The psychologist Abraham Maslow proposed that humans have a hierarchy of needs, from the most basic, required for our very survival, to what he called the need for self-actualisation. These needs are often visualised as a pyramid, with the most… Read More ›
Land
‘Our lives can be cut short at a stroke’
‘This is a time of great tension because we know that at any moment, when we least expect it, our lives can be cut short at a stroke’. So titled an article by Danilo Valladares for Inter Press Service. As… Read More ›
Guatemalan communities reject mining in local territory
As multinational companies continue to seek licences for mineral exploitation in Guatemala, time and again local communities reject these initiatives in popular consultas comunitarias. Not only do they site the environmental damage that will be done to their lands, and the lack… Read More ›
Recent killings linked to Canadian-owned nickel mine in Guatemala
Dawn Paley writes in The Dominion that two Qeqchi leaders were shot and killed and over a dozen wounded this week near the site of a shuttered nickel mine in Guatemala. This article appeared on Upside Down World. The first… Read More ›
Mining in San Miguel Ixtahuacán: Conflict and Criminalization
“Experts often consider open-pit mining to be the most destructive industrial activity in terms of environmental depletion, social and cultural impact… In San Miguel Ixtahuacán and Sipakapa, San Marcos, intensive mineral exploitation has already left its mark. Local residents from… Read More ›
Unease over Guatemalan goldrush – BBC radio
With gold prices skyrocketing, the Mayans of Guatemala find themselves caught up in a new rush for the precious metal. ‘Crossing Continents’, on BBC radio, features mining in Sipakapa and the consequences of the large increase in the price of… Read More ›
Guatemala: Five Sentenced to 780 Years for Río Negro Massacre
"After three years of bureaucratic suspension and six months of hearings, five ex-civil patrollers were sentenced to 780 years in prison by the Sentencing Tribunal in the highland county of Salamá on May 28." "The massacre of Río Negro women… Read More ›
Land Conflict in Guatemala: Work of Mercy Corps
Part 2: Land Conflict Mediation This film by Nathan Golon for Mercy Corps looks at their work in land conflict mediation in Alta Verapaz. We’ve linked to Nathan’s work before on this blog. It’s great to see him continuing to… Read More ›
Campesino Activist Killed in Livingston, Izabal
While much coverage was given in the foreign press about the hostage taking and subsequent release of four Belgian tourists in Izabal, nothing was mentioned about the death of Mario Caal Bolón. Here’s a press release from the Comite de… Read More ›
Guatemala Solidarity Network 