On September 30, Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales announced a State of Siege in two more municipalities, now in Santa Catarina Ixahuacán and Nahualá related to a historic dispute regarding the border between the two municipalities. The Indigenous Municipality of Sololá rejects the State of Siege because it is not a good solution for communities looking […]
Guatemalan election results; the social & political landscape ahead
By Este Chep, BTS Lead Cooperant Guatemalans headed to the polls for the second round of national elections on August 11, 2019 where Alejandro Giammattei of the newly founded VAMOS (“Lets Go”) conservative party received the majority of the votes to become the next president-elect set to take office on January 14, 2020. Giammattei was […]
UPDATE: Political situation in Guatemala in lead up to June elections
The upcoming elections have been marred in controversy and there is still a lack of clarity on the top three presidential candidates in Guatemala: Thelma Aldana, the former attorney general, Sandra Torres, last election’s runner-up and ex-wife of former Guatemalan president Alvaro Colom, and Zury Rios, extreme right wing candidate and daughter of de-facto president […]
Upcoming hearing in case of 36 Achi women & update on Amnesty Law
On April 22- 23, the intermediary phase of the hearing against six men accused of sexual violence against 36 Achi women from Rabinal, Guatemala will continue. The court is set to decide if there is enough evidence to send the hearing to trial. The survivors have denounced continued threats and intimidation by the families of […]
Congress member Leocadio Juracan holds ministries to task over Escobal Mine
Member of Congress and former national coordinator of the Comite Campesino del Altiplano (CCDA) held a congressional hearing on March 21 to question the Guatemalan Ministry of Energy and Mines, Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Culture and Sport, the Ministry of Finance and the Human Rights Ombudsperson’s Office on the […]
