The president-elect has promised to crack down on corruption and break up monopolies, a welcome sign in a country gripped by a wealthy elite. Jeff Abbott writes in The Progressive Magazine on the results of the election and the challenges… Read More ›
Justice
‘Hope won’ Guatemalan presidential vote, but hurdles remain
Sandra Cuffe writes in The Christian Science Monitor on the joyful reaction to the result of the presidential election while recognising the challenges ahead, especially regarding the expected political and judicial backlash from those elites who feel their power and… Read More ›
‘Fighting a huge monster’: mine battle in Guatemala became a playbook for polluters
Indigenous defenders opposing the Marlin mine were criminalised by a corporation and its state allies Nina Lakhani writes in The Guardian about the community struggle against the Canadian gold-mining firm Goldcorp’s Marlin mine in San Miguel Ixtahuacán, in the west… Read More ›
Reaction: Arévalo Wins Presidency in Guatemala
The battle for democracy is far from over. It is not even a given that the peaceful transfer of power will take place. The weeks ahead will be critical. Claudia Méndez, Irma A. Velásquez Nimatuj, and Marielos Chang each contribute… Read More ›
Landslide Victory for Arévalo Rattles Political Mafias in Guatemala
Roman Gressier, Gabriel Labrador and José Luis Sanz write in El Faro English about Bernardo Arŕevalo’s landslide win and the challenges looming for both his party, Movimiento Semilla, and democracy in Guatemala in the face of challenges and attacks coming… Read More ›
US, Canada-Backed Guatemalan Elites Threaten Coup Amid Opposition Party Runoff
Grahame Russell and Michael Bakal write in Truthout,prior to the elections, on the fears and uncertainties revolving around an election which harnesses hope in the struggle against the corrupt elites, and those who facilitate them. These fears and uncertainties are… Read More ›
A Turning Point in Guatemalan History: Bernardo Arévalo Wins in Landslide Rejection of Ruling Elite
As news spread of the victory of Bernardo Aŕevalo in the presidential election runoff at the weekend by, what many consider, a landslide, Democracy Now had a piece featuring activist and award-winning investigative journalist, Allan Nairn, and Frank LaRue, Guatemalan… Read More ›
“If I win the presidency there will be efforts to stop the transfer of power”
José Luis Sanz writes in El Faro about the fears that Bernardo Arévalo holds if he wins the upcoming run-off in the Guatemala presidential election. It is well known that dark forces collude in violence and corruption to destabilise the… Read More ›
NPR: Democracy under threat in Guatemala
Eyder Peralta recently hosted, on NPR, a couple of interviews with prominent Guatemalans on that country’s current democratic crisis with the upcoming second round of the presidential elections on the horizon. He talks with Yassmín Barrios, the judge who passed… Read More ›
Bernardo Arévalo: “The corrupt are afraid of the will of the people”
Rights Action has been providing regular updates on the ongoing machinations currently plaguing Guatemala as it heads towards the second round run-off in the Presidential elections. Under the heading of Guatemala Election Watch, regular posts have included translated pieces from… Read More ›