Stories about Guatemala from January, 2011
Guatemala: The Left Unites During Election Year
Central American Politics reports that leaders from Guatemalan left-leaning parties have met with “representatives from the country's social organizations, unions, and peasant and environmental groups” to try to form a Broad Front for this year's legislative and presidential elections.
Guatemala: Challenges for First Female Public Prosecutor
Recent appointments of women to public administration and key political positions could shake the political scene in Guatemala. Furthermore, the appointment of the first female Public Prosecutor could help end impunity for crimes committed against women.
Guatemala: Former President on Trial on Embezzlement Charges
Central American Politics writes about the trial of former Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo, “currently on trial in Guatemala on embezzlement charges.”
Guatemala: President Colom calls Rigoberta Menchu a “Fabrication” in Latest Wikileaks Cable
Mike reports that a new Wikileaks cable on Guatemala reveals that “[President] Colom called [Nobel Peace Laureate Rigoberta] Menchu a “fabrication” of Elizabeth Burgos, the French anthropologist and author of “I, Rigoberta Menchu.” (Colom has already responded that he respects Menchu even though he often disagrees with her and that...
Latin America: Women's Political Participation in the Region
Figures on the share of seats held by women in national assemblies around the world show that Latin America, “ranks second only to Nordic Europe in terms of the percentage of women elected to parliamentary-level,” as Mike explains in Central American Politics. He also looks specifically at women's participation in...
Latin America: Introducing “Multilatinas”
Ben from The Latin Americanist explains: “Multi-latinas are companies that operate across Latin America, primarily with Latin American capital, and that take advantage of their local expertise to find niches and beat international competitors.” He argues that Multilatinas are “one of the most positive developments” among the different agreements Latin...
Veterans in El Salvador and Guatemala
Mike writes about veterans: “When we talk about the civil wars in El Salvador and Guatemala, we tend to measure the human costs into terms of the dead and the disappeared. We forget that there are thousands of people, if not millions, who carry the wounds of war with them...
Latin America: Homicide Rates Show Several Countries “More Dangerous than Mexico”
Bloggings by Boz argues that “the intense US and global media focus on Mexico's violence risks missing the ‘more dangerous than Mexico’ countries.” He shares statistics that show that Honduras, Venezuela, Guatemala, El Salvador, Colombia and Jamaica have higher homicide rates than Mexico.
