Dos hombres (trasfondo, mano derecha) pescan en la confluencia de los ríos Copón (primer plano, color café) y Chixoy (fondo, color azul), en el municipio de Ixcán, Quiché. Vecinos denuncian que desde hace un año las aguas del río Copón les llegan contaminadas y alegan que el deterioro del río [...]
Graham Hunt El 29 de abril de 2011, más de 3,000 personas, en su mayoría representantes de organizaciones indígenas y campesinas del interior del país, desfilaron por las calles capitalinas para manifestar de nuevo su desapruebo al reglamento de las consultas comunitarias promovido por el gobierno de turno por medio [...]
Graham HuntOn March 23, hundreds of representatives from more than 50 municipalities that have carried out community referenda in Guatemala, articulated in the Consejo de Pueblos de Occidente (CPO) and other regional groups, took to the streets in Guatemala City to repudiate the central government's initiative to regulate community consultations, [...]
A man prepares to vote in Caserío Tui Bul. Graham HuntUn hombre se prepara para emitir su voto en el Caserío Tui Bul.On March 16, 2011, 17,849 residents of the predominantly Maya Mam municipality of San Martín "Chile Verde" Sacatepéquez, Quetzaltenango, added their voices to those of the roughly 600,000 [...]
Representantes de diversas organizaciones sociales dieron una conferencia de prensa el 18 de marzo de 2011, para denunciar las violaciones de derechos humanos cometidas esta semana y para exigir que se detengan los desalojos de comunidades campesinas q'eqchi's en la región del Valle del Polochic, departamento de Alta Verapaz. Dirigieron [...]
En la siguiente carte dirigida a las autoridades Guatemalecas y Goldcorp Inc., la Coalición en contra la Minería Injusta de Guatemala (CAMIGUA) expresa su profunda preocupación en relación a los informes sobre la violencia ocurrida el 28 de febrero de 2011 en la municipalidad de San Miguel Ixtahuacán. CAMIGUA entiende [...]
Un hombre agita una bandera que lleva el logotipo del Comité de Unidad Campesina. Graham HuntEn una entrevista con el diario guatemalteco la Prensa Libre en San Pedro Sula, Honduras, Carlos Daniel de León, de la Agencia de Comercio e Inversión de Guatemala, dio a conocer el 19 de febrero [...]
TAKE ACTION through Amnesty International Guatemala 28 de febrero de 2011La Red de Solidaridad con el Pueblo de Guatemala Collectif GuatemalaBreaking the SilenceRights ActionComunicado urgente de preocupación para la seguridad de los defensores y defensoras de San Miguel Ixtahuacan en protesta pacificaDenunciamos las violaciones de derechos humanos y abusos cometidos [...]
A view of the Xequijel river, in Olintepeque, Quetzaltenango. Graham HuntUna Vista del Río Xequijel, en Olintepeque, Quetzaltenango.On February 20, 1524, Tecún Umán, last king of the K'iché nation, was killed in battle against the Spanish conquerors. 487 years later to the day, citizens of the municipality of Olintepeque, the [...]
San Juan Ostuncalco's central plaza on the morning of the referendum. Graham HuntLa plaza central de San Juan Ostuncalco en la mañana de la consulta.On February 18, 2011, in the 49th good faith community referendum celebrated in Guatemala, 33,428 men, women, and children rejected all mining exploration and exploitation in [...]
Angélica Choc. Graham HuntOn December 9, 2010, a group of community members from El Estor, Izabal, among them eye-witnesses of the September 27, 2009 assassination of Adolfo Ich Chamán, gathered before the Crimes Against Activists Unit of the Human Rights Section of the Public Prosecutor's Office in Guatemala City. Inside, [...]
Emilia Quan The ADH delegation currently in Cancún for the climate justice activities taking place here, received sad news from back home in Huehuetenango: the murder of Emilia Quan, an investigator with CEDFOG (Center for Studies and Documentation of the Western Border of Guatemala). Emilia Quan and another CEDFOG employee, [...]
Today Francisco Mateo Morales spoke as a representative of the Assembly of Huehuetenango (ADH) in a Climate Dialogue panel about the position of indigenous peoples on the issue of climate change. A delegation of members of the ADH has been participating in the alternative social movement activities organized in response [...]
The Assembly of Huehuetenango (ADH) and Climate Dialogue took to the streets today to bring the message of the forums into downtown Cancún!La Asamblea de Huehuetenango (ADH) y el Diálogo Climático se fueron a las calles para traer el mensaje de los foros al pueblo de Cancún!No Biofuels! No False [...]
On December 1, 2010, Angélica Choc announced the initiation of legal proceedings against the Canadian mining company Hudbay Minerals Inc. and its Guatemalan subsidiary, Compañía Guatemalteca de Níquel S.A. (CGN), for their indirect responsibility in the September 27, 2009 murder of Angélica's husband, Adolfo Ich Chamán, at the hands of [...]
Representatives of the municipality of Cabricán prepare banners for the march to the Congress. Graham HuntRepresentantes del municipio de Cabricán arman pancartas para la marcha al Congreso. On Monday, November 29, representatives of the municipalities of Cabricán, Santa Cruz del Quiché, and Uspantán submitted to the Congress, the Ministry of [...]
The urban center of Huitán. In the background, to the left of the church, stands Calel mountain, one of the municipality's primary water sources. Calel is likewise home to a mining license of the same name. Graham HuntEl casco urbano de Huitán. En el trasfondo, a mano izquierda de la [...]
La Via Campesina is coordinating one of the alternative Cancún forums, bringing real solutions to climate change from the world's farmworkers. La Via Campesina ha coordinado uno de los foros alternativos en Cancún, trayendo soluciones verdaderas al cambio climático desde los campesinos del mundo."Small Scale Sustainable Farmers are Cooling Down [...]
Change the System, Not the Climate! No to REDD! World Bank out of the Climate! These are the messages echoing in Cancún today, the first day of the International Foro for Climate Justice and the Dialogue of the People.www.dialogoclimatico.orgCambia el Sistema, No el Clima! No a REDD! Banco Mundial Fuera [...]
Global social justice mobilizations have arrived in Cancún to participate in alternative activities running parallel to the current round of UN climate negotiations, also known as COP16. NISGUA is here with the Assembly of Huehuetenango (ADH), after traveling from Huehuetenango to San Cristobal de las Casa, where we joined a [...]
"They didn't kill me for being a narco. They killed me for being a woman."Hundreds marched on November 25, to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Centenares de personas marcharon el 25 de noviembre en el marco del Dia Internacional de la no Violencia contra [...]
"The K'iche People's Council...Our land is our home.Good Faith Community Referendum in Santa Cruz del Quiche.""Consejo de Pueblos K'iche's... nuestra tierra es nuestra casa!Consulta Comunitaria de Buena Fe para Santa Cruz del Quiché"Delmi ArriazaThree consultas (community referendums) were organized in the Western Highlands of Guatemala in October 2010. Since 2005, approximately 650,000 [...]
On October 22, 2010, more than eighty communities held simultaneous referendums on mining and hydroelectric dams planned for the municipality of Santa Cruz del Quiche. Years of organizing and popular education preceded the day-long event.El 22 de octubre de 2010, más que 80 comunidades llevaron a cabo simultáneamente consultas sobre [...]
Mayan ceremony held the night before the referendum.Se lleva a cabo una ceremonia la noche antes de la consulta. Graham HuntOn October 28, one day before the referendum, helicopters and planes flew over one of the regional centers where organizers were planning to compile results. The mayor also published a [...]
“Las comunidades queremos un desarrollo digno y justo,con armonía y respeto con la Madre Tierra.”[i] Representantes de comunidades afectadas por represas viajaron a la capital de Guatemala el 30 de septiembre de 2010 para presentar sus preocupaciones y demandas sobre la planificación y la inauguración de varios proyectos hidroeléctricos en [...]
UN Rapporteur James Anaya meets with Guatemalan indigenous groupsRelator James Anaya de la ONU reune con movimiento indígena de GuatemalaOn June 17, 2010, UN Special Rapporteur for Indigenous Rights James Anaya traveled to Huehuetenango, Guatemala, to meet with Maya organizations and communities struggling to defend their environmental and territorial rights [...]
International Community Demands Respect for Community Referendums in GuatemalaOn November 11, 2009, 700 signed letters were submitted to the President, Congress and various government institutions.Comunidad Internacional Exige Respeto para Consultas Comunitarias en GuatemalaEl 11 de noviembre 2009, 700 cartas firmadas fueron entregados al Presidente, Congreso y otras instituciones del estado.On [...]