On 27 August, Guatemalan president Jimmy Morales made a special TV broadcast to the nation.
In the broadcast, he declared that Iván Velásquez, the head of the UN-appointed CICIG (Commission against Impunity in Guatemala) was ‘persona non grata’ in the country, and that the ‘competent authorities’ would see that Velásquez was immediately deported.
Morales’ move came less than 48 hours after...
This article was first published by NACLA on 24 May 2017
Miguel López took cover in the shade at the entrance to the hilltop cemetery. It was approaching noon in the mountains of western Honduras, and the sun beat down on the Azacualpa Environmental Committee members gathered to discuss their ongoing battle with Aura Minerals, a Canadian mining company. Located...
Pretty Faces, Grisly Interests
This article was published on the website of Canadian progressive magazine Briarpatch. LAB has added titles and images.
Main image: Banner at peaceful protest near Escobal mine. Guatemala’s Constitution states that resistance is legitimate when done to protect and defend human rights. Photo: Sandra Cuffe/MiningWatch Canada
Though Mexico was a punching bag throughout Donald Trump’s successful campaign...
In a third and final blog post from Punta Gorda, Belize, Rachel joins an indigenous community led forest patrol and witnesses the damaging impacts of oil exploration in the Sarstoon Temash National Park. In Crique Sarco, Village Council Leader Mr Choc explains how his community is working to safeguard their land for the future.
Back in the SATIIM office...
Maya and Garifuna communities are resisting over-zealous national park regulation and encroaching oil exploration
Days after the arrest of President Perez Molina, Guatemalans have voted to elect a new head of state but none of the candidates seems likely to resolve country's pressing problems.
The Ch'oti Mayan people from the east of Guatemala are resisting attempts to force them off their lands and undermine their livelihoods.
Hydro energy may represent a form of clean, renewable energy, but the expansion of hydro in Guatemala has driven social conflict between the government, multinationals and the indigenous populations.
Latin Americans welcome decision by a growing number of London boroughs to recognise them as “an ethnic group”.
