Guatemala

UVOC es una organización campesina e indigena de lucha de clases sociales, con apego y respeto a la Cosmovisión Maya, y respeto al equilibrio...

The '30 by 30' proposal in the UN's new draft Global Biodiversity Framework has drawn strong criticism from indigenous rights groups and critics of the 'national parks' approach to conservation

In September, the presiding judge in the Death Squad Diary case stated the defendants had a case to answer – good news for the search for justice in Guatemala. But in October, the lead prosecutor was transferred from her role investigating genocide and mass human rights violations. This was a critical blow to Guatemala's justice system.

The failure to secure justice in cases of gender-based violence shows fundamental flaws in Guatemala’s democratic institutions.

In Guatemala, environmental defenders are criminalised, evicted, beaten, imprisoned and sometimes killed. It is one of the most dangerous places in the world for those who seek to defend their communities, lands and environment.

An attempted assassination, criminalization, and violent eviction in 2014 didn't stop the Peaceful Resistance of La Puya in Guatemala, which won legal action suspending harmful mining activities.

Intag communities in Ecuador are resisting development of a copper mine at Llurimagua, proposed by Enami and Codelco. In Peru, residents of Aquia, Ancásh, accuse the Antamina mine of encroaching on their land without consultation.

The women of Tz’ununya’ Collective have struggled for eight years to defend and conserve Lake Atitlán by pushing for local authorities to stop the deterioration of the lake.

Threats against ancestral land sparked a resurgence of pride in Xinka identity in eastern Guatemala. Leaders exemplify permanent resistance and empowerment through their use of legal strategies and tools to preserve their culture.

This issue of Voz focuses on women’s creative acts of memorialization and commemoration, demonstrating how acts of mourning become sites of mobilization, active resistance, and empowerment. It highlights the power of the arts in denouncing and resisting state violence and impunity.