Jeff Abbott writes in the Waging Nonviolence website about indigenous communities protecting their forests from logging interests. Across Guatemala, indigenous communities are organizing to challenge logging in the country’s vast forests. These communities are concerned with the impact that both… Read More ›
Land
La Puya – La Antorcha de la Dignidad (The Torch of Dignity)
September the 15th is Guatemala’s Independence Day and is celebrated by marches, formal activities, and patriotic symbols. You cannot avoid the proliferation of the national flag across the capital and in the towns. Like every nationalist project, it is the… Read More ›
Guatemalans’ Fight Against Rogue Canadian Mining Giant Heats Up
Guatemalan communities form the area of Santa Cruz del Quiche unanimously vote against resource extraction on their lands. | Photo: Courtesy James Rodriguez, MiMundo.org Communities in Guatemala have repeatedly voiced their opposition to a Tahoe Resources silver mine. The company… Read More ›
Protect Lolita Chávez for her defense of natural resources
The following alert is from IM-Defensoras and can be viewed here. Aura Lolita Chávez Ixcaquic, an active membre of the Council of the Ki’che’ Peoples (CPK), is a woman human rights defender who has constantly spoken out against acts of… Read More ›
‘Together we move forward’ – La Puya
Peace Brigades International has recently published a report, “I Think, Therefore I Resist”, which describes grassroots experiences of alternative protection and promotion of human rights in the context of large-scale economic investment. The report provides recommendations to the international community… Read More ›
Justice Comes Slowly for Guatemala’s Maya Achí
In 1982, over 400 Maya Achí men, women, and children were murdered for opposing a hydroelectric dam under construction on the Chixoy River. The next year, the completed Chixoy dam flooded more than 30 Maya Achí communities. In 2014, the… Read More ›
Killing of Guatemalan activist in the Maya Biosphere Reserve raises alarm
Walter Manfredo Méndez Barrios. Photo courtesy of Defensores de la Naturaleza (Mongabay website) The violent death of an environmental activist and community leader in northern Guatemala two days ago has sparked consternation and concern among communities and organizations working in… Read More ›
‘La Puyita’ – La Puya goes to the Capital
“La Puyita” -‘Sorry for the inconvenience, we are fighting for the water of this and future generations – no to mining…’ The Comunidades en Resistencia at La Puya, have recently opened up a second point of resistance by taking their… Read More ›
Sepur Zarco: ‘I am here seeking justice’
There is really nothing to add here. From Plaza Pública.
Beneath the shawls, justice is served
The women raise their hands on hearing the verdict (Sandra Sebastián) “The Guatemalan justice system has said it was not a lie. Sexual violence within the Sepur Zarco military outpost was real. More than ten women had to wait 34… Read More ›
Guatemala Solidarity Network 