Guatemala
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Guatemala: Respect fundamental rights ahead of Presidential elections
CIVICUS, a global alliance of civil society, is gravely concerned of increasing attacks and restrictions on democratic and civic freedoms in the wake of Guatemala’s 25th June presidential elections. We call on the authorities to guarantee freedom and safety for people to participate in the political process without intimidation before, during, and after the elections.
We are appalled by the growing restrictions being imposed on civil society organisations and human rights defenders (HRDs) including indigenous leaders, justice operators and journalists in Guatemala. The authorities continue to undermine the rule of law and several HRDs have been investigated, detained, convicted, or forced into exile.
An example of this is the growing attacks on a leading human rights organisation protecting human rights defenders in Guatemala, Unidad de Protección de Defensoras y Defensores de Derechos Humanos de Guatemala (UDEFEGUA) and its director Jorge Santos. They have been targeted with defamation campaigns, including through the spread of false allegations to discredit the organisation.
The authorities are also imposing restrictions on representatives of political groups preventing them from participating in the elections. Carlos Pineda, a businessman and presidential candidate was disqualified when the Constitutional Court ruled that he did not comply with legal requirements. Three others including Roberto Arzu García-Granados, indigenous Mayan leader Thelma Cabrera and Jordán Rodas Andrade have been prevented from running.
Civil society groups are also concerned about restrictions that may be imposed after the elections irrespective of the outcome. On 31 May 2023, 22 of 24 political parties contesting signed a declaration called "Life and Family", committing themselves to prevent the advancement of sexual and reproductive and LGBTIQ+ rights policies following the elections.
CIVICUS calls on the Government of Guatemala to lift all restrictions against HRDs, members of the political opposition and civil society organisations and create an environment free from intimidation and harassment before, during and after the elections.
Background
In July 2022, CIVICUS, Acción Ciudadana and Redlad submitted Guatemala’s UN Universal Periodic Review which outlined the extreme violence against HRDs and journalists, who continue to face attacks, harassment, stigmatisation and killings. State and non-state actors have escalated attacks with impunity. The submission further reports cases of judicial harassment against justice officials and journalists and the gradual reduction of the space for a free and independent press.
As a result of these developments, civic space in Guatemala is currently rated as ‘repressed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor, an online platform that tracks threats to civil society in countries across the globe.
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As the climate crisis intensifies, so does the crackdown on environmental activism, finds new report
New research brief from the CIVICUS Monitor examines the crackdown of environmental activism and profiles important victories civil society has scored in the fight for climate justice.
- Environmental protests are being criminalised and met with repression on all continents
- State authorities and private companies are common perpetrators of violations to civic freedoms
- Despite the risks and restrictions, activist groups continue to score important victories to advance climate justice.
As world leaders meet in Glasgow for the UN Climate Change Negotiations (COP26), peaceful environmental activists are being threatened, silenced and criminalised around the world. The host of this year's meeting is one of many countries where activists are regularly facing rights violations.
New research from the CIVICUS Monitor looks at the common tactics and restrictions being used by governments and private companies to suppress environmental movements. The research brief “Defenders of our planet: Resilience in the face of restrictions” focuses on three worrying trends: Bans and restrictions on protests; Judicial harassment and legal persecution; and the use of violence, including targeted killings.
As the climate crisis intensifies, activists and civil society groups continue to mobilise to hold policymakers and corporate leaders to account. From Brazil to South Africa, activists are putting their lives on the line to protect lands and to halt the activities of high-polluting industries. The most severe rights abuses are often experienced by civil society groups that are standing up to the logging, mining and energy giants who are exploiting natural resources and fueling global warming.
As people take to the streets, governments have been instituting bans that criminalise environmental protests. Recently governments have used COVID-19 as a pretext to disrupt and break up demonstrations. Data from the CIVICUS Monitor indicates that the detention of protesters and the use of excessive force by authorities are becoming more prevalent.
In Cambodia in May 2021, three environmental defenders were sentenced to 18 to 20 months in prison for planning a protest against the filling of a lake in the capital. While in Finland this past June, over 100 activists were arrested for participating in a protest calling for the government to take urgent action on climate change. From authoritarian countries to mature democracies, the research also profiles those who have been put behind bars for peacefully protesting.
“Silencing activists and denying them of their fundamental civic rights is another tactic being used by leaders to evade and delay action on climate change” said Marianna Belalba Barreto, Research Lead for the CIVICUS Monitor. “Criminalising nonviolent protests has become a troubling indicator that governments are not committed to saving the planet .”
The report shows that many of the measures being deployed by governments to restrict rights are not compatible with international law. Examples of courts and legislative bodies reversing attempts to criminalise nonviolent climate protests are few and far between.
Despite the increased risks and restrictions facing environmental campaigners, the report also shows that a wide range of campaigns have scored important victories, including the closure of mines and numerous hazardous construction projects. Equally significant has been the rise of climate litigation by activist groups. Ironically, as authorities take activists to court for exercising their fundamental right to protest, activist groups have successfully filed lawsuits against governments and companies in over 25 countries for failing to act on climate change.
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Attacks against human rights defenders in Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras
Statement at the 40th Session of the UN Human Rights Council
Response to country reports from the High Commissioner and Secretary GeneralCIVICUS is extremely concerned about attacks against human rights defenders across Colombia, Honduras and Guatemala, of which governments of these counties show little sign of adequately addressing.
In Colombia, increased violence against human rights defenders took the lives of 110 people in 2018. 20 were members of indigenous or afro-Colombia communities. Delays in implementing the peace agreement has fueled further risk, especially in rural areas which have been most affected by conflict. We are concerned by the alarming increase in the number of threats and attacks against journalists, and we call on the government of Colombia to accelerate implementation of the peace agreement which would expand civic space.
In Honduras human rights defenders are routinely attacked, criminalized, harassed and targeted by smear campaigns. We are also deeply concerned by the excessive use of force by law enforcement officials, particularly in contexts of protests. We call on the government of Honduras to adopt a comprehensive, rights-based and gender-responsive policy for the protection of human rights defenders and to reform laws which criminalise them, including the overly-broad law on terrorism.
In Guatemala, too, the environment for human rights defenders continues to be hostile. Local organisation UDEFEGUA reported that at least 24 human rights defenders were killed in 2018. And since the beginning of 2019, there have been two further murders. Human rights defenders, especially indigenous leaders and land defenders, are subject to judicial harassment and intimidation. CIVICUS is concerned that in the approach to the June 2019 general elections, violence against defenders may increase.
In all three cases, lack of investigations into crimes against human rights defenders has created a climate of impunity and increased risk. We call on all three governments to conduct investigations into attacks and ensure perpetrators are brought to justice, and to develop effective protection mechanisms and policies so that human rights can be defended without fear of reprisal.
The CIVICUS Monitor rates the state of civicspace in Colombia as Repressed, Honduras as Repressed, Guatemala as Obstructed
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CIDH en Guatemala: Organizaciones internacionales reafirmamos nuestra preocupación por el deterioro de la justicia y pedimos que cese la criminalización
Las Américas, 25 de julio de 2024
En el marco de la visita in loco que realiza la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (CIDH) a Guatemala durante esta semana, las organizaciones internacionales que acompañamos la situación de derechos humanos del país planteamos nuestra profunda preocupación por el debilitamiento de la institucionalidad democrática y la independencia judicial.
La CIDH visitó por última vez el país en 2017, y desde el año 2021 ha incluido a Guatemala en el Capítulo IV.B de sus informes anuales debido al deterioro del sistema de justicia y la persecución sistemática y arbitraria en contra de ex funcionarios y funcionarias de justicia, periodistas independientes y personas que defienden los derechos humanos.
En el marco del diálogo con la sociedad civil, expusimos ante la CIDH la situación crítica que enfrenta el sistema de justicia, principalmente por los abusos del Ministerio Público. La fiscal general Consuelo Porras continúa encubriendo los grandes casos de corrupción, y persiguiendo arbitrariamente a personas defensoras de derechos humanos, periodistas, ex operadores de justicia y personas que trabajaron en la CICIG, como represalia por su trabajo anticorrupción.
Como consecuencia de la criminalización, más de 60 personas continúan en el exilio, todas ellas con procesos penales activos en su contra o en riesgo de criminalización. La semana pasada la ex fiscal Virginia Laparra se vio forzada a salir al exilio debido a la persecución sistemática del Ministerio Público y la falta de garantías judiciales para enfrentar un proceso penal justo. La ex fiscal Laparra estuvo casi dos años en prisión y fue condenada en dos ocasiones como represalia por su trabajo anticorrupción.
Muchos fiscales y jueces independientes que continúan en el país enfrentan riesgos a su vida e integridad, sufren acoso judicial y ataques en las redes sociales, y enfrentan procesos administrativos o disciplinarios en su contra. Además, la criminalización también se ha extendido a otros funcionarios públicos con la intención de obstruir la gobernabilidad y la democracia.
Esperamos que la CIDH haga un fuerte y urgente llamado al Estado de Guatemala, principalmente al Ministerio Público, para que cese de inmediato la persecución arbitraria contra personas operadoras de justicia y defensoras de derechos humanos. Igualmente esperamos que inste a la Corte de Constitucionalidad para que garantice el desarrollo de la elección de cortes de manera imparcial e independiente, y que cumpla con la obligación de garantizar la protección de los derechos humanos.
Finalmente, solicitamos a la CIDH que establezca urgentemente un mecanismo especial para examinar el problema de la criminalización, y que el Estado genere las condiciones necesarias para que las personas exiliadas puedan regresar al país en condiciones seguras. Además esperamos que se apruebe e implemente la Política de Protección de Defensores de Derechos Humanos.
Firmantes:
Centro por la Justicia y el Derecho Internacional-CEJIL
Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA
American Friends Service Committee-AFSC
Protection International Mesoamérica
Due Process of Law Foundation -DPLF-
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
CIVICUS
Plataforma Internacional contra la Impunidad
La Oficina en Washington para Asuntos Latinoamericanos WOLA
Latin America Working Group
Fundación Luis von Ahn
Be Just
Abogados sin Fronteras Canadá (ASF Canadá)
Fundación para la Justicia y el Estado Democrático de Derecho
American Jewish World Service (AJWS)
Impunity Watch
El espacio cívico en Guatemala está clasificado como 'estrecho' por el CIVICUS Monitor.
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CIVICUS UN Universal Periodic Review submissions on civil society space
CIVICUS and its partners have submitted joint and stand-alone UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) submissions on 9 countries in advance of the 28th UPR session (November 2017). The submissions examine the state of civil society in each country, including the promotion and protection of the rights to freedom of association, assembly and expression and the environment for human rights defenders. We further provide an assessment of the States’ domestic implementation of civic space recommendations received during the 2nd UPR cycle over 4 years ago and provide a number of targeted follow-up recommendations.
Countries examined: Benin, Gabon, Guatemala, Pakistan, Peru, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Ukraine and Zambia.
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CIVICUS UN Universal Periodic Review submissions on civil society space in Benin, Guatemala, Pakistan, Peru, Sri Lanka and Zambia
The United Nations Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique process which involves a review of the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States once every 4.5 years.
CIVICUS and its partners have submitted UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) submissions on six countries in advance of the 42nd UPR session in January-February 2023. The submissions examine the state of civil society in each country, including the promotion and protection of the rights to freedom of association, assembly and expression and the environment for human rights defenders. We further provide an assessment of the States’ domestic implementation of civic space recommendations received during the 3rd UPR cycle over 4 years ago and provide a number of targeted follow-up recommendations.
Benin - See consolidated report | See full versions in English and French – The submission by the Coalition des Défenseurs des Droits Humains-Benin (CDDH-Bénin), West African Human Rights Defenders Network (WAHRDN/ROADDH), the Réseau des Femmes Leaders pour le Développement (RFLD) and CIVICUS, highlights the adoption of restrictive legislation, particularly the Criminal Code and the Digital Code, with its provisions being used against human rights defenders (HRDs) and journalists. Additionally, the submission also draws attention to the increasing restrictions and violations of the freedom of peaceful assembly, which includes blanket bans on protests, the militarisation of law enforcement and the use of excessive force, including live ammunition, against protesters, along with increasing legal restrictions to the right to protest.
Guatemala - See consolidated report | See full versions in English | Spanish –CIVICUS, REDLAD and Accíon Ciudadania detail the use of extreme violence against HRDs and journalists, aggravated by the continued criminalisation and stigmatisation they face from authorities and non-state actors. In this submission, we also express our concern on the adoption of a restrictive legislative framework which could significantly impact on the work of civil society in Guatemala, in a context where the work of CSOs is already vulnerable to obstruction through abusive judicial and administrative proceedings.
Pakistan - See consolidated report | See full version in English –In this submission, CIVICUS and Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) report, among other issues, the legal and extra-legal barriers imposed on civil society organisations (CSOs) registration and operations in Pakistan, the criminalisation, threats and harassment of human rights defenders and the failure to hold perpetrators to account. It also highlights the alarming efforts to intimidate and censor journalists and media outlets, the criminalisation of online expression and restrictions and attacks on peaceful protests, especially by ethnic Pashtun minorities and women’s rights activists.
Peru- See consolidated report | See full versions in English and Spanish –CIVICUS and Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos (APRODEH) underline the pervasive violence against HRDs, civil society groups and protesters, who continue to face attacks harassment stigmatisation and killings. State and non-state actors, despite the newly adopted protection mechanisms, have been able to escalate attacks with impunity. The submission further reports cases of judicial harassment against journalists and the gradual reduction of the space for a free and independent press.
Sri Lanka - See consolidated report | See full version in English –In this joint submission, CIVICUS and the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) denounce the ongoing use of excessive force against HRDs and protesters and restrictive laws to limit civic space and fundamental freedoms. Between 2017 and 2022, we observed alarming trends of a government crackdown on protests, arbitrary detention against activists and violations of the freedoms of opinion and expression. The submission further reports the alarming and continuous judicial persecution, harassment and intimidation of HRDs, journalists, student protesters and others expressing dissenting opinions against the government.
Zambia - See consolidated report | See full version in English – CIVICUS and Governance, Elections, Advocacy, Research Services Initiative Zambia (GEARS Initiative) report acts of intimidation and attacks on citizens, HRDs, CSOs and journalists in the period leading up to and during the presidential and parliamentary elections in August 2021. The submission also documents the continued use of excessive force by security forces in response to protests. We are moreover particularly worried by the restrictive legal framework, which undermines the freedoms of association, assembly and expression.
Civic space in Guatemala, Peru, Sri Lanka and Zambia is rated Obstructed, whereas Benin and Pakistan’s is rated as Repressed by the CIVICUS Monitor.
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Condenamos la criminalización de Claudia Samayoa y José Martínez en Guatemala
Carta ajunta de la sociedad civil condenan la criminalización de los defensores de derechos humanos Claudia Samayoa y José Martínez
Las organizaciones abajo firmantes estamos gravemente alarmadas por la criminalización de defensores y defensoras de los derechos humanos en Guatemala, incluida la reciente persecución judicial en contra de la Sra. Claudia Virginia Samayoa Pineda y el Sr. José Manuel Martínez Cabrera. La persecución judicial en contra de la Sra. Samayoa Pineda y el Sr. Martínez Cabrera es un ejemplo de la creciente intolerancia de las autoridades por la crítica independiente, incluyendo la labor de los defensores de la tierra y el medio ambiente.
La Sra. Samayoa Pineda es Presidenta de la Junta Directiva de UDEFEGUA, una organización que brinda apoyo integral a defensores y defensoras de los derechos humanos en Centroamérica, y miembro de la Asamblea General de la OMCT; mientras que el Sr. Martínez Cabrera es miembro del Colectivo Justicia Ya, un movimiento ciudadano contra la corrupción y la impunidad. Ambos defensores de derechos humanos están siendo sometidos a una denuncia penal por parte del Sr. Nester Mauricio Vásquez Pimentel, en su calidad de Presidente de la Corte Suprema de Justicia (CSJ) y en representación de ésta, bajo la acusación de sustracción, desvío o supresión de correspondencia con agravación específica y tráfico de influencias. Es ampliamente reconocido que los grupos de la sociedad civil, incluidos la UDEFEGUA y el colectivo Justicia Ya, han sido fundamentales en la lucha contra la impunidad y la corrupción pública en el país.
La acusación en contra de los defensores es una respuesta directa a una denuncia penal presentada por ellos el 17 de enero de 2019, en la cual solicitaron el retiro del privilegio de inmunidad de 11 jueces de la CSJ. La querella consideró que los 11 jueces estaban infringiendo la Constitución de Guatemala y cometiendo prevaricato al permitir acciones judiciales contra tres jueces de la Corte Constitucional. Junto con la denuncia penal presentada el 17 de enero de 2019, la Sra. Samayoa Pineda y el Sr. Martínez Cabrera anexaron una copia de la resolución de la CSJ que admite la acción judicial en contra de los jueces de la Corte Constitucional. A pesar de que este documento se había distribuido ampliamente en los medios de comunicación y en las redes sociales, el Presidente de la CSJ está acusando a estos dos defensores de los derechos humanos de obtenerlo ilegalmente.
La criminalización de ambos defensores es otro ejemplo de las represalias dirigidas contra la sociedad civil organizada y las organizaciones de derechos humanos que se han movilizado contra una serie de ataques contra el marco institucional democrático de Guatemala. Entre otros intentos preocupantes de socavar las normas democráticas y el estado de derecho en Guatemala, resaltamos la persecución de los jueces del Tribunal Constitucional y la decisión unilateral de romper un acuerdo con la ONU para poner fin a la Comisión Internacional contra la Impunidad en Guatemala (CICIG).
En el marco de nuestro compromiso con la justicia y los derechos humanos, hacemos un llamado público al Estado guatemalteco para que:
- Ponga fin a todo acto de hostigamiento, uso indebido del derecho penal y criminalización en contra de personas y comunidades que defienden los derechos humanos en Guatemala, incluidos la Sra. Claudia Virginia Samayoa Pineda y el Sr. José Manuel Martínez Cabrera. En particular pedimos al Ministerio Público que desestime la denuncia penal contra ambos defensores de los derechos humanos.
- Adopte las medidas más apropiadas para garantizar la seguridad e integridad física y psicológica de la Sra. Claudia Virginia Samayoa Pineda y el Sr. José Manuel Martínez Cabrera y de todas las personas defensoras de derechos humanos en Guatemala.
- Proteja, respete y garantice la realización de los derechos humanos y las libertades fundamentales en todas las regiones de Guatemala, así como la vigencia de un Estado democrático de derecho.
Organizaciones signatures:
350.org
Action Aid, Guatemala
African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS), Sudan
Alianza Frente a la Criminalización (AFC), Guatemala
Asamblea socioambiental de General Roca . Argentina
Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC)
Asociación Ambiente y Sociedad - Colombia
Asociación COMUNICARTE, Guatemala
Asociación de Mujeres de Guatemala AMG, España
Asociación de Trabajadoras del Hogar a Domicilio y de Maquila ATRAHDOM
Asociación Interamericana para la Defensa del Ambiente (AIDA), Colombia
Asociación para una Ciudadanía Participativa (ACI PARTICIPA) – Honduras
Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia (AHRE), Ethiopia
AWID (Association for Women’s Rights in Development)
Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), India
Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), Cambodia
Carea e.V., Alemania
Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL)
Central General de Trabajadores de Guatemala
Centro de Incidencia Ambiental de Panamá (CIAM)
CIVICUS
Civil Society Organizations Network for Development (RESOCIDE), Burkina Faso
Colectivo CADEHO, Alemania
Collectif Guatemala, Francia,
Comité de Familiares de las Víctimas de los Sucesos de Febrero-Marzo de 1989 (COFAVIC) – Venezuela
Comité de Solidaridad con los Presos Políticos (CSPP) – Colombia
Comite Noruego de solidaridad con America Latina, Noruega
Committee Against Torture, Russian Federation
Comunidades en Resistencia Pacífica de La Puya, Guatemala
Confederación Unitaria de Trabajadores de Honduras
Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, US Provinces
Consorcio para el diálogo parlamentario y la equidad Oaxaca A.C .- México
Coordinadora Civil-Nicaragua
Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos (CNDDHH) - Perú
CUTH
Derecho Ambiente y Recursos Naturales DAR (Perú)
Dienst fuer Mission, Oekumene und Entwicklung der Evangelischen Landeskirche Stuttgart, Alemania
DKA Austria
Federación Guatemalteca de Escuelas Radiofónicas (FGER), Guatemala
Festivales Solidarios, Guatemala
Foro de Organizaciones No Gubernamentales Internacionales en Guatemala (FONGI)
Front Line Defenders
Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (FARN)
Fundación Ciudadanía Inteligente
Fundación de Estudios para la Aplicación del Derecho (FESPAD)
Fundación Karmel Juyup’, Guatemala
Fundación para el Debido Proceso (DPLF)
German Zepeda, Solidarity Center
Global Witness
Guatemala-Netz Zürich
HondurasDelegation, Alemania
Human Rights Defenders Network- SL
Iglesia Luterana ILUGUA de Guatemala, Guatemala
Impunity Watch, Países Bajos
International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)-Kenya, Kenya
International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF)
International Land Coalition (ILC) - América Latina y el Caribe
International Land Coalition (ILC) - Secretariat
JASS (Just Associates)
Karapatan Alliance for the Advancement of People's Rights, Philippines
Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and the Rule of Law (KIBHRL), Kazakhstan
KM207 Guatemala-Suisse
Latin America Working Group
Ligue Burundaise des droits de l’homme Iteka, Burundi
Maryknoll Affiliates
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Metro Center, Journalists Rights & Advocacy
Movimiento por la Paz (MPDL)
Mugen Gainetik, del País Vasco, España
Oekumenische Initiative Mittelamerika e.V., Alemania
Organización Mundial Contra la Tortura (OMCT) – Internacional
OXFAM
Oxfam America
Peace Watch Switzerland (PWS), Suiza
People in Need
Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA), Philippines
Plataforma Internacional contra la Impunidad
Presbyterian Church (USA)
Presbyterian Peace Fellowship
Programme Against Custodial Torture & Impunity (PACTI), India
Project on Organizing, Development, Education and Research (PODER)
Protection International Mesoamérica
Public Association “Spravedlivost” Jalal-Abad Human Rights Organization, Kyrgyzstan
Public Verdict Foundation, Russian Federation
Reacción Climática, Bolivia
Red Latinoamericana y del Caribe por la Democracia
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
Seguridad en Democracia (SEDEM)
Sindicato de trabajadoras domésticas de maquila, nexas y conexas SITRADOM
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas - Institute Justice Team
Solidaridad con Guatemala de Austria (Guatemala Solidarität Österreich)
SOS-Torture/Burundi, Burundi
The Fund for Global Human Rights
UDEFEGUA, Guatemala
UNSITRAGUA HISTÓRICA
Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), United States
West African Human Rights Defenders Network
World Movement for Democracy
ZEB / Zentrum fuer entwicklungspolitische Bildung der Evangelischen Landeskirche Stuttgart, Alemania
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum
Individual signatures:Ana Lucía Ixchíu Hernández, Guatemala
David O., ciudadano de los E.E.U.U.
Dra. Lisette Aguilar Prado, Guatemala
Esther Gut de Zurich, Suiza
Eve Chayes Lyman
Iduvina Hernández Batres, Guatemala
Karla AVELAR activista trans refugiada
Maya Alvarado Chávez, Guatemala
Mirna Ramírez, Guatemala
Padre Cirilo Santamaria Sáez, Guatemala
Samwel Mohochi, Executive Director, ICJ Kenya
Tony Smith, ciudadano de los E.E.U.U.
Victoria Sanford, PhD, Director, Center for Human Rights & Peace Studies, Lehman College, City University of New York, United States -
El Acuerdo de Escazú: Llega la hora cero para la protección de los defensores y defensoras ambientales en Centroamérica
Por Natalia Gómez Peña, oficial de incidencia CIVICUS y Debora Leão, Oficial de investigación espacial cívica
El próximo 26 de septiembre se cumple el plazo de dos años establecido para que los países de América Latina y el Caribe firmen el Acuerdo de Escazú, el primer tratado regional que promueve la democracia ambiental y ofrece protección específica a los defensores ambientales. A pesar de que el Salvador, Guatemala y Honduras participaron de las negociaciones del Tratado y estuvieron presentes en su adopción en marzo de 2018, hasta el momento solo Guatemala lo ha firmado. Los Presidentes de Honduras y el Salvador deben darle prioridad a la firma de este tratado y comprometerse de manera efectiva con la garantía del derecho a un medio ambiente sano y la protección de los defensores y defensoras ambientales.
Lee el artículo completo: Prensa Comunitaria
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Global civil society condemns the criminalisation of human rights defenders in Guatemala
Joint letter condemns the criminalisation of human rights defenders Claudia Samayoa and José Martínez in Guatemala
We the undersigned organizations are gravelly alarmed by the ongoing, targeted criminalization of human rights defenders in Guatemala including the recent judicial harassment of defenders Mrs. Claudia Virginia Samayoa Pineda and Mr. José Manuel Martínez Cabrera. The targeted judicial harassment of Ms. Samayoa Pineda and Mr. Martinez Cabrera is illustrative of the authorities’ growing intolerance of independent dissent, including defenders working on land and environmental defense.
Mrs. Samayoa Pineda is President of the Board of Directors of UDEFEGUA, an organization which works to support human rights defenders in Central America, and member of the OMCT Executive Committee; while Mr. José Manuel Martínez Cabrera is a member of the Justicia Ya Collective, a citizen movement which opposes corruption and impunity. Both human rights defenders are being subjected to a criminal complaint by Mr. Nester Mauricio Vásquez Pimentel, in his capacity as President of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) and representing the CSJ, on spurious charges of illegally obtaining a court document and influence peddling. It is broadly acknowledged that civil society groups, including UDEFEGUA and the Justicia Ya collective, have been instrumental in the fight against impunity and public corruption in the country.
The criminal case against both defenders is a direct response to a complaint the defenders filed on January 17, 2019 requesting the withdrawal of the privilege of immunity from 11 judges of the CSJ. The complaint contends that the 11 judges breached the Constitution of Guatemala and committed judicial prevarication by allowing criminal proceedings against three judges from the Constitutional Court (CC). Along with the complaint presented to CSJ on January 17, 2019, Ms. Samayoa Pineda and Mr. Martínez Cabrera annexed a copy of the CSJ decision which allows the criminal proceedings against the CC judges to continue. Despite the fact that this document had been widely circulated in the national press and on social media, the President of the CSJ is accusing these two human rights defenders of illegally obtaining it.
The criminalization of both defenders is yet another example of the targeted reprisals leveled against civil society organisations and human rights defenders that have mobilised against a series of attacks on Guatemala's democratic institutional framework. Among other worrying attempts to undermine democratic norms and the rule of law in Guatemala, the authorities have sought to delegitimize the judges of the Constitutional Court and unilaterally cancel an agreement with the UN ending the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG).
In the framework of our commitment to justice and human rights, we make a public call to the Guatemalan Government to:
- End all acts of harassment, misuse of criminal law and criminalization against individuals and communities that defend human rights in Guatemala, including Ms. Claudia Virginia Samayoa Pineda and Mr. José Manuel Martínez Cabrera. In particular, we ask the Public Ministry to dismiss the criminal complaint against both human rights defenders.
- Adopt the most appropriate measures to guarantee the safety and physical and psychological integrity of Ms. Claudia Virginia Samayoa Pineda and Mr. José Manuel Martínez Cabrera and of all human rights defenders in Guatemala.
- Protect, respect and guarantee the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms in all regions of Guatemala, as well as the validity of a democratic State.
Organizaciones signatures:
350.org
Action Aid, Guatemala
African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS), Sudan
Alianza Frente a la Criminalización (AFC), Guatemala
Asamblea socioambiental de General Roca . Argentina
Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC)
Asociación Ambiente y Sociedad - Colombia
Asociación COMUNICARTE, Guatemala
Asociación de Mujeres de Guatemala AMG, España
Asociación de Trabajadoras del Hogar a Domicilio y de Maquila ATRAHDOM
Asociación Interamericana para la Defensa del Ambiente (AIDA), Colombia
Asociación para una Ciudadanía Participativa (ACI PARTICIPA) – Honduras
Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia (AHRE), Ethiopia
AWID (Association for Women’s Rights in Development)
Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), India
Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), Cambodia
Carea e.V., Alemania
Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL)
Central General de Trabajadores de Guatemala
Centro de Incidencia Ambiental de Panamá (CIAM)
CIVICUS
Civil Society Organizations Network for Development (RESOCIDE), Burkina Faso
Colectivo CADEHO, Alemania
Collectif Guatemala, Francia,
Comité de Familiares de las Víctimas de los Sucesos de Febrero-Marzo de 1989 (COFAVIC) – Venezuela
Comité de Solidaridad con los Presos Políticos (CSPP) – Colombia
Comite Noruego de solidaridad con America Latina, Noruega
Committee Against Torture, Russian Federation
Comunidades en Resistencia Pacífica de La Puya, Guatemala
Confederación Unitaria de Trabajadores de Honduras
Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, US Provinces
Consorcio para el diálogo parlamentario y la equidad Oaxaca A.C .- México
Coordinadora Civil-Nicaragua
Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos (CNDDHH) - Perú
CUTH
Derecho Ambiente y Recursos Naturales DAR (Perú)
Dienst fuer Mission, Oekumene und Entwicklung der Evangelischen Landeskirche Stuttgart, Alemania
DKA Austria
Federación Guatemalteca de Escuelas Radiofónicas (FGER), Guatemala
Festivales Solidarios, Guatemala
Foro de Organizaciones No Gubernamentales Internacionales en Guatemala (FONGI)
Front Line Defenders
Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (FARN)
Fundación Ciudadanía Inteligente
Fundación de Estudios para la Aplicación del Derecho (FESPAD)
Fundación Karmel Juyup’, Guatemala
Fundación para el Debido Proceso (DPLF)
German Zepeda, Solidarity Center
Global Witness
Guatemala-Netz Zürich
HondurasDelegation, Alemania
Human Rights Defenders Network- SL
Iglesia Luterana ILUGUA de Guatemala, Guatemala
Impunity Watch, Países Bajos
International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)-Kenya, Kenya
International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF)
International Land Coalition (ILC) - América Latina y el Caribe
International Land Coalition (ILC) - Secretariat
JASS (Just Associates)
Karapatan Alliance for the Advancement of People's Rights, Philippines
Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and the Rule of Law (KIBHRL), Kazakhstan
KM207 Guatemala-Suisse
Latin America Working Group
Ligue Burundaise des droits de l’homme Iteka, Burundi
Maryknoll Affiliates
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Metro Center, Journalists Rights & Advocacy
Movimiento por la Paz (MPDL)
Mugen Gainetik, del País Vasco, España
Oekumenische Initiative Mittelamerika e.V., Alemania
Organización Mundial Contra la Tortura (OMCT) – Internacional
OXFAM
Oxfam America
Peace Watch Switzerland (PWS), Suiza
People in Need
Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA), Philippines
Plataforma Internacional contra la Impunidad
Presbyterian Church (USA)
Presbyterian Peace Fellowship
Programme Against Custodial Torture & Impunity (PACTI), India
Project on Organizing, Development, Education and Research (PODER)
Protection International Mesoamérica
Public Association “Spravedlivost” Jalal-Abad Human Rights Organization, Kyrgyzstan
Public Verdict Foundation, Russian Federation
Reacción Climática, Bolivia
Red Latinoamericana y del Caribe por la Democracia
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
Seguridad en Democracia (SEDEM)
Sindicato de trabajadoras domésticas de maquila, nexas y conexas SITRADOM
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas - Institute Justice Team
Solidaridad con Guatemala de Austria (Guatemala Solidarität Österreich)
SOS-Torture/Burundi, Burundi
The Fund for Global Human Rights
UDEFEGUA, Guatemala
UNSITRAGUA HISTÓRICA
Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), United States
West African Human Rights Defenders Network
World Movement for Democracy
ZEB / Zentrum fuer entwicklungspolitische Bildung der Evangelischen Landeskirche Stuttgart, Alemania
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum
Individual signatures:Ana Lucía Ixchíu Hernández, Guatemala
David O., ciudadano de los E.E.U.U.
Dra. Lisette Aguilar Prado, Guatemala
Esther Gut de Zurich, Suiza
Eve Chayes Lyman
Iduvina Hernández Batres, Guatemala
Karla AVELAR activista trans refugiada
Maya Alvarado Chávez, Guatemala
Mirna Ramírez, Guatemala
Padre Cirilo Santamaria Sáez, Guatemala
Samwel Mohochi, Executive Director, ICJ Kenya
Tony Smith, ciudadano de los E.E.U.U.
Victoria Sanford, PhD, Director, Center for Human Rights & Peace Studies, Lehman College, City University of New York, United States -
Guatemala: Se deben respetar los derechos fundamentales en vísperas de las elecciones presidenciales
CIVICUS, la alianza global de la sociedad civil, expresa su profunda preocupación por los crecientes ataques y restricciones a las libertades democráticas y cívicas en vísperas de las elecciones presidenciales del 25 de junio en Guatemala. Hacemos un llamamiento a las autoridades para que garanticen la libertad y la seguridad de las personas para participar en el proceso político sin sufrir intimidación alguna antes, durante ni después de las elecciones.
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GUATEMALA: ‘Anti-rights groups seek to maintain the privileges of some at the expense of the rights of others’
CIVICUS speaks with the team of Visibles about recent anti-rights developments in Guatemala.Founded in 2017, Visibles is a Guatemalan organisation that works to achieve the full inclusion of diverse people and build a society where all people can exercise their rights and enjoy respect, freedom and wellbeing.
The draft Law for the Protection of Life and the Family had been shelved for several years. Why was it finally approved now?
Bill 5272, passed by the Guatemalan Congress as Decree 18-2022, increased penalties for abortion to a minimum of five years in prison and banned same-sex marriage and the teaching of sexual diversity in schools.
It had been submitted on 26 April 2017 by a representative of the conservative party Visión con Valores (‘Vision with Values’). After obtaining a favourable opinion from the Committee on Legislation and Constitutional Affairs, the full Congress discussed and approved it on its first two readings in 2018.
But to pass a law in Guatemala, it is necessary to gather the support of a certain number of lawmakers before submitting it to a vote on the floor. This did not happen until 2022, when the ruling alliance and the political and economic groups that support them made it one of their priorities to promote this conservative agenda.
The current president of Congress, Shirley Rivera, came to this position after a very limited career, focused solely on proposing laws that stigmatise the transgender population and seek to grant greater freedoms to churches, particularly in the way they report on their finances.
In March, in a sort of counterbalance to the traditional celebration of International Women’s Day, a day of feminist mobilisation, Congress declared a National Day of Commemoration of Life and Family and approved this regressive initiative. From its various branches, the state promoted a number of communication actions and events involving national and international groups linked to the anti-gender movement, aimed at promoting the defence of life from the moment of conception and a traditional, narrow and exclusionary definition of the family – that is, a broad cause that seeks to restrict the autonomy and freedoms of women and LGBTQI+ people.
On the same date, Congress passed Decree 18-2022, and by an overwhelming majority: only eight out of 160 legislators voted against it, while 52 abstained.
Do you see this move as part of a broader regional anti-rights trend?
It definitely is. Anti-rights groups in Guatemala are part of a highly organised and well-funded transnational movement that aims to undermine the rights of women and LGBTQI+ people, as well as the broader participation of civil society in public debate and decision-making.
The passing of Decree 18-2022 was not a reaction against the very limited progress made in recent years in the recognition of sexual and gender diversity and women’s rights. It served to reinforce social hierarchies that benefit the powerful and maintain or even increase their power.
Women and LGBTQI+ people are easy targets. The attacks against us reflect a resistance to the social transformations we seek: to unleash the talents and potential of more than half the population.
The feminist, women’s, and diversity movements represent some of the obstacles facing this project of power and control, but they are not the only ones. Another obstacle arises from the fact that thanks to increased access to technology, social discontent has grown and voices have risen demanding accountability. There are growing demands for urgent action to transform the economy to ensure that it serves to create better opportunities for all individuals and families, as well as growing attention on issues such as climate change and the preservation of the environment and of the lives of those resisting transnational extractivism.
How did civil society organise in the face of this anti-rights attack?
In Guatemala, there are numerous organisations – women’s, Indigenous peoples’, youth, sexual and gender diversity, student and religious organisations – that have organised to resist the advances of this regressive agenda. After spaces for the fight against corruption shut down, following the dissolution of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala in September 2019, one of the main developments that took place was the criminalisation of those who had promoted it, from human rights defenders to prosecutors and judges who had worked within state institutions.
This closure of spaces prompted the search for new ideas and routes to advance the construction of justice. Now, resistance to the entry into force of Decree 18-2022 has shown us the way.
The state of Guatemala has actively and systematically collaborated to create a narrative hostile to the rights of women and LGBTQI+ people. And it has done so in a very hypocritical way, as it has promoted public policies that invoke the protection of life and family while at the same time demonstrating a complete lack of commitment to improving the conditions in which Guatemalan individuals and families live. This incoherence becomes an insult when a law is passed that, by criminalising women and LGBTQI+ people, endangers more than half of the population.
On the same day that Decree 18-2022 was passed, protests began. Street pressure was novel and important: it showed that organisations can work in a coalition and that people are willing to join in and look out for the welfare of all.
Mobilisation raised the cost the government would pay if it validated the congressional decision. The administration led by President Alejandro Giammattei was already unpopular and facing a growing number of demands for accountability – from journalistic investigations revealing the misuse of power and allegations of corruption to international sanctions against key officials. In this context, President Giammattei threatened to veto the law on the grounds that it violated Guatemala’s constitution and international agreements Guatemala has made, and Congress reacted by reversing and shelving the law.
How is Visibles working to improve the situation of LGBTQI+ people in Guatemala?
Visibles works to change people’s ideas, attitudes and behaviours towards LGBTQI+ people and their rights through research, training, proactive communication, and advocacy efforts. We believe that our long-term vision – that of a society that is fully inclusive of diverse people, ensuring that we all enjoy respect, freedom, and wellbeing and can exercise all of our rights – is only achievable if we start by having one-to-one conversations with families, friends, and people within our spheres of action so that we can move together from a position of prejudice to one of acceptance.
The experience of collective resistance in the face of anti-rights advances united inspired and engaged us further. Resistance against a tangible policy that seeks control over our bodies and our lives as women and LGBTQI+ people challenged us much more directly than a distant and abstract notion of access to justice. Today we are driven by the collective construction of a gender justice project that enshrines the right of all people to live with dignity. We hope that these new practices and transformative goals will revitalise the human rights movement.
What international support does civil society defending the human rights of LGBTQI+ people in Guatemala need?
The approval of – and subsequent U-turn over – Decree 18-2022 gave us a taste of the real power the state has over women and LGBTQI+ people in Guatemala. The risk does not disappear because the law has been shelved, but this may hopefully have the effect of sending a wake-up call to the international community.
It is important that they turn their attention, support and resources to Guatemala, whose anti-rights forces are part of a regional advance guard. We cannot lower our guard and allow anti-gender movements to advance their goal of sustaining and consolidating unjust structures of unequal power in which some maintain their privileges at the expense of the basic rights of others.
Civic space in Guatemala is rated ‘obstructed’ by theCIVICUS Monitor.
Get in touch with Visibles through itswebsite or itsFacebook andInstagram pages, and follow@visiblesgt on Twitter. -
GUATEMALA: ‘Corrupt elites see defenders of justice as a threat to their interests and try to silence them’
CIVICUS discusses the state of civic space and justice in Guatemala with former anti-corruption prosecutor Virginia Laparra.Virginia recently went into exile after spending two years in prison for a case brought against her in retaliation for her work. She received a five-year sentence, which she condemned as arbitrary. As a prosecutor, she led important investigations into corruption cases. This put her in the crosshairs of a judicial system that had become a guarantor of impunity. While in prison, she suffered violations of her fundamental rights and medical negligence. Her case is part of a pattern of repression that has forced over 50 human rights defenders and members of the Guatemalan judiciary into exile.
What circumstances forced you to leave Guatemala?
For 16 years I worked in the Guatemalan Public Prosecutor’s Office as a prosecutor for crimes against life, property crimes, violence against women, crimes against minors, drug trafficking, financial and tax crimes and customs smuggling. This experience helped me to train in different areas and this is how my career as a prosecutor took shape.
As time went on, I took on more and more responsibility, becoming head of various units and offices, including the Permanent Attention Office, which deals with complaints and classifies information received by the Public Prosecutor’s Office. I was also in charge of the regional headquarters of the Office of the Special Prosecutor against Impunity, which worked hand in hand with the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala on cases of organised crime and corruption.
My work didn’t go unnoticed. Starting in 2017, I received threats and was subjected to smear campaigns in the government-controlled media. Persecution included arbitrary judicial proceedings and an attempt to put my case in the hands of judges known for their ties to corruption. Finally, I was arrested in an illegal and arbitrary procedure and sent to prison, where I suffered torture, human rights violations and prolonged solitary confinement.
I received the support of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which issued several resolutions in my favour, and I was declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. But the Guatemalan state ignored these demands. I spent two years in prison, and when I was released in January, threats intensified. In the absence of guarantees for my safety, I took the difficult decision to leave my country to preserve my life and freedom.
Fortunately, in exile I have found new ways to contribute to the promotion of justice and human rights in Latin America by working with international and local organisations. Above all, I’m satisfied with the work I did in Guatemala and proud to have contributed to justice.
What are the challenges facing human rights defenders and the judicial officials in Guatemala?
Civic space in Guatemala is in crisis. There were hopes that the government of Bernardo Arévalo, which took office in January this year, would reform the judicial system and create a more favourable environment for the administration of justice. It’s true that little time has passed, but it seems unlikely this will be achieved. The powerful interests that perpetuate corruption and impunity remain intact, and the new administration has faced strong pressures that limit its ability to implement substantial change.
Human rights defenders, members of the judiciary and politicians who support the Arévalo government face intimidation, threats, attacks and arbitrary detention. Impunity only exacerbates the risks.
Corrupt elites who have stayed in power by plundering public resources see defenders of justice as a threat to their interests and try to silence them through smear campaigns, persecution and physical violence. The exile of Thelma Aldana, Juan Francisco Sandoval and many other former members of the judiciary, human rights defenders and journalists is a stark reminder of the hostility faced by those who work for justice, transparency and accountability.
How can the international community support the fight against impunity in Guatemala?
The international community can and must play a crucial role in this fight. International platforms should highlight and condemn human rights violations. Diplomatic voices must urge the Guatemalan government to guarantee respect for human rights. It is also essential that they provide financial and technical support to local civil society organisations.
The international community should support the fight against corruption and impunity in Guatemala and coordinate its efforts to ensure it has deep and lasting impact. They must help protect human rights defenders and ensure the justice system is not used as a weapon to stifle dissent.
Civic space in Guatemala is rated as ‘repressed’ by theCIVICUS Monitor.
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GUATEMALA: ‘Criminal law is being used as a weapon of political persecution’
CIVICUS discusses corruption in Guatemala and the criminalisation of anti-corruption activism with Claudia González, former member of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) and Virginia Laparra’s defence attorney.Virginia Laparra is a former prosecutor of the Special Prosecutor’s Office against Impunity (FECI) who has recently been unjustly sentenced to four years in prison. The #LibertadParaVirginia (#FreedomForVirginia) campaign is mobilising in response.
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GUATEMALA: ‘El derecho penal es utilizado como arma de persecución política’
CIVICUS conversa sobre la corrupción en Guatemala y la criminalización del activismo anticorrupción con Claudia González, ex integrante de la Comisión Internacional contra la Impunidad en Guatemala (CICIG) y abogada defensora de Virginia Laparra.
Virginia Laparra es exfiscal de la Fiscalía Especial contra la Impunidad (FECI) y acaba de ser injustamente condenada a cuatro años de prisión, frente a lo cual se ha movilizado la campaña #LibertadParaVirginia.
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GUATEMALA: ‘Judicial harassment and criminal prosecution have wearing effects’
On World Press Freedom Day, CIVICUS speaks with Carlos Ernesto Choc, a Q’eqchi’ Mayan journalist with almost two decades of experience, about the criminalisation of journalism and the media in Guatemala.What are the conditions for journalists in Guatemala?
The conditions for the practice of journalism in Guatemala are quite difficult. We face criminal prosecution by the Public Prosecutor’s Office and threats from various sources, including public officials that journalists are questioning or investigating. Defamation campaigns against journalists are also very concerning.
The internet and social media are full of trolls who send threatening and defamatory messages. They discredit journalistic work and attacks naturally follow. These even come from the state, and particularly from public security agencies. The National Civil Police attack the media and journalists both in the context of demonstrations and at other times and places where they do not want coverage of events in order to preserve impunity for crimes or violations of rights perpetrated on the ground.
Since 2015, aggressions against the press have only escalated. Now as well as being criminally prosecuted, judicially harassed, threatened, intimidated and vilified, you can be thrown into prison. To be able to do this, they accuse you of charges that are normally used to fight organised crime, such as illicit association, as in my case, or money laundering, as in the case of my colleague Rubén Zamora. In other words, we are accused of being criminals and prosecuted under accusations of having links to organised crime, leading land invasions or instigating crime. These are clearly fabricated accusations, so we are baselessly, illegally detained. They ultimately have no way of proving their accusations, but in the meantime you remain subject to lengthy criminal proceedings.
While all journalists are vulnerable in this country right now, those of us who investigate environmental aggression, human rights violations and issues related to drug trafficking and corruption are particularly vulnerable. These are really complicated issues and some investigate them anonymously because many have been murdered, the most recent being Eduardo Mendizabal, just over a month ago.
The situation is getting more complicated by the day and some community journalists have chosen to emigrate and quit journalism. It is sad to see colleagues leave, and under the current government there have been more and more of them. I don’t see myself in exile, but I view this as an option of last resort.
What is your situation after the criminalisation you have experienced?
Mine has been a case of judicial persecution that has been used to attempt to silence me. It started in 2017 when I was investigating the pollution of Lake Izabal. I was documenting protests by fishers against mining and I captured the exact moment when a protester was killed by shots fired by the National Civil Police. The accusation against me came from the mining company, Solway Investment Group – a Russian-owned company based in Switzerland. In August 2017, a warrant for my arrest was issued. One hearing after another was postponed so only in January 2019 could I finally give testimony before the court, as a result of which I was handed an alternative measure to prison.
When you have an alternative measure to imprisonment you are free under certain conditions: you are forced to visit the Public Prosecutor’s Office every 30 days to sign in and forbidden to be in any place where alcoholic drinks are sold, among other things. The security forces, the police, the authorities are watching where you are and waiting for you to commit a breach to be able to prosecute you. I see these alternative measures as forms of punishment that imply restrictions and limitations on your right to inform and be informed.
In January 2022, I was criminally prosecuted again, under accusations by the National Civil Police of instigating violence during a protest by Indigenous communities in Izabal against the country’s largest active open-pit mine, owned by Solway’s subsidiary Compañía Guatemalteca de Níquel. Thirteen police officers accused me of having physically assaulted them, when all I was doing was documenting the moment when security forces repressed people with teargas. Since then I could not continue doing my job as a journalist, nor move around freely, until my lawyers managed to prove to the judge that I really am a journalist and not a criminal. In September the charges against me were dropped. It has been very exhausting: judicial harassment and criminal prosecution have wearing effects.
What strategies have journalists adopted to be able to continue working?
Strategies to break through censorship are renewed every day and are often focused on both physical and digital security, particularly concerning the security of documents and files. Local, national and international networking among journalists and alternative and independent media is also very important.
Such networks have made possible works such as Green Blood, published in 2019, and Mining Secrets, published in 2022. Both were led by Forbidden Stories, an organisation based in France that supports the publication of the work of journalists facing threats, criminalisation and violence in their countries. Green Blood was the result of research conducted in three countries on three continents: Guatemala, India and Tanzania, and looks into the mining industry’s tactics to hinder journalistic work and criminalise those who oppose its practices. Mining Secrets arose from the leak of a huge amount of Solway’s internal files concerning the operation of its Fénix mining project in Izabal. A consortium of 20 media outlets from 15 countries around the world carried out an investigation, with information corroborated by 65 journalists, including the Prensa Comunitaria team I was part of.
It is all about finding a way to continue doing the work you are doing. Like many others, I do journalism out of passion and conviction. I don’t expect a prize or international recognition. I know that what I am doing is going to help my community and society in general. I believe that shedding light on environmental damage and human rights violations is very important.
What kind of support do journalists and community media in Guatemala currently receive, and what additional support would they need?
We receive support mainly in the form of accompaniment: legal accompaniment, accompaniment from human rights organisations and accompaniment from communities and community authorities who support our work.
This is very important, but much more is needed. A difficulty that criminalised or at-risk journalists experience is that of surviving economically and supporting their families, which is why economic support is important. The same goes for health support, because there are times when, due to all you are going through, your body no longer responds. Finally, it is key to provide opportunities for exchange with other journalist colleagues. It helps a lot to learn about the experiences of others.
Civic space in Guatemala is rated ‘repressed’ by theCIVICUS Monitor.
Follow@CarlosErnesto_C on Twitter.
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GUATEMALA: ‘Our democracy is at risk in the hands of political-criminal networks’
CIVICUS speaks with Evelyn Recinos Contreras about Guatemala’s general elections – where a candidate promising reform has surprisingly made the second round of the presidential race – and the prospects for democratic change and opening up civic space.Evelyn is a former investigator for the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) and former advisor to the Attorney General of Guatemala. She is currently living in exile because of her human rights activism.
What is the state of civic space in Guatemala?
Civic space in Guatemala is under serious threat. To understand this better, one must understand that, as a consequence of armed conflict, the social fabric is broken. There is hardly any grassroots citizen engagement to speak of. The sectors that for decades served as an engine of social change, such as teachers, trade unionists and high school and public university students, have been irreparably affected by the violence.
Of these, probably the only grassroots sector that remains organised is Indigenous Mayan peoples, who fight for the defence of their territory and natural resources. In addition, in urban areas, civil society human rights and pro-democracy organisations have organised their work around strengthening democratic institutions, with much emphasis on the issue of justice.
It is precisely these sectors that are once again being hit by authoritarianism and state violence. In the interior of the country, thousands of community leaders are being criminalised and entire communities are subject to arrest warrants and threatened with criminal prosecution. A similar situation is experienced in urban areas, where the justice system has been captured by political-criminal networks that use state platforms to fund their criminal endeavours and intimidate justice operators, human rights defenders and activists who fight for human rights and the strengthening of civic space and democracy.
Networks of corruption and impunity affect the democratic space, as evidenced by the fact that people such as Thelma Cabrera of the People’s Liberation Movement were prevented from registering as candidates and participating in the elections.
What are the causes of Guatemala’s democratic erosion?
Democracy in Guatemala is being eroded by political-criminal networks that have taken over institutions and use them for their own benefit rather than the wellbeing of the public and the strengthening of democracy. But it has been a gradual and almost imperceptible process. Several key institutions have been weakened, such as the National Civil Police, which is in charge of two main tasks: crime prevention and the maintenance of citizen security, and collaboration in criminal investigations. For years, civil society worked with police commanders to build an institution at the service of democratic security, so that its work would serve to produce a civic space in which citizens could enjoy their fundamental rights and live a dignified life free of violence. But since 2017 we have seen the institution weakened, with commanders being dismissed and resources being misused.
Similar problems can be found in the judiciary. High courts have not followed their normal process of renewal: they have not held elections for new magistrates. In addition, the last two elections they held were denounced and investigated for acts of corruption. The Public Prosecutor’s Office has also been weakened by a policy of criminal prosecution and criminalisation of justice operators, which has also meant the sidelining of investigation of crimes against life, violence against women and property crimes, which hit citizens hard. Rates of violence and insecurity in Guatemala are almost as high as in countries undergoing internal armed conflicts.
Do you think that the anti-corruption struggle has failed in Guatemala?
It is very difficult to provide an absolute answer to the question of the success or failure of the fight against corruption in Guatemala. I think the cases that were brought to trial were supported by evidence and due process was respected. In that sense they were successful. But this was only part of the fight against corruption, because the law provides a limited platform. The damage to society had already been done and resources had already been lost.
The fight against corruption is only truly successful when there is a level of social involvement that leads to scrutiny of public officials and a sustained demand of accountability. Sadly, we are not there yet.
For those who have been involved in the fight against corruption, the negative consequences have been obvious. Prosecutors, judges, human rights defenders, activists and community leaders are being persecuted on unfounded charges and pushed towards exile. This sends a strong message of fear to Guatemalan society. But I am convinced that the struggle does not end here. We deserve a country where we can all live in freedom and dignity. The Mayan people have been resisting for more than 500 years, so I think they are our best example to follow.
Do you think a positive change could come out of this election?
I believe there is hope. People have shown they are tired of the same murky forces that for years have embodied voracious economic interests that exploit peoples and territories and are characterised by discrimination, double standards and structural violence.
The fact that one of the contenders in the runoff is the Semilla party, born out of the anti-corruption protests of 2015 and bringing together many people who have never participated in political parties before, is evidence of a desire for change. People rejected the usual political actors who represent archaic economic interests and embody authoritarian and corrupt forms of politics.
For change to really materialise, we need the international community to turn its eyes to Guatemala. The risk to our democracy at the hands of political-criminal networks must not go unnoticed. We need the international community to draw attention to and speak out about the situation in our country, because the violation of the human rights of Guatemalans affects our shared humanity.
Civic space in Guatemala is rated ‘repressed’ by theCIVICUS Monitor.
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GUATEMALA: ‘The protests were a reflection of both social organisation and citizen autonomy’
CIVICUS speaks about recent protests in Guatemala with Sandra Morán Reyes, an advocate of women’s and LGBTQI+ rights. With a long history of participation in social movements, Sandra was one of the co-founders of the first Guatemalan lesbian group and the organiser of the first pride march in Guatemala, held in 1998 in Guatemala City. In 2015, she was elected as a national congressional representative, becoming the first gay congresswoman and politician to be elected to popular office in the history of her country. From that position, she promoted various initiatives to advance the rights of women and sexual minorities.What was the background to the November 2020 protests and how did they begin?
A new government was inaugurated in January 2020, and soon after that we found ourselves locked up because of the pandemic. But by May or June some of our colleagues started to take to the streets again, partly to criticise the government’s attitude towards the needs of the population as the effects of the crisis generated by the pandemic began to be clearly seen. Suddenly white flags started to appear on the streets, on house doors and in the hands of people and families walking the streets or sitting in doorways. With the white flag people indicated that they did not have enough to eat, and solidarity actions began to take place, for instance in the form of soup kitchens, which did not previously exist in Guatemala. There was a great movement of solidarity among people. While organisations were busy attending to their own members, citizens made great efforts to provide person-to-person support. It became common for people to go out into the streets to give a little of what they had to those who needed it most. This was then repeated regarding those who were affected when hurricanes hit and lost everything.
At the state level, a lot of resources were approved to alleviate the effects of the pandemic, but these resources did not reach the people and the needs of the population remained unmet, so the question that people began to ask was, ‘where is the money?’
From 2017 onwards, we started denouncing what we called the ‘corrupt pact’ that brought together public officials, businesspeople and even church representatives in defence of their own interests. In 2015, after six months of sustained mass demonstrations, the president and vice president ended up in prison, but the governments that succeeded them ended up reaffirming the same old system. The government of President Jimmy Morales unilaterally ended the agreement with the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala, and the current government led by President Alejandro Giammattei, following on from its predecessor, has made progress in controlling the judiciary, Congress and all state institutions in order to sustain corruption as a form of government.
The effects of the lack of attention to the impacts of the pandemic and of hurricanes Eta and Iota, which struck in October and November 2020, were compounded by attacks on the officials of the Public Prosecutor’s Office who continue to fight against corruption. Discontent continued to accumulate until the early hours of November 2020 when Congress approved the national budget for 2021. It was a very high budget – the highest in the country's history – and it included obvious pockets of corruption, especially in the area of infrastructure contracts, which is where the bulk of corruption takes place, but paid no attention to health and education, in the context of a pandemic. Budget cuts even affected the national nutrition programme, in a country that has a huge problem of child malnutrition. That was the last straw. People who are not normally prone to protest – a professional chef, an artist, many well-known people in different fields – started writing on social media and expressing anger against this decision. That’s how the first demonstration was organised, and suddenly we were about 25,000 people out there, in the middle of a pandemic.
By that time all restrictions on movement and gatherings had been lifted, but the pandemic was still ongoing and the risk of contagion was still there. No one foresaw such a massive protest, and yet it happened. The demonstrations were initially peaceful, but already during the second one there was violence and repression. A small group set fire to the Congress building, an event that is still under investigation. This was used to justify the repression: teargas, beatings, arrests and detentions, something that had not happened for a long time. In another demonstration, people set fire to a bus. From our perspective, these acts of violence were instigated to justify the need for more police control over demonstrations and ultimately the repression of protests.
Was the call for mobilisation made exclusively through social media? Who mobilised?
There were a series of calls through social media that appealed above all to the middle classes, but social movements and Indigenous authorities also made their calls. Indigenous authorities have played an increasingly important role in recent years, and in the context of this crisis they published a statement in which they proposed a governing council of the four main groups of peoples who make up Guatemala - Maya, Xinka, Garífuna and Mestizo - to pave the way for a Constituent Assembly. They have been visiting territories and working to form alliances, and this was the first time that they have made steps towards the national government, as for now they have only had authority within their territories. The role they have played is important because the oligarchy has always been afraid of an Indigenous uprising; that fear is what moves them, just as they were moved by the fact that in 2019 the candidate for president of the People's Liberation Movement, a party founded by the Peasant Development Committee (CODECA), came in fourth place. A Mayan woman, a peasant, with little schooling, came in fourth place, and they found that very upsetting.
Four main actors mobilised: Indigenous peoples, women, young people and what are called ‘communities in resistance’ – local communities, generally led by women, who are resisting extractive mega-projects in their territories. The latest demonstrations also evidenced the results of the newly achieved unity of the university student movement: from 2015 onwards, students from the public university of San Carlos de Guatemala marched together with those from the two private universities, Universidad Rafael Landívar, of middle-class students, and Universidad del Valle, which caters to the upper class. The motto under which the public university used to march, ‘USAC is the people’, turned into ‘We are the People’ as a result of this convergence. This was a historical event that marked the return of organised university students to popular struggles.
The role of young people can also be seen within the feminist movement, as there are many young feminist movements. In particular, the Women in Movement collective, a very important expression of university-based feminists, stands out. Sexual diversity organisations have also been present, and have been very active in denouncing femicides and murders of LGBTQI+ people.
These groups were joined by a middle class made impoverished by the severe impact of the pandemic. There were many middle-class people, many white-collar workers and professionals, in the demonstrations. Many people who did not belong to any Indigenous, student or women’s organisation or collective went out on their own, moved by the feeling of being fed up. Thus, the November 2020 protests were a reflection of both social organisation and citizen autonomy.
What did the mobilised citizenry demand?
Despite the fact that several sectors mobilised and many demands accumulated, there was an order to the protests’ petition list. Although each sector had its own demands, they all rallied around a few major ones. The key demand was that the president should veto the budget, since what triggered the mobilisation was the impudence of a Congress that made a budget that was clearly not to the benefit of the citizens of Guatemala but to their own, to feed corruption. The demonstrations were an immediate success in that regard, since a few days after the Congress building was burned, Congress backed down and annulled the budget it had previously approved. Along with the withdrawal of the budget, the protesters’ demand was the drafting of a new budget that would respond to the needs of the population, but this demand is still pending.
Following the repression of the protests, the resignation of the Minister of the Interior became a key demand, but this did not happen and this public official remains in office. The president’s resignation was also demanded but did not take place.
Finally, the demand for a new constitution, which has been on the agenda of social movements for several years, was raised again. In 2015, during the big demonstrations that led to the resignation of the entire government, social movements assessed that corruption was not only the fault of some individuals, as we had a corrupt system and therefore a change of system was needed. Indigenous and peasant organisations have their proposal for constitutional change, based on their demand of recognition of Indigenous peoples and the establishment of a plurinational state that would give them autonomy and decision-making power.
Other groups have more embryonic proposals. I was a member of Congress until January 2020, and when I was still in Congress I worked with women’s organisations, thinking that this situation could arise and we had to be ready. We started the Movement of Women with Constituent Power to develop a proposal for a new constitution from the perspective of women in all our diversity.
What are the main changes you propose?
We have a constitution that was drafted in 1985 and it has an important human rights component; it includes the office of the Ombudsman, which at the time was an innovation. But human rights are approached from an individual perspective; collective rights and peoples’ rights are absent, as are the rights of women and LGBTQI+ people. And so are the most advanced innovations in constitutional matters, such as the rights of nature. Ours is a political proposal for the emancipation of peoples, women and sexual diversity. It is based on the idea of an economy for life, which puts the community at the centre, and on a feminist economy that reorganises work and care tasks.
Do you think the protests will continue?
Yes, the protests will continue. With the year-end celebrations came demobilisation, but in recent days it has become public that CODECA has decided to take to the streets again. CODECA is an organisation that normally goes out alone, it doesn’t coordinate with other social movements, but it has a great capacity for mobilisation. If they go back on the streets, they will open a new phase of demonstrations.
Right now, the Minister of Finance is drawing up a new budget, which in a month’s time will have to be discussed again in Congress. It remains to be seen not only how much will be invested in health, education and economic revival, but also what they think ‘economic revival’ actually means. Until now the emphasis has always been on international private investment, which only generates opportunities for greater exploitation and mega-projects. A bill has been proposed to promote family farming; there is no way it can be passed. So the demands of rural populations, peasants and Indigenous peoples are going to continue to be expressed on the streets.
For the time being, this is a sectoral call, not a broad call to citizens. But it will not take much to revive citizen protest, since after the November demonstrations the president made a series of promises that he has not kept. The first anniversary of his government was 14 January 2021 and the levels of support it receives are extremely low. Congress also has little legitimacy, given the number of representatives who are part of the ‘corrupt pact’, which is large enough to hold an ordinary majority to pass legislation.
However, people may be afraid of mobilising because we are at a peak in COVID-19 infections. And another obstacle to the continuity of the protests is the absence of a unified leadership and the fact that coordination is quite limited.
Civic space in Guatemala is rated as ‘obstructed’ by theCIVICUS Monitor.
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GUATEMALA: ‘These elections are key because they give us a chance to take a different path’
CIVICUS speaks with Jordán Rodas Andrade about Guatemala’s general elections – where a candidate promising reform has surprisingly made the second round of the presidential race – and the prospects for democratic change and opening up civic space.Jordán Rodas is a lawyer specialising in constitutional guarantees and fundamental rights, transparency and anti-corruption. In addition to being a university professor, in 2015 he was elected vice-president of the Guatemalan Bar Association and between 2017 and 2022 he was Guatemala’s Human Rights Ombudsman. In exercising this role he was repeatedly criminalised and threatened, as a result of which he had to go into exile.
How have civic space conditions changed in Guatemala in recent years?
In recent years there has been a very worrying deterioration of civic space in Guatemala, which has worsened under the current president, Alejandro Giammattei. His predecessor, Jimmy Morales, a comedian-turned-president, left very bad practices in place, but these reached extreme levels under Giammattei.
In recent years, many human rights defenders, land rights defenders, journalists and justice defenders have had to leave our country, forced by a hostile climate of persecution and criminalisation. This closure of spaces and the absence of an independent press have produced fertile ground for the advance of an authoritarian regime. These elections are key because they give us Guatemalans a chance to take a different path for the good of our country.
What drove you into exile?
In my five years as prosecutor, I was criminalised with 18 pretrial proceedings, all of which were rejected. It is exhausting to have to constantly defend yourself against such a succession of spurious accusations. Then I had eight requests for removal from office by members of congress, in addition to a crippling financial suffocation.
Above all, I have witnessed the weakening of justice. Many had to take the difficult decision to leave the country to save their lives, their freedom or their integrity. Among them are Juan Francisco Sandoval, former head of the Special Prosecutor’s Office against Impunity (FECI), Erika Aifán, an independent judge, Judge Miguel Ángel Gálvez and many others who in one way or another touched the heartstrings of political and economic power.
It is no coincidence that behind the persecution of justice operators and journalists is often the Foundation Against Terrorism, directed by business leader Ricardo Méndez Ruiz, who has been accused by the US government of acts of corruption and acts against democratic institutions. This organisation was a plaintiff in the criminal proceedings against Virginia Laparra, former FECI prosecutor in Quetzaltenango, who has been in prison for more than a year and who should never have been detained for denouncing cases of corruption of a judge. Whistleblowing is not a crime anywhere in the world.
The same organisation criminally prosecuted José Rubén Zamora, the founder of newspaper elPeriódico, one of the government’s main critics who for years has denounced corruption. Zamora was recently sentenced to six years in prison for several alleged crimes, including money laundering. This sent a very serious message against press freedom. The independent press has had to self-censor and yet it continues to fight this battle.
I was still in Guatemala when Zamora was captured, and so I decided to distance myself. I left in August but returned in December, by land, to participate in the assembly of the People’s Liberation Movement (MLP), which proclaimed Thelma Cabrera, an Indigenous Maya Mam woman, as its presidential candidate and myself as its vice-presidential candidate. Four years ago, the MLP came in fourth place, but in a context of social malaise in the face of corruption and thanks to its opening up to mestizo people – people of mixed European and Indigenous heritage – I thought it had a good chance of entering the second-round race.
But my successor in the prosecutor’s office filed a spurious complaint against me, as a result of which our presidential ticket was blocked. I was systematically refused information about the content of the complaint. In other words, this was used to take us out of the race. Since then, I have continued the struggle from exile. This may not be what you want, but it is what you have to do.
Under what conditions would you decide to return to Guatemala permanently?
I was just talking about this last week following a work meeting with the Guatemalan state mediated by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). I have been the beneficiary of a precautionary measure from the IACHR since 2017. These measures establish that the state has the obligation to ensure and guarantee a person’s life, integrity, security and liberty, and in my case the state of Guatemala has not complied with it. In order to return, I would need as the minimum that the state does not persecute or criminalise me.
There are currently two accusations against me, one filed by the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office and another by the Comptroller General’s Office. I have no official knowledge of what the accusations are because I don’t have access to the documents; I have requested them through access to information requests. But it seems to me they are related to the fact that in my declaration of assets I said that I had handed over on 20 August, which is when my constitutionally established term ended, but I left the country on 18 August, leaving the deputy attorney general in charge, as the law dictates. In other words, there was no falsehood or crime. This case is under reserve, and I have asked the state, as a sign of goodwill, not to extend this reserve but to hand over a copy of the complaint so I can defend myself, and to guarantee my life and safety, and that of my family in Guatemala.
Has the fight against corruption in Guatemala failed?
The fight against corruption has not failed, but it has stalled as a result of a well-thought-out strategy of a corrupt alliance of political officials and private sector actors.
However, today more than ever I hope that we will learn the painful but positive lessons from the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), which I believe has more lights than shadows. I hope that from that learning we can, sooner rather than later, take up the fight against corruption again.
International support will continue to be indispensable because our justice system is very porous, permeated by organised crime and lacking institutionality. Three of the nine magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice and several other judges and judicial officials are on the US State Department’s Engel List of people who have committed acts of corruption or have participated in actions to undermine democracy in their countries. Members of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal have been accused of falsifying their doctoral degrees to get elected and the Human Rights Ombudsman was Giammattei’s human rights officer in the prison system at the time he launched ‘Operation Peacock’, a police operation that resulted in a massacre and eventually cost Giammattei 10 months in prison, but also launched its presidential bid. Hence the trust that exists between these two officials.
But it is clear that people are tired of all this and they showed it at the ballot box on 25 June, when they said no to a return to the past and yes to a proposal that sends a message of hope for the fight against corruption. This was clearly put by the candidate who represents this hope, Bernardo Arévalo, who made it to the second round against all odds.
Do you consider these elections to have been free and competitive?
The presidential election was not free and competitive, because a fair election requires not only that there be no fraud on voting day, but also that a series of elements are present throughout the process, from the moment the elections are called. The election was called on 20 January, and on 27 January the state closed the door on us and prevented our participation. Not only did this violate our right to stand for election, but it also restricted citizens’ right to have a full range of options.
In reaction to this exclusion, Thelma Cabrera called for a null vote, and numbers don’t lie. The null vote actually won, with 17 per cent, a higher share than that received by the candidate who came first, Sandra Torres, who got around 15 per cent. People are clearly fed up.
The unfairness of the competition also manifested itself in the official party’s handling of public resources and the government’s extremely close relationship with some Supreme Electoral Tribunal magistrates.
But the fact that Bernardo Arévalo managed to enter the second round is, alongside the mass of null votes, blank votes and abstentions, a sign of enormous rejection of the system. I have high expectations for the second round, in which I hope that the Guatemalan people will participate massively and take advantage of this opportunity to choose a better future.
What would Guatemala’s new government need to do to put the country back on the road to democracy?
Above all, the anti-corruption message must be accompanied by real action. Revenge against justice operators must stop, the rule of law must be restored and the freedom of the independent press must be guaranteed.
The new president should form a cabinet inclusive of progressive sectors. He should convene political parties, social forces and Indigenous peoples’ movements to jointly make a proposal that ensures public policies benefit those most in need.
The new government should totally dissociate itself from the malpractices of the past and be very careful about power’s temptations. Its responsibility to those who have placed their trust in it must prevail. There will be temptations along the way, so it is essential that it place its bets on people who are ethical, capable and consistent with the values projected in the electoral campaign, as people voted for them because they recognised them first and foremost as an honest party. Bernardo is surely the most interested in honouring the legacy of his father, former president Juan José Arévalo. His government could become a third government of the revolution, taking up and improving on the great achievements of that democratic springtime that took place between 1944 and 1955.
Civic space in Guatemala is rated ‘repressed’ by theCIVICUS Monitor.
Get in touch with Jordán Rodas through his Facebook or Instagram pages, and follow him on TikTok and Twitter.
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GUATEMALA: “El acoso judicial y la persecución penal tienen efectos desgastantes”
En el Día Mundial de la Libertad de Prensa CIVICUS conversa con Carlos Ernesto Choc, un periodista maya Q’eqchi’ con casi dos décadas de trayectoria, acerca de la criminalización del periodismo y los medios en Guatemala.
¿En qué condiciones trabajan los periodistas en Guatemala?
Las condiciones para el ejercicio periodístico en Guatemala son bastante difíciles. Enfrentamos la persecución penal del Ministerio Público y amenazas que provienen de diversos actores, incluidos funcionarios públicos que enfrentan cuestionamientos o son investigados por los periodistas. Las campañas de difamación contra periodistas también son muy graves.
Internet y las redes sociales están plagadas de trols que mandan mensajes amedrentadores y difamatorios. Desprestigian el trabajo periodístico y luego las agresiones vienen naturalmente. Éstas llegan a provenir incluso del Estado, y en particular de agencias de seguridad pública. La Policía Nacional Civil agrede a los medios y a los periodistas tanto en el contexto de manifestaciones como en otros momentos y lugares en que no quieren que se transmita lo que ocurre para preservar la impunidad por delitos o violaciones de derechos perpetradas en los territorios.
Desde 2015 a la fecha las agresiones contra la prensa no han hecho más que escalar. Ahora ya no solamente te persiguen penalmente, te acosan judicialmente, te amenazan, intimidan y difaman, sino que también te encarcelan. Para hacerlo, te imputan delitos que se usan para combatir al crimen organizado, tales como el de asociación ilícita, como es mi caso, o lavado de dinero, como en el caso de mi colega Rubén Zamora. O sea, nos acusan como criminales y nos procesan penalmente con acusaciones de estar vinculados con el crimen organizado, de liderar invasiones de tierra o de instigación a delinquir. Son claramente acusaciones fabricadas, por lo que se trata de detenciones ilegales, sin sustento. No tienen cómo probar sus acusaciones, pero mientras tanto uno es sometido a largos procesos penales.
Si bien todos los y las periodistas estamos vulnerados ahorita en este país, somos particularmente vulnerables quienes investigamos el tema de la agresión al medio ambiente, las violaciones de derechos humanos y temas vinculados con el narcotráfico y la corrupción. Son temas realmente complicados y hay quienes los investigan desde el anonimato porque muchos han sido asesinados – el más reciente, Eduardo Mendizabal, hace poco más de un mes.
La situación se complica cada día más y ha habido periodistas comunitarios que han optado por emigrar y dejar de ejercer la labor periodística. Es triste ver a los colegas que se van yendo, y bajo el actual gobierno son cada vez más. Yo mismo no me veo en el exilio, pero lo considero una opción de última instancia.
¿En qué situación te encuentras tras el proceso de criminalización que has experimentado?
El mío ha sido un caso de persecución penal con el que han intentado censurarme. Comenzó en 2017 cuando investigaba la contaminación del lago de Izabal. Estaba documentando las protestas de pescadores contra la minería y capté el momento exacto en que un manifestante era asesinado por disparos de la Policía Nacional Civil. La acusación en mi contra vino de la empresa minera, una compañía de capital ruso basada en Suiza, Solway Investment Group. En agosto de 2017 tuve una orden de captura. Una audiencia tras otra fueron suspendidas y mi primera declaración fue escuchada en enero de 2019, cuando me dieron una medida sustitutiva.
Cuanto tienes medida sustitutiva de prisión estás libre bajo ciertas condiciones: quedas atado a la obligación de firmar un libro en el Ministerio Público cada 30 días y tienes prohibido estar en ningún sitio donde se vendan bebidas alcohólicas, entre otras cosas. La fuerza pública, la policía, las autoridades están pendientes de donde estés y esperan que cometas algún incumplimiento para poder procesarte. Yo veo a estas medidas sustitutivas como formas de castigo que implican restricciones y limitaciones a tu derecho tanto de informar como de ser informado.
En enero de 2022 tuve otro proceso penal, acusado por la Policía Nacional Civil de instigar a la violencia durante una protesta de comunidades indígenas en Izabal contra la mina a cielo abierto en activo más grande del país, de la Compañía Guatemalteca de Níquel, subsidiaria de Solway. Trece agentes de policía me acusaron de haberlos agredido físicamente a ellos, cuando todo lo que yo hacía era documentar el momento en que las fuerzas de seguridad reprimían a los pobladores con gas lacrimógeno. Desde entonces ya no pude ejercer mi trabajo como periodista, ni desplazarme libremente, hasta que mis abogados lograron probar frente al juez que realmente soy un periodista y no un criminal. En septiembre se levantaron los cargos en mi contra. Ha sido muy agotador: el acoso judicial y la persecución penal tienen efectos desgastantes.
¿Qué estrategias han adoptado para poder seguir trabajando?
Las estrategias para romper la censura se renuevan día a día, y están muy centradas en la seguridad no solamente física sino también digital, y en particular en la seguridad de los archivos. También es muy importante la articulación local, nacional e internacional entre las y los periodistas y los medios alternativos e independientes.
Estas articulaciones han hecho posibles trabajos como Sangre Verde, publicado en 2019, y Secretos Mineros, publicado en 2022. Ambos fueron liderados por Forbidden Stories, una organización con sede en Francia que apoya la publicación del trabajo de periodistas que enfrentan en sus países amenazas, criminalización y violencia. El primero fue el resultado de una investigación realizada en tres países de tres continentes: Guatemala, India y Tanzania, y analiza las tácticas de la industria minera para criminalizar a quienes se oponen a sus prácticas y obstaculizar el trabajo periodístico. La segunda surgió de la filtración de una enorme cantidad de archivos internos de Solway sobre el funcionamiento de su proyecto minero Fénix en Izabal. Un consorcio de 20 medios de 15 países del mundo hizo una investigación con información corroborada por 65 periodistas, incluido el equipo de Prensa Comunitaria que yo integraba.
De lo que se trata es de encontrar la forma de seguir haciendo el trabajo que uno está haciendo. Igual que muchos otros, yo hago periodismo por pasión y por convicción. No espero un premio o un reconocimiento internacional: sé que lo que estoy haciendo va a ayudar mucho a mi comunidad y a la sociedad en general. Considero que visibilizar el daño al medio ambiente y las violaciones de derechos humanos es muy importante.
¿Qué tipo de apoyos reciben actualmente periodistas y medios comunitarios de Guatemala, y qué apoyos adicionales necesitarían?
Recibimos apoyo sobre todo bajo la forma de acompañamiento: acompañamiento jurídico, acompañamiento de organizaciones de derechos humanos y acompañamiento de la propia comunidad y de las autoridades comunitarias que respaldan nuestro trabajo.
Esto es muy importante, pero hay mucho más por hacer. Una de las situaciones que experimentamos los y los periodistas criminalizados o en situación de riesgo es la dificultad para sobrevivir económicamente y mantener a nuestras familias, por lo que es importante el apoyo económico. Lo mismo pasa con el apoyo en materia de salud, porque hay momentos en que por las situaciones que vives, el cuerpo ya no te responde. Finalmente, es importante la provisión de espacios de intercambio con otros colegas periodistas. Ayuda mucho conocer las experiencias de otros.
El espacio cívico en Guatemala es calificado como “represivo” por elCIVICUS Monitor.
Siga a @CarlosErnesto_C en Twitter.
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GUATEMALA: “Las élites corruptas ven a los defensores de la justicia como una amenaza a sus intereses y buscan silenciarlos”
CIVICUS conversa acerca de la situación del espacio cívico y la justicia en Guatemala con la exfiscal anticorrupción Virginia Laparra.
Recientemente Virginia se ha exiliado tras pasar dos años en prisión por una causa impulsada contra ella en represalia por su labor. Fuesentenciada a cinco años de prisión conmutables, condena que denunció como arbitraria. Como fiscal lideró importantes investigaciones en casos de corrupción, lo que la puso en la mira de un sistema judicial convertido en reaseguro de la impunidad. Durante su estancia en prisión sufrió violaciones de sus derechos básicos y negligencia médica. Su caso forma parte de un patrón de represión que ha llevado al exilio a más de 50 personas defensoras de derechos humanos y operadores de justicia de Guatemala.
¿Qué circunstancias la obligaron a irse de Guatemala?
Durante 16 años trabajé en el Ministerio Público de Guatemala como fiscal de delitos contra la vida, delitos patrimoniales, violencia contra la mujer, delitos contra menores, narcotráfico, delitos financieros y tributarios y contrabando aduanero. Esta experiencia me ayudó a formarme en distintas áreas y fue así como mi carrera como fiscal fue tomando forma.
Con el tiempo, fui asumiendo mayores responsabilidades y me convertí en jefa de distintas unidades y oficinas, incluyendo la de Atención Permanente, que procesa las denuncias y clasifica la información que ingresa al Ministerio Público. También estuve a cargo de la sede regional de la Fiscalía Especial contra la Impunidad, un área que trabajaba de la mano con la Comisión Internacional contra la Impunidad en Guatemala en casos de crimen organizado y corrupción.
Mi trabajo no pasó desapercibido. A partir de 2017 comencé a recibir amenazas y a sufrir campañas de desprestigio en los medios de comunicación controlados por el gobierno. La persecución incluyó procesos judiciales arbitrarios y un intento de poner mi caso en manos de jueces vinculados a la corrupción. Finalmente, fui detenida en un procedimiento ilegal y arbitrario y enviada a prisión, donde sufrí torturas, violaciones a mis derechos humanos y aislamiento prolongado.
Conté con el apoyo del Grupo de Trabajo sobre la Detención Arbitraria de las Naciones Unidas, que emitió varias resoluciones a mi favor, y fui declarada presa de conciencia por Amnistía Internacional. Pero el Estado de Guatemala ignoró estos reclamos. Pasé dos años en prisión, y cuando fui liberada, en enero de este año, las amenazas se intensificaron. Ante la falta de garantías para mi seguridad, tomé la difícil decisión de abandonar mi país para preservar mi vida y mi libertad.
Afortunadamente en el exilio he encontrado nuevas formas de contribuir a la promoción de la justicia y los derechos humanos en América Latina mediante la colaboración con organizaciones internacionales y locales. Y sobre todo, estoy satisfecha con el trabajo que hice en Guatemala y llevo conmigo el orgullo de haber contribuido a la justicia.
¿Qué desafíos enfrentan las personas defensoras y los operadores de justicia en Guatemala?
El espacio cívico en Guatemala está en crisis. Había esperanzas de que el gobierno de Bernardo Arévalo, iniciado en enero de este año, encarara una reforma del sistema judicial y creara un entorno más favorable para la justicia. Es cierto que aún ha pasado poco tiempo, pero parece difícil que esto se logre. Los poderosos intereses que perpetúan la corrupción y la impunidad siguen intactos, y la nueva administración ha enfrentado fuertes presiones que limitan su capacidad para implementar cambios sustanciales.
Las personas defensoras de derechos humanos, operadores de justicia y políticos que apoyan al gobierno de Arévalo enfrentan intimidaciones, amenazas, ataques y detención arbitraria. La impunidad solo agrava los riesgos.
Las élites corruptas, que se han mantenido el poder mediante el saqueo de fondos públicos, ven a los defensores de la justicia como una amenaza a sus intereses y buscan silenciarlos a través de campañas de difamación, persecuciones e incluso violencia física. Los exilios de Thelma Aldana, Juan Francisco Sandoval y muchos otros ex operadores de justicia, personas defensoras de derechos humanos y periodistas ilustran claramente la hostilidad que enfrentan quienes abogan por la justicia, la transparencia y la rendición de cuentas.
¿Cómo puede la comunidad internacional apoyar la lucha contra la impunidad en Guatemala?
La comunidad internacional puede y debe jugar un papel crucial en esta lucha. Las plataformas internacionales deben visibilizar y denunciar las violaciones a los derechos humanos. Los actores diplomáticos deben instar al gobierno guatemalteco a garantizar el respeto de los derechos humanos. También es fundamental que den apoyo financiero y técnico a las organizaciones de la sociedad civil local.
La comunidad internacional debe apoyar la lucha contra la corrupción y la impunidad en Guatemala, coordinando sus esfuerzos para que ésta tenga impactos profundos y duraderos. Deben contribuir a la protección de las personas defensoras y asegurarse de que los sistemas de justicia no sean utilizados como arma para reprimir el disenso.
El espacio cívico en Guatemala es calificado como “represivo” por elCIVICUS Monitor.
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