13th December, 2012
Sixteen years after the Guatemalan Government and leftist rebel groups signed a peace accord, the country is still "struggling to overcome wide ranging issues that put the economic, political and social wellbeing of the country at risk", according to a World Council of Churches delegation.
The delegation, which spent three days in the Central American nation in late November, were told that the basic needs and living conditions of the vast majority of Guatelmalans, especially indigenous populations, were not protected due to a lack of democratic reforms and political will.
“Unemployment, poverty, violence, organised crime, exploitation of natural resources, encroachment on the Indigenous Peoples” land is on the increase,” said delegation member Maria Sumire, president of the National Indigenous Women”s Association and a former parliamentarian in Peru. Ms Sumire added that the situation – also seen in several other Latin American countries – "gravely impacts development, security, democratisation and protection of human rights".
Luis F Linares Lopez, executive secretary of the Association for Research and Social Studies (ASIES), a think tank facilitating dialogue in Guatemala, said Guatemalan society is "highly polarised".
"Indigenous Peoples, who constitute 40 per cent of the total population, are faced with the serious problem of lacking agricultural land, which is owned by rich and powerful families.”
He said “low levels of political institutionalisation, continued existence of authoritarian political culture, lack of proper structures of public control and social auditing derail the peace, reconciliation and human rights protection of millions in Guatemala".
Meanwhile, human right activists in Guatemala told the WCC delegation that more than 200 industrial mining companies are engaged in exploiting natural resources in Indigenous Peoples” areas. They said that another 700 companies are awaiting approval for licenses.
It’s estimated that during 28 years of authoritarian rule in Guatemala, 200,000 people have been killed and 245,000 forced disappearances have occurred.
– DAVID ADAMS
