Guatemala under Pressure to Investigate Shooting of Native Protesters
The deaths of eight indigenous demonstrators taking part in a protest against the Guatemalan government in the southwestern province of Totonicapán have provoked outrage within the country and abroad....
View ArticleGang Truce Can Break Down, Prevention Should Be Priority
El Salvador has managed to bring down one of the world’s highest murder rates thanks to a truce between gangs that was lauded by the United Nations as an example to be followed in other countries of...
View ArticleZero Hunger Plan in Guatemala Still Grounded
“I heard about the Zero Hunger plan on television, but unfortunately it has not arrived here,” complained Elías Ruíz, a small farmer in the southern community of Santa Odilia, about the Guatemalan...
View ArticleChina Invests in Central America – But Isn’t Buying
From satellites to inter-oceanic canals, the most innovative or ambitious investments in Central America are coming from China – even though six of the seven countries in this sub-region do not have...
View ArticleNew Era Augurs More of the Same for Impoverished Maya People
The Maya Indians of Central America and Mexico will have little to celebrate when the current era comes to an end on Dec. 21. The extreme poverty and marginalisation they face contrast sharply with the...
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Directing Your Call in Guatemala
“I was surprised at how hard it was to learn more English. I had looked for work in a bank, but I would have earned only half what I make here, and I’d have had to work more hours,” said Carlos de León...
View ArticleDeaf Ear Turned to Local Opposition to Mines in Guatemala
As the mining industry booms in Guatemala, local communities are increasingly opposed to the operations of the mainly foreign companies because of the potential negative effects on the environment and...
View ArticleDeforestation Wreaks Havoc in Guatemala’s Caribbean Region
“Many tourists come to this area for bird watching, but the terrible deforestation is leading to the disappearance of so much of our flora and fauna. The cleared land is used for cattle ranching,” said...
View ArticleBig Landowners Block Rural Development Law in Guatemala
An “integral rural development law” to promote access to land, employment and other rights for small farmers is bogged down in the Guatemalan Congress due to opposition from large landowners, who see...
View ArticleRenewable Energy Alliance Stretches From Germany to Central America
A recent agreement between El Salvador and Germany, with the latter supporting two renewable energy projects that would increase installed capacity in the Central American country by 94.2 megawatts by...
View ArticleGenetic Research Gives a Ray of Hope in Guatemala
By Danilo ValladaresSANTA LUCÍA MILPAS ALTAS, Guatemala, Jun 27 2012 (IPS) Cases like that of a little boy with an undetected metabolic disorder whose parents sold everything they owned to cover the...
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Military Service Leaves Culture of War Behind in Guatemala
Youngsters participating in military civic service get ready to rappel down a cliff. Credit: Danilo Valladares/IPSBy Danilo ValladaresGUATEMALA CITY, Jul 27 2012 (IPS) “I feel proud to be a part of...
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Improving Public Transport in Dangerous Guatemala City
The Centra Norte bus terminal under construction in Guatemala City. Credit: Danilo Valladares/IPSBy Danilo ValladaresGUATEMALA CITY, Aug 14 2012 (IPS) “Service is definitely improving. Transmetro is...
View ArticleMacro Privatisations Bring Micro Benefits to Guatemalans
By Danilo ValladaresGUATEMALA CITY, Aug 22 2012 (IPS) The suspension of the privatisation of a port company unleashed debate in Guatemala about the countless concessions granted to foreign companies in...
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Capitalising on Natural Disasters in Guatemala
Indigenous village on the hillside above Lake Atitlán. Credit: Diana Cariboni/IPSBy Danilo ValladaresGUATEMALA CITY, Sep 3 2012 (IPS) In a country as vulnerable to natural disasters as Guatemala, a...
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Little Concern for the Environment in EU-Central America Agreement
A young boy works on the subsistence crops raised on his family’s parcel of land in Quiché, Guatemala. Credit: Danilo Valladares/IPSBy Danilo ValladaresGUATEMALA CITY , Sep 18 2012 (IPS) The...
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Q&A: Guatemala’s Bold Attorney General Makes a Dent in Impunity
Danilo Valladares interviews CLAUDIA PAZ Y PAZ BAILEY, Guatemala's attorney generalBy Danilo ValladaresGUATEMALA CITY, Sep 25 2012 (IPS) Since Claudia Paz y Paz Bailey became attorney general in...
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Army’s Former Sex Slaves Testify in Guatemala
One of the victims testifying before the judge, with the support of a psychologist and a translator. Credit: Danilo Valladares/IPS By Danilo ValladaresGUATEMALA CITY, Sep 28 2012 (IPS) “In the garrison...
View ArticleGuatemalans Turn to Mutual Aid to Overcome Poverty
By Danilo ValladaresGUATEMALA CITY, Oct 8 2012 (IPS) “Our economic situation improved a great deal because we obtained more income for our families” as a result of setting up a social enterprise,...
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Guatemala’s ‘Femicide’ Courts Hold Out New Hope for Justice
Guatemala, which has the highest number of femicides in Central America, launched a women-only bus service in 2011, to prevent sexual harassment. Credit: Danilo Valladares/IPSBy Danilo...
View ArticleUrban Gardening Benefits Pocketbooks and Health in Guatemala
Danilo ValladaresBy Danilo ValladaresGUATEMALA CITY, Mar 26 2012 (IPS) “It benefits both our finances and our health, because the vegetables help prevent illness while they nourish our children,” says...
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Displaced Guatemalan Peasants Demand Answers
By Danilo ValladaresGUATEMALA CITY, Mar 30 2012 (IPS) “We want land where we can live and grow food to feed ourselves,” said Pedro Ichich, one of several thousand indigenous farmers who marched to the...
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More Cell-Phones than People, and No E-Waste Treatment in Guatemala
By Danilo ValladaresGUATEMALA CITY, Apr 2 2012 (IPS) The lack of adequate management of electronic waste in Guatemala is posing a serious threat to the environment and health, as demand for electronic...
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Guatemala – Regional Leader in Teen Pregnancies
By Danilo ValladaresGUATEMALA CITY, Apr 6 2012 (IPS) Teenage pregnancies are on the rise in Guatemala, along with the drop-out rate in schools, family breakdown and many other related social ills. More...
View ArticleLatin American Countries Call for Alternatives to War on Drugs
By Danilo ValladaresGUATEMALA CITY, Apr 13 2012 (IPS) The countries of Latin America will raise their voices at the Sixth Summit of the Americas to condemn the “failed” war on drugs and propose...
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Seedbed of Technology Flourishes in Guatemala
Young people learning computer skills at Campus Tec. Credit: Danilo Valladares/IPS By Danilo ValladaresGUATEMALA CITY, Apr 26 2012 (IPS) “We’re making a three-dimensional educational video game. The...
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“The Two Guatemalas” Meet
By Danilo ValladaresGUATEMALA CITY, May 2 2012 (IPS) “It’s very hard for them to put food on the table, but they are very noble people,” Diego Orozco, one of the thousands of young urban Guatemalans...
View ArticleCentral America Seeks to Buffer Effects of Crisis in Europe
By Danilo ValladaresGUATEMALA CITY, May 3 2012 (IPS) The economic crisis plaguing many countries in the European Union has forced Central America to look at preventive measures to mitigate the effects...
View ArticleIron Fist Cracks Down on Guatemala
By Danilo ValladaresGUATEMALA CITY, May 4 2012 (IPS) Rightwing President Otto Pérez Molina is keeping his promise to take a hard line on soaring crime in Guatemala, but his government is neglecting...
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Guatemalan Coffee Growers Get Creative
By Danilo ValladaresGUATEMALA CITY, May 14 2012 (IPS) Overwhelmed by climate change, worried about speculation in international prices and still hurting from the effects of the crisis in 2000, coffee...
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Guatemalan Communities Have No Say in Exploitation of Resources
President Otto Pérez Molina, next to Vice President Roxana Baldetti, lifted the state of siege in the town of Santa Cruz Barillas. Credit: Danilo Valladares/IPS By Danilo ValladaresGUATEMALA CITY, May...
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Guatemala Halts Widely Praised Maya Biosphere Reserve Initiative
By Danilo ValladaresGUATEMALA CITY, May 29 2012 (IPS) The ambitious Cuatro Balam project for the management and conservation of the Maya Biosphere Reserve in the northern department of Petén has been...
View ArticleCentral America and the EU – An Asymmetric Agreement
By Danilo ValladaresGUATEMALA CITY, Jun 4 2012 (IPS) The poverty-stricken countries of Central America will face major challenges when the Association Agreement to be signed in late June with the...
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Midwives Play Key Social Role in Guatemala
By Danilo ValladaresCHIMALTENANGO, Guatemala, Jun 4 2012 (IPS) “Midwives in Guatemala attend to women during pregnancy, the birth and the post-partum period. They give the women warmth and support,...
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CENTRAL AMERICA Still a Long Way to Go in Fight Against Sexual Violence
By Danilo ValladaresGUATEMALA CITY, Jun 8 2012 (IPS) Access to justice for women who suffer sexual violence in Central America and southern Mexico remains limited despite the high incidence of rape and...
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