culpability of a state actor in the notorious 1980 siege of the Spanish… Read More ›
Mayan Communities use Democracy as a Tool to Safeguard their Territory
The image above comes from an article by James Rodríguez (MiMundo.org) and refers to a consultation in Santa Maria Chiquimula, Totonicapán, Guatemala. The ballot reads: “Are you in favor of metal mining exploitation, the installation of geothermal energy generators, construction… Read More ›
Voices of the Resistance – Tahoe on Trial
OYOW: VOICES OF THE RESISTANCE MOVEMENT IN GUATEMALA (Special Assignment) from Maggie Padlewska on Vimeo. Maggie Padlewska shot the above film about the affect of the Tahoe Resources Escobal Mine in San Rafael Las Flores and the community resistance to… Read More ›
Guatemala Solidarity Network 