Tag: CENTRAL AMERICA

Guatemala on the eve of the Second Round of Elections

October 20, 2015

A series of unforeseen circumstances led us to this election: first, the fall of the president and vice president after the revelation of a corruption network that they had created to steal state resources and tax revenues, and second, the demonstrations that consolidated opposition to several politicians, including Manuel Baldizón, who had faced Otto Pérez Molina in the second-round of elections in 2011 and had been considered the favorite by opinion polls.

“This is Just Beginning”

September 21, 2015

The corruption that was revealed has been known for decades and has deepened over the last few governments. But what had to come together for a change of this magnitude to occur?

El Salvador Declares Gang Members Terrorists, and Violence Continues

September 7, 2015

The Salvadoran state has closed off all possibility of any kind of negotiation with the gangs. The constitutional court’s August ruling, which stated that gang members will be considered as terrorists under Salvadoran law, will also affect the thousands of people who work with the gangs, all the way from family members to taxi drivers.

Guatemala: A Post-Conflict Society

August 25, 2015

No one can understand Guatemalan society without looking at the consequences of state orchestrated oppression. These consequences include women being treated as spoils of war. The Report on the Recuperation of Historical Memory and other documents, like the ones produced by Jesuit anthropologist Ricardo Falla, document the violations of women’s human rights.

Guatemala: una sociedad post conflicto

August 14, 2015

El Gobierno encabezado por el general retirado Otto Pérez Molina se acerca a su fin; las elecciones están convocadas para el 6 de septiembre en un clima de falta de credibilidad e incertidumbre. Con personas que abiertamente prefieren un golpe de estado a que se realice el proceso electoral, bajo la consigna “en estas condiciones no queremos elecciones”.