James Rodríguez wrote an article for Latin American Perspectives on El Estor, looking at the history of the mine, including the history of state violence against those that live in the Q’eqchi’ Mayan territory. The violence goes back to at… Read More ›
Mining
Guatemala: Peaceful resistance to illegal mining under siege
A Joint Statement was released in response to the state of siege and the violence of state actors against the peaceful demonstrations being held in El Estor. Errors in translation are mine. JOINT STATEMENT – THE OBSERVATORY / UDEFEGUA /… Read More ›
Demand That State Cease Excessive Violence
In response to the events at El Estor, the above statement was released jointly, yesterday, by Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network (ARSN), Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network (BTS-RES), Human Rights Defenders Project, Guatemala Human Rights Commission (GHRC), Guatemalanetz Bern, Protection International… Read More ›
Violence Against Q’eqchi’ Community In El Estor
The above statement was released by UDEFEGUA in response to the violence carried out by state forces against the Q’eqchi’ population in El Estor protesting against the open-pit Fénix nickel mine owned by Compañía Guatemalteca de Níquel (CGN). My translation… Read More ›
“It’s not tiring for us to be here”: Anti-mining resistance in Guatemala
Avispa Midia published a piece on a non-violent, anti-mining resistance encampment situated in El Estor. The camp is looking to highlight violence being carried out against the local Q’eqchi’ people and has garnered support from other indigenous groups in Guatemala…. Read More ›
The struggle for water, forests, land and the defence of the collective does not end with criminalisation
ACOGUATE has published a piece about the struggle of the Maya Ch’orti’ people in the face of continuous attacks, both physical and legal, the latter especially through the criminalisation of activists in defence of land and water. For defending water,… Read More ›
GHRC Updates: State Accountability – Laguna Larga, and the Massacre at La Cumbre de Alaska
The Guatemala Human Rights Commission (GHRC) has recently posted a couple of updates we wanted to share. The first is on the situation at Laguna Larga, and the second on the massacre at La Cumbre de Alaska, which took place… Read More ›
Guatemala’s Indigenous Communities Are Still Fighting for Their Rights
Jeff Abbott writes a column in The Progressive, The Other Americans, and this is from his latest piece. September 15 marks 200 years since the Central American countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica gained independence from… Read More ›
#ParoPlurinacional: National Strike in Guatemala
Andrea Ixchíu Hernández, a Maya K’iche’ woman, journalist, land protector, and human rights activist, recently spoke to Gio B’atz’, on the Red Nation podcast, about the demands of Indigenous communities such as calls for a plurinational government, among other topics…. Read More ›
Is this Guatemala’s Plurinational Moment?
Tim May writes in New Socialist about the recent demonstrations in Guatemala, including the recent Paro nacional and places the moment within a period of increasing grass-roots mobilisation. Indigenous authorities are increasingly finding their voice within national politics but still… Read More ›
Guatemala Solidarity Network 