Global Voices

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The world is talking, are you listening?

Bloggings by boz looks at youth unemployment in Latin America, concluding that “with growth projections decreased for 2011 and 2012, the current situation for youth unemployment is almost certainly getting worse. That could have major economic, political and social implications moving into 2012.”

Guatemala Solidarity Network posts an article by Natasha Pizzey-Siegert entitled ‘The children of Guatemala are starving’ where she writes that, “a slow, deep hunger has been building in Guatemala for decades. And now it’s destroying a generation.”

Mike shares Spanish-language documentary “Our Voice, Our Memory: The genocide in Guatemala,” which is available in full on YouTube. He adds: “The documentary [...] uses survivor and expert testimony to explain the concept of genocide, demonstrating how the atrocities committed by the Guatemalan military against indigenous Maya communities satisfy the requirements of the international legal definition of genocide.”

“According to official statistics, seven hundred women have been murdered so far this year in Guatemala (see here and here). According to CONAPREVI, 838 women were murdered in 2010. Therefore, if women continue to be killed at the same rate in November and December as they have been all year (an average of 70 per month), the number of victims this year will be nearly identically to last year's numbers (840).” Mike reports in Central American Politics.

Photojournalist James Rodríguez has published a photo essay on the conflict around the Canadian-owned Marlin gold mine. He highlights the bravery and persistence of anti-mining activist Diodora Hernandez, who “was shot point-blank on the right eye outside her home in the small community of San José Nueva Esperanza – only a few meters from a fence that delimits Goldcorp’s Marlin Mine.”

Mike from Central American Politics links to English language blogs covering the damage caused by the heavy rains that have been falling on Central America for over one week.

“Every year, thousands of migrants risk their lives on a treacherous journey toward el norte, facing violence, extortion, kidnapping and discrimination. However, female migrants face a heightened risk of exploitation in the form of sexual violence and trafficking at the hands of many groups: criminal gangs, corrupt officials, law enforcement, immigration or security forces and other migrants.” Amanda Tello reports in the blog Witness for Peace.

The blog Amo descubrir canciones [es] (“I love to discover songs”) reviews music from around the world, with a special focus on Latin America. The blog includes specials with songs by country [es], song covers [es], and songs recommended by readers [es]. The latter category includes a post on “Songs to recommend during a conversation in an elevator” [es].

Rudy Girón says farewell to artist Efraín Recintos, “Guatemala’s most extraordinary and prolific artist” who passed away on October 2, 2011. She shares a slide show of his work.

“So come the 6th November, Guatemalans should they vote, will have a choice between a former military and a business man – each with their own murky backgrounds and each who wield considerable power and influence among those who rule Guatemala”: Kevin D in his blog at Guatemala Solidarity Network comments on the results of the September 11 elections and the two candidates that will face each other in the runoff election.

Rudy Girón at AntiguaDailyPhoto posts a photo slide show of “the election process in La Antigua Guatemala”. Rudy also describes the voting process, reporting that Sunday's elections in Antigua “progressed in a calm and quiet family atmosphere. It almost felt like a civic party.”

Sakis González shares a video [es] of Guatemalan artists speaking out against “cultural intolerance” after the municipality of Guatemala City rejected the reopening of the cultural center ‘Rock’ol Vuh'. Sakis points out that citizens will have the power to choose their leaders this Sunday, September 11, during the general election.

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 Bolivar, and Peru's ‘young towns’.

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”.

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.”

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.

“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 week to 6,060 years in prison.

On the Issues magazine features an article by Yifat Susskind, Executive Director of MADRE, on the femicides that took place during Guatemala's Civil War and that still go on today: “Across Guatemala, nearly 5,000 women have been killed in the past decade, attacked for the simple fact of being women.” She also looks at grassroots groups working to “roll back shameful gender damage”.

“Please help me comprehend what’s wrong with our indigenous women that Guatemala’s Tourism Board hires light-skin ladinas and white women to represent our women? I need help understanding what’s wrong with the other 45% of the population? Don’t mestizos, ladinos, blacks and whites fit the ‘Guatemalan profile'?” asks Rudy Girón in AntiguaDailyPhoto.

Luis Figueroa says [es] that neighbors of Ciudad Nueva, victims of a giant sinkhole that opened up over a year ago, are still unable to return to their homes. He explains that the “risk warning” has not been lifted because reports on the work that has been done to fill up the hole are still being evaluated.

“In Guatemala, June 30th is officially observed as Armed Forces Day. But since 2008, the military parade has ceased to march through the streets of the historical center in Guatemala City. Instead, the March for Remembrance has taken over Zone 1 for the fourth consecutive year to celebrate what many believe should more appropriately be deemed Heroes and Martyrs Day.” In MiMundo.org photojournalist James Rodríguez shares a photo essay of the march.

Sandra Torres divorced her husband, President Alvaro Colom, to be eligible to run for president. But things didn't turn out as planned. Mike in Central American Politics reports: “On Wednesday, Guatemalan electoral authorities rejected Sandra Torres's presidential candidacy on the grounds of “supposed legal fraud.” The TSE's resolution said that her divorce from President Alvaro Colom did not invalidate Article 186 barring relatives of previous presidents from becoming president.”

In Central American Politics, Mike posts a video where Francisco Fion of the World Food Program explains that about half of the population of Guatemala lives in poverty with 7 quetzales a day –about 1 US dollar. How much food can you buy with 7 quetzales? Watch the video to find out.

A documentary, a ‘transmedia platform’ and a humanitarian project: in ‘La Furgo-Nana’ (“a Volkswagen Type II Bus from 1969″) Maria and Anton are driving through the Pan American highway from Tijuana, Mexico to Ushuaia, Argentina to “transform the difficult reality of Latin American children into a fascinating adventure you will not want to miss.” Follow their blog [es], and their Twitter and Facebook feeds as they open our eyes to children's rights violations and collect lullabies across the region.

Blogger Sakis [es] looks at the use of social networks as politicians prepare for September's legislative and presidential elections. He suggests politicians should use social networks as a platform to actually communicate with the people, not just a place to share links.

Global Voices author and Spanish Lingua Editor Juan Arellano looks [es] at e-government in Latin America, giving a short overview of specific initiatives that are currently being implemented in several countries in the region.

Antigua Daily Photo posts a picture of a registration booth in City Hall in Antigua, Guatemala: “This is an election year in Guatemala and the Tribunal Supremo Electoral (TSE) is rushing to get all potential voters registered and updated.”

In the blog CARPE DIEM [es], Luis Figueroa describes [es] how the approval of President Colom´s divorce by Guatemalan courts may actually be a “violation of a norm.” The granted divorce now allows his wife, Sandra Torres, to run for the presidency in the upcoming September, 2011 elections.

Blogger Sakis writes [es] about the effects of wildfires and illegal logging in Guatemala. He also posts pictures of a forest that has been cut down.