It is now five years since Adolfo Ich Chaman was brutally murdered during a violent eviction carried out on Q’eqchi’ Mayan communities on the 27thSeptember 2009. Mynor Padilla, former head of security for Hudbay Minerals/CGN, and former Colonel in Guatemala… Read More ›
Indigenous peoples
To Move Forward
A piece by Simone Dalmasso accompanies some great photographs and was published recently in Plaza Pública. In 1957, the mayor of Nebaj described the socioeconomic situation of the people in the area, “..the majority of the indigenous people of this… Read More ›
Defense of Indigenous and Land Rights in Guatemala – Aura Lolita Chávez
Aura Lolita Chávez is a leader of the Council of K’iche’ People for the Defense of Life, Mother Nature, Land and Territory (CPK) of Guatemala. The CPK coordinates processes of dialogue, good faith community consultations and collective actions against the… Read More ›
They return, 32 years later
They await them at the entrance to the village, in the rain. Some cover themselves with torn umbrellas while others prefer to feel the water. They were waiting for those absent for 32 years. The army took 80 men alive… Read More ›
Chixoy Dam – thirty year wait
On May 14th, 1982, Carmen Sanchez Chen left her three-year-old son Manuel with a neighbour as she went to bathe in the Chixoy River, never to see him alive again. Thirty years later she buried him. James Rodríguez (MiMundo) has… Read More ›
Guatemala’s growing mining sector brings violence against indigenous communities with it
Guatemala’s metal mining sector has grown seven-fold since 2006, and the administration of President Otto Pérez Molina has granted more than 100 mining licenses during its first 18 months in power. There are also more than 50 hydroelectric projects at… Read More ›
Defensora – the film
Defensora_PreviewTrailer from 6kidsProductions on Vimeo. Defensora is a documentary about a Mayan Q’eqchi’ resistance against mining in Guatemala. The story is set along the shores of Lake Izabal in the community of El Estor where a nickel mining company has… Read More ›
Gladys Tzul on Indigenous Governance and State Authority in Guatemala
The driving force of the history of Indigenous peoples in Latin America is the struggle for territory. This is something that has been difficult for the traditional academy to comprehend. If we examine peoples’ uprisings throughout history – in the… Read More ›
Link Between Land Grabs and Sexual Violence Against Q´eqchí Women
Luz Mendez has posted an article on the Americas Program website describing links between land grabs and sexual violence against Maya Q’eqchí women. Relating the stories of two groups of women, who have filed claims in the courts, Mendez links… Read More ›
Wartime victims exhumed from military base return to Pambach
In the Pocomchi’ Mayan hamlet of Pambach, some 38 km from Cobán, residents gather at a local church to welcome the remains of Baldomero Chiquin (disappeared at the age of 16 with his 21-year-old brother Pedro Chiquin), Alberto Batz (disappeared… Read More ›
Guatemala Solidarity Network 