Stories about Guatemala from August, 2011
The ‘New Latin America’ Faces its Past
The Council on Hemispheric Affairs Blog is posting a series “that will explore the concept of the New Latin America by focusing on recent developments that highlight how the region contrasts with its past.” So far COHA research associates have written about the Dos Erres trial in Guatemala, Venezuela's Hugo Chávez and Simón...
Guatemala: Memoir Captures Complicated Adoption Process
Steven Roll in Travelojos reviews Mamalita: An Adoption Memoir by Jessica O’Dwyer, a book about “the long and grueling adoption process she and her husband suffered through in Guatemala”.
Guatemala: Police Kill Peasant With Tear Gas Canister
Indigenous peasants living on lands claimed by landowners in Guatemala are often violently evicted from their homes by policemen and soldiers. Last week, 31-year-old Sergio de León was killed when a policeman fired a tear gas canister at his chest during an eviction.
Guatemala: Campaign Violence
Mike blogs about campaign violence in Guatemala in his blog Central American Politics: “It's worrisome, but there is some evidence that things are getting better. And the violence associated with the campaigns is just one of the many problems surrounding Guatemalan politics unfortunately.”
Guatemala: E-Forum With Presidential Candidates
On August 2, the citizen movement #EstoEsGuate [es] (This is Guatemala) held an e-forum with presidential candidates. Sakis Gonzales from Una Hoja de Papel [es] and Billy Quijada from Blog Cachacero [es] blogged about the event and the candidates’ performance.
Guatemala: Soldiers Involved in 1982 Dos Erres Massacre Sentenced to 6,060 Years in Prison
“A Guatemalan elite army unit entered Dos Erres in the northern Petén region on 5 December 1982 and tortured and killed some 250 men, women and children over the course of three days before razing the village”: Amnesty International explains. Four former soldiers involved in this massacre were sentenced this...
