“The criminalization of human rights defenders is also corruption.” 

On July 29, the Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project posted “PBI accompanies CCDA Verapaz” and “PBI accompanies criminalized defender Bernardo Caal Xol and the Peaceful Resistance of Cahabon.”

It shared a post from unjustly imprisoned Maya Q’eqchi’ defender Bernardo Caal Xol who stated: “From Cobán Alta Verapaz, we join the #ParoNacional29J.”

PBI-Guatemala also shared a post from CCDA Verapaz, that represents Q’eqchi communities, that said: “CCDA Verapaz is present on the streets. No more impunity, no more looting. We demand the resignation of Alejandro Giammattei and Consuelo Porras. For the dignity of the people, let’s fight for justice.”

Aljazeera reports: “Tens of thousands of Guatemalans took to the street to demand the resignation of the country’s president [Alejandro Giammattei] and attorney general [Maria Porras] due to the administration’s lack of willingness to address corruption. The protests are among the largest and most widespread since 2015.”

That article adds: “Indigenous ancestral authorities called for protests days after Porras announced the removal of Juan Francisco Sandoval, the head of the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity, [who had] suggested the existence of high-level corruption in the Public Prosecutor’s Office and in the Presidency.”

The day after the protests, the Embassy of Canada in Guatemala tweeted a joint statement (along with the Embassies of the United States, Germany, Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom and Sweden) that said:

“Stable institutions that fight against corruption and impunity are fundamental in the construction of a democracy that allows attracting investment, generating employment and consolidating a prosperous and inclusive society in Guatemala.”

PBI-Guatemala has accompanied the Peaceful Resistance of Cahabon since 2017 and CCDA Verapaz since July 2018.

For more, see the Democracy Now! report: “People Are Outraged”: General Strike in Guatemala Denounces Corruption & Mishandling of Pandemic.

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