On May 1, 2013, Otto Perez Molina, Guatemalan President and former general during the country’s 36-year armed conflict, declared a 30-day State of Siege in four municipalities surrounding the El Escobal Silver Mining Project, run by Canadian mining giants’ Tahoe Resources. The State of Siege suspended basic constitutional rights, prohibiting public assembly and peaceful protests, allowing unwarranted searches, and giving power to authorities to detain individuals at their whim.
On the anniversary of the death of Andres Fransisco Miguel, community leader of Santa Cruz Barillas, Huehuetenango, the people of Huehuetenango and neigboring areas in Guatemala came together in protest May 1st. They denounced the disrepect of their right as Indigenous Peoples to be consutled on development projects, by the State of Guatemala and foreign companies like Spanish dam company Hidralia Energia.
It has been two weeks since the passing of community radio founder and social and environmental activist, Daniel Pedro Mateo. Our team at Cultural Survival, as well as members of community radio stations in our network, have been deeply saddened by this loss. As well, many stations worry about similar repercussions in the future, feeling that the political climate is not safe for social activists or community leaders at this time.
On May 25, 2013, more than 25 community radio station volunteers from Cultural Survival’s radio network across Guatemala gathered for a workshop in the Mujb’ab’l Yol training center in San Mateo, Quetzaltenango. The focus of the workshop was on Indigenous People’s Rights.
On April 19, Judge Jassmin Barrios declared that the hearing in the trial charging Efraín Ríos Montt with genocide will be temporarily suspended while the Constitutional Court addresses the annulment of the trial by Judge Patricia Flores.
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On April 16, 2013, the body of Qanjob’al community activist Daniel Pedro Mateo was found murdered in Santa Eulalia, Huehuetenango, Guatemala. He had been kidnapped for 12 days and his body showed signs of torture.
Another community leader from Santa Cruz Barillas, Huehuetenango has been captured by the Police and incarcerated in Guatemala City as a result of his outspoken opposition to the Spanish company Hidro Santa Cruz’s construction of a hydroelectric dam in the Q’anjob’al Mayan community. Rubén Herrera was captured on March 15th in the city of Huehuetenango, and charged with kidnapping, terrorism, coercion, arson, among many other crimes.
El siguinte comunidado fue elaborado por el Consejo de Pueblos del Occidente, el CPO como resulto de la captura del compañero Rubén Herrera, que ha luchado por los derechos del pueblo en contra del proyecto hidroelectrco por la empresa Hidro Santa Cruz.
Para firmar su peticion, por favor envia tu nombre, (y ubicación y institution) al contrareglamento@gmail.com antes del 25 de abril.
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that we are headquartered on Massachusett land, in Cambridge, MA, and we thank the past, current, and future Indigenous stewards of this territory.