The election related violence in Guatemala grabbed the attention of international news services this month. Reuters, The Economist (England), El País (Spain), The New York Times (U.S.) and others picked up different elements of the story. Some reported the three attacks on activists in Rigoberta Menchu’s party, including the murder of one candidate and an attempted murder of two daughters of another candidate. The Economist reported that this has been the bloodiest electoral campaign since 1985, a statement frequently repeated in the international and Guatemalan media, and that drug traffickers are financing some campaigns and have successfully infiltrated positions in some parties.
Reports of candidates or incumbents or activists being shot in the streets or in their cars has chilled the public and cast pallor over the entire process. The death toll quote by Prensa Libre (a leading newspaper) is now 50 political party leaders and candidates. This does not include the murders of relatives, activists and sympathizers, nor does it include the thousands of murders that go uninvestigated and unresolved, an average of 16 per day according to the Guatemalan Human Rights Commission-USA.
The common analysis of the violence falls into two categories: 1) The violence directed at the political parties is most likely coming from organized criminal elements who have already infiltrated the party structures and are eliminating anyone who runs contrary to their interests, and 2) The generalized violence is a strategy by which criminal elements aligned with, or even within some parties are attempting to create a climate of fear to encourage the perception that a tough repressive response is what’s needed to bring order out of the chaos.
The Supreme Electoral Council has attempted to regulate the campaign in order to assure the elections are fair and free from fraud. The voting tables will have observers from the parties and wherever possible from the thousands of trained volunteers enlisted by the office of the Human Rights Ombudsman and the Supreme Electoral Council (TSE). The OAS and the European Union have been present for weeks, have monitored the process and issued reports.
Still nervous about the potential for violence the Organization of American States observer delegation sought to add to the public pressure by joining with the Catholic, Evangelical and Jewish leadership to get the presidential candidates to agree to accept the results. Twelve of the 14 presidential candidates or party leaders signed a non-aggression pact for the remainder of the electoral process of September 9.
Two coalitions of civil society launched campaigns to counter the violence calling for responsible and aware voting. The Guatemala Forum composed of 15 highly diverse organizations including NGOs, business associations, academics, indigenous, and religious and coordinated by the rector of San Carlos University, delivered the pointed message that those who vote for drug dealers are themselves drug dealers and those who vote for criminals are criminals. The rector, Estuardo Gálvez, was quoted as saying, “If organized crime generates violence, if one day the violence touches your family, you will be partly to blame in that situation if you gave away your vote to those persons.”
The Collective of Social Organizations publicized the messages “Don’t vote for the military”, “Don’t vote for corrupt business operators”, and “Don’t vote for the mafia and organized crime”. A radio spot to this effect had to be pulled a couple of weeks before the elections when Otto Perez Molina, as a retired military officer, insisted that this was a form of defamation and he should have equal time.
Although the differences between the two leading parties are not great, the outcome of the elections is significant for human rights defenders. The return of a repressive government could block progress on the CICIG and perpetuate the weakening of state institutions, which have been unable and/or unwilling to correct the problem of impunity. A government that sees repression as the solution to the problems of crime and violence will not be amenable to the calls of human rights defenders for justice and a rule of law. International opinion and pressure will continue to be an important factor in supporting Guatemalans seeking to restore and implement the principles of the 1996 peace accords.
(The Guatemalan elections were held Sunday, Sept. 9. This first round narrowed the field from 14 presidential candidates to 2. No party had enough votes to win, so we are in for another seven weeks of campaigning until the second round of voting on November 4. The party that came out in front, the centrist National Unity of Hope (UNE), employed the symbol of hands joined to form the shape of a white dove in flight, though many people didn’t believe those hands were clean. One neighbor said she wouldn’t vote for Colom because she felt he was corrupt and would bankrupt the country like President Portillo did before. The UNE campaign focused more on social and economic development. Their proposal to curb the violence is to purge and reform the police force and organize neighborhood committees for self-defense. Their candidate, Alvaro Colom, would reduce the army and use it for fighting drug dealers. Please see also Betsy Crites report on the NP website.)
Passage of CICIG, the law authorizing the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (reported on in July) has started speculation in the human rights community about the possible impact on the overall picture of impunity and their own security. The NP team solicited the opinions of political analysts and representatives of the human rights community regarding the possible impact this would have on human rights defenders in the months ahead.
The CICIG was a political decision supported mainly by public institutions such as the President’s Commission on Human Rights, the press, foreign governments, and INGOs, though a few Guatemalan NGOs were active in the debate. The scope of the commission is limited and some think that the political parties gave the green light believing that it would not seriously impact them. Most believe it will not raise the risks of defenders at least in the short term. They believe the objective of the “hidden powers” now is to assure that their people get into strategic positions of power. Others think that those groups holding information that would be valuable to the commission will be subject to attacks even in the short run.
All agree that the key to the success of the Commission lies with the new government to be installed in January. If they demonstrate the will to purge state institutions of criminal elements, it will open the way for serious investigations. The direction these inquiries take and the cases they accept will determine what evidence, testimonies and witnesses will be exposed.
José Emanuel Mendez Dardón, 28, son of Amilcar Mendez, was shot and killed in his car when returning home in Guatemala City on August 17. The father is widely recognized for his human rights defense of Indigenous people who were subject to forced inscription in “civil self-defense patrols” during the war. More recently he has been working with human rights cases in the Inter-American Court. He was mentioned in the Guatemala team June report as the team was introduced to him by David Hartsough.
NP posted a statement about the incident on our website expressing condolences and calling for the government to investigate this and the many thousands of other criminal acts that have occurred with impunity.
The work of the team
The NPG team has considered accompaniment of two other human rights defenders. Upon the recommendation of Claudia Samayoa, we stayed several nights with an activist who appeared under threat. She lives in a peaceful town near the colonial capital of Antigua. In the past few years her efforts to resolve the 1984 forced disappearance of her father had exposed her to harassment and threats. In recent weeks two youth in the town were murdered, one of whom had helped the defender with a library named after her father and been active in a youth theatre group, which she directed. NPG learned that ACOGUATE had accompanied this defender in the past so consulted with them. After doing their own investigation, they chose to take on the accompaniment for her at this time also.
A Consortium of women’s organizations was referred to our team by ACOGUATE. The Consortium provides accompaniment to women who have suffered sexual abuse, particularly women who were affected by the conflict. This is done through psycho-social support and through the promotion of local women’s organizations, support groups, and seminars. They provide legal advice for women seeking redress for abuses including reparations and recuperation of the historical memory. They also sponsor a radio program and do theatre presentations in an effort to sensitize the larger society and combat stigmatization of women who have been raped. NPG agreed to accompany this group on three planned trips to Huehuetenango, a particularly volatile area. The first trip was the last week of this month.
The team has continued to accompany the staff of La Unidad to meetings related to the displaced persons from the community of Los Cimientos reported on in June. Governmental institutions have not taken action on most of the requests of the displaced group, but the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs has attempted to mediate between the parties. Several institutions attended the mediation, but unfortunately it failed because the 17 men who the refugees have named as the instigators of violence did not attend. Nevertheless, the process has moved forward recently with the proposal for the refugees to organize themselves into a Human Rights Commission and to begin organizing a very public and high profile return. As of yet, no date has been set.
NPG team members have all taken training as electoral observers with the office of the Human Rights Ombudsman, with three of of the team to travel to remote areas of the countryside to stand by as votes are cast and take note of complaints about irregularities.
Betsy has met with NP Member Organizations, the Grupo de Apoyo Mutuo (Mutual Support Group), and Fundación Rigoberta Menchu Tum. Both organizations are sending representatives to the International Assembly and are meeting to prepare for the occasion.
Report written by Betsy Crites (Project Director) and Christine Schweitzer (Programme Director)