Global Voices » Guatemala

Guatemala: The Role of Women in Decision Making

Silvia Viñas — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:39:29 +0000

Hector Javier Tecum blogs about the role of women in Guatemalan politics for Americas Quarterly [es]. He argues that the inclusion of women in decision-making positions is still a challenge for the country.

Guatemala: Former Dictator Efraín Rios Montt Questioned for Genocide

Renata Avila — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:20:08 +0000

Human rights activists feared that the presidential victory of former general Otto Perez Molina would mean a step backwards in transitional justice in Guatemala. However, this week, two landmark events have given clear signs that Guatemala's fragile democracy is maturing.

On January 26, the Guatemalan Congress ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, allowing the international tribunal to prosecute any human rights abusers if Guatemala fails to do so; the same day, after years of being shielded by parliamentary immunity, former de facto President Efraín Rios Montt was questioned for his involvement in the genocide of 1,700 Mayan indigenous people in 1982–1983, during Guatemala's thirty-six-year civil war (1960-1996).

Boy stands in front of the names of the victims of genocide. Photo by Renata Avila under an Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) Creative Commons license.

In the blog SALTLaw, in a post titled “A good dawn for justice in Guatemala,” Raquel Aldana writes about the significance of Rios Montt facing trial for genocide and crimes against humanity:

Today was a historic day for Guatemala. A few hours ago, after a long day of heady hearings, a Guatemalan court opened a criminal case for genocide against Retired Military General Efraín Ríos Montt and ordered him detained under house arrest. Now 85, the retired general must face trial accused of being responsible for one hundred massacres, which produced a death toll of one thousand, seven hundred and seventy one victims. Ríos Montt, who until recently enjoyed immunity after serving nearly two decades as Congressman in Guatemala, had been de facto president during the most brutal 17 months of the 36 year-long civil war, between 1982 and 1983.

She continues reporting on Rios Montt's appearance in court:

When asked in court today if he understood the charges he faced, Ríos Montt said into the microphone “I understand perfectly.” Then, instead of making a formal declaration of guilt or not guilt, he stated a preference for silence. Outside the courthouse today, indigenous Guatemalans laid red rose petals spelling impunity no more. Meanwhile, the Guatemalan Congress ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

On the Council of Foreign Affairs Blog, Natalie Kitroeff lays out Rios Montt's defense.

Ríos Montt has made his defense quite clear. Over the past month, he has repeatedly said that he can’t be tried for any human rights violations because he wasn’t in charge of the military’s on-the-ground operations as the country’s political leader. His lawyer has echoed these claims, telling the press recently, “We are sure that there is no responsibility, since he was never on the battlefield.”

She goes on to explain:

This strategy is a radical new approach in the Guatemalan context. Until now, the military has consistently denied that genocide was ever a part of the civil war. Even the current president, Otto Pérez Molina, said that he doesn’t believe the findings of the UN truth commission, and that he could “prove that [genocide] did not occur,” during the conflict. But Ríos Montt is now arguing not that the atrocities didn’t happen, but that he is not culpable.

While this doesn’t yet amount to an open acknowledgement of genocide, it does suggest that things have changed (if slightly) since the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR) first brought charges against Ríos Montt in 1999. The discovery of mass graves by the Forensic Anthropology Foundation of Guatemala (FAFG) and the tireless work of victims groups in pushing for trials – finally winning convictions for four ex-soldiers this year – has made it untenable for the military to negate the genocide outright, at least in a court of law.

"Wanted. Mejia Victores and Rios Mont for genocide." Graffiti in Guatemala City. Photo by The Advocacy Project under an Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-ND 2.0) Creative Commons license

In the blog Lawyers, Guns and Money, Erik Loomis looks at what Rios Montt's trial means for Guatemala today:

Today, Guatemala faces a new period of instability due to the expansion of drug gangs from Mexico and El Salvador into their country and its unfortunately convenient stop on the drug highway to the United States. Whereas thirty years ago, people wanted to dismantle the police force because of its horrifying repression, today people are putting hope in the police as the one thing that could stand in the way of a new generation of shocking violence. Forcing Ríos Montt to face trial for his crimes is not going to solve any of Guatemala’s enormous problems, but it might at least force the defenders of violence in that nation to think twice about their actions.

Mike, in Central American Politics, reports that Rios Montt was granted bail and will remain under domiciliary arrest during the trial. Mike adds his opinion:

A tremendous victory for the people of Guatemala and a continuation of what I believe has been a pretty remarkable year-plus of human rights advancement in the region.

These two events show that, without turning a blind eye to the past and the terrible atrocities that were committed during the country's civil war, Guatemala seeks to become a country where international human rights standards are respected and enforced. The fact that President Otto Perez Molina, a former Army General, has not interfered with the case and has backed the signing of the Rome Statute gives Guatemalans hope that in the near future justice will arrive earlier, before criminals are dead, or too old or too sick to face trial.

Video Highlights: Music, Indigenous Initiatives, Indignation and Wonder

Juliana Rincón Parra — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:44:07 +0000

This section aims to showcase interesting and recent posts in Global Voices that show the many ways in which videos are helping people tell stories all around the world. You can follow the activity by regions in our YouTube channel or by clicking on the regional header links.

Music and Indigenous Initiatives

Latin America

Brazil: Cultural Debate as ‘Oh if I Catch You' Song Goes Global

Music has spurred an ongoing debate in Brazil, as netizens realize they have a new cultural ambassador which they may not have chosen themselves. In this case, it is Michel Teló's song ‘Ai se eu te pego‘ which not only became the rhythm played over and over during the end of the year festivities, but has also crossed borders, even getting its own versions in English, Polish and Dutch.

Peru: Cápac Raymi, The Andean Christmas

In Peru, the Incan culture is still alive in most of the Andean region, and Christmas is a time when they have united their pre-Columbian traditions with the later Christian festivities. The festival of Capac Raymi takes place in December coinciding with the Winter Solstice and honors the Sun. Although the holiday is no longer observed as it was during the reign of the Incas, it has transformed into an Andean Christmas, where Christmas choirs sing in Quechua with Andean musical instruments and dances:

Another strong cultural group in Peru is the Afro-Peruvian community and they have also left their mark in how Peruvians celebrate Christmas:

Peru: Afro-Peruvian Christmas Music

The song “Black Christmas” by Cesar Calvo is a lament, where they sing to Baby Jesus who was born in a manger, but with a slight difference, he is black as the people surrounding him:

Washed by the night
Just like you and me
Born among blacks
the Baby Jesus.

Don't come down, Baby,
from your altar,
lest the master
has you whipped.

Venezuela: The Essence of African Music in Videos

African heritage in Venezuela has also strongly influenced the music, and online video is being used to spread the knowledge of the African Diaspora and Afro-Venezuelan Caribbean culture.

From Canada comes a video journalist with a project: To visit one country per week and to record the stories of under-reported minorities.

Video: One Year, One World and 52 Different Stories

So far she is still raising funds for this one year journey where she would be recording, editing and producing short documentaries from the road. A short video of her visit with the Embera indigenous communities in Panama gives us a promising look into the type of content she'd be delivering once her project takes off:

Video: Online Media by and for Indigenous People

Check out the list of 12 recommended films on indigenous issues that Indigenous Cry shared.

Indignation

In Guatemala, indignation has overwhelmed citizens after investigative journalism uncovered that the President of the Chamber of Agriculture of that country had children under 14 years of age working in his sugar cane fields. Cane cutting is considered very physically demanding even for adults, and the conditions under which the cane cutters work contrast with the growth of the sugar industry.

Guatemala: Child Labor in the Sugar Cane Fields

The video, made under the guise of a photographic project to make portraits using an old fashioned camera shows the workers, including children who work long days without even making minimum wage:

In Brazil, the indignation has been caused by the violent forced evictions in what is being called a massacre:

Brazil: “Massacre of Pinheirinho” Causes an Uproar

Urbanist and UN Special Rapporteur Raquel Rolnik reported:

Thousands of men, women, children and elderly residents of the Pinheirinho occupation are surprised by a siege consisting of helicopters, armored vehicles and more than 1,800 armed men of the military police. In addition to the exits of the occupation being blocked, the water, electricity and telephone were cut, and the order was for families to gather to begin the process of retreat. Determined to resist - as the repossession had been suspended on Friday - the residents did not accept the command, initiating a dramatically violent situation that lasted all day and that has resulted in homeless families, people injured, arrests and rumors, including of the existence of fatalities.

East Asia

Hong Kong residents are becoming outraged: the cultural clashes have citizens and bloggers in a tense situation where any event is cause for fury:

China and Hong Kong: Train Scuffle Ignites Cross-Border Fury

Hong Kong Rethinks its Relationship with Mainland China

While bloggers in Hong Kong complain about their stretched resources and bubble economy, seeing the mainlanders as the intruders and sharing music videos where Mainland Chinese are compared to locusts, others such as Grey Reporter see both parties as victims of the system:

Actually, Hong Kongers and mainlanders share the same destiny – to end the authoritarian rule of the Chinese Communist Party and the collusion between the rich and the powerful.

Wonder

Middle East & North Africa

Jordan: Let it Snow

Snow in Jordan had people whipping out their mobile phones and documenting the long awaited snow fall, even if it didn't stick.

But in case you are in a place where the snow does stick, what about checking out the video tutorial on how to build an igloo with just snow and a knife?

Eastern and Central Europe

CEE: A “Safe House” and an Igloo

Latin America: Museum Releases Digital Archive of 20th-Century Art

Silvia Viñas — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:36:22 +0000

The International Center for Arts of the Americas (ICCA) at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, has released a digital archive of 20th-century Latin American and Latino art, which, “is now available, free of charge, to the research and teaching community as well as to the public at large.” Culture magazine Ñ [es] briefly interviewed Mari Carmen Ramírez, the project's director.

Guatemalans Climb to Raise Awareness About Domestic Violence

Silvia Viñas — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:42:29 +0000

“On January 21, Under the name of Subida por la vida [”Climb for life”], there were over 8,000 people climbing Volcán de Agua (Water Volcano) to form the largest heart in the world at 12,335 feet as part of campaign to bring awareness and to reduce domestic violence,” Antigua Daily Photo reports, and shares photos and a video of the event.

Guatemala: Child Labor in the Sugar Cane Fields

Juliana Rincón Parra — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:31:27 +0000

The recent investigation done by journalists of Plaza Publica in Guatemala has uncovered how government authorities, although legally having to prevent child labor, allow children under 14 years of age to work in their cane fields, which is a physically demanding and dangerous work.

Sugar Cane Pieces by Chris McBrien CCBy

In the article Child labor and exploitation in Guatemala's sugar Alberto Arce and Martín Rodríguez Pellecer explain how children work in the sugar fields where workers are paid by tonnage cut. While most adult workers cut two to three tons, that doesn't even add up to minimum wage, about 7.5 USD per day. One of the families interviewed, where the father works with his two sons, one 12 and the other 13, don't even make minimum wage between the three of them.

Para llegar al salario mínimo, con un salario de Q20 por tonelada es necesario superar las tres toneladas diarias. Para el finquero, la media normal que un cortador puede extraer es de seis toneladas. Los cortadores dicen que a partir de dos o tres es inhumano.

To reach the minimum wage, with a salary of Q20 per ton it is needed to cut more than three tons daily. For the plantation owner, the normal amount a cutter can extract is of 6 tons. The cutters say that more than two or three is inhuman.

At Flamenco, Picture by Alberto Arce, CC BY

Following is the short video they shot as they went into a sugar cane plantation to take photographs using an antique wooden camera. From the article:

Plaza Pública ingresó sin pedir permiso a la propiedad privada de Kuhsiek para hacer unas fotografías artísticas sobre trabajadores de la caña. En ese momento, no se sabía quién era el dueño de la finca. Ya dentro se descubrió el trabajo infantil. Allí, en una conversación informal entre el empresario agrícola, uno de los reporteros que escriben esta nota y el fotógrafo Rodrigo Abd, se acordó una entrevista formal en su oficina de la capital.

Plaza Pública went in without asking permission to the private property of Kuhsiek, to take some artistic photographs of cane workers. In that moment, it wasn't known who the owner of the plantation was. Once inside, the child labor was discovered. There, in an informal conversation between the agricultural businessmen, one of the reporters writing this note and the photographer Rodrigo Abd a formal interview in his office in the capital was agreed upon.

The greatest irony is perhaps that the owner of the Flamenco plantation is no other than Otto Kuhsiek, the president of the Guatemalan Chamber of Agriculture. In the interview, he didn't deny that children may go to the fields, but suggested that they don't actually work there:

El presidente de la Cámara del Agro se define como una persona que trata de cumplir con la Ley: “No conozco las edades de los niños que se encontraban en mi finca, que estaban, en todo caso, en su período vacacional. Usted vio que había una escuela en frente de donde estaban. Y esos niños no son trabajadores, sino que vienen acompañando a sus padres. Son sus ayudantes (…) .

The President of the Chamber of Agriculture defines himself as a law abiding person: “I don't know the ages of the children found in my farm, who were, in any case, in the holiday season. You saw that there was a school in front of where they were. And those children aren't workers, but they come with their parents. They are their helpers “.

He went on to explain that workers are not exploited since they are free to go when they are tired. However, the journalists point out that at 5 pm workers can still be seen in the fields and because they are paid for what they can cut, they may be forced to chosing between feeding their families or getting some rest.

On twitter, under the hashtag #11deazucar, Guatemanal journalist Alejandra Gutierrez tries to take the focus from placing blame into the lives of these children:

¿Los cañeros? ¿los azucareros? ¿los compradores? ¿los padres? ¿el Estado? La tragedia es que esos niños tengan que trabajar. #11deazucar

The sugar cane cutters? the sugar workers? the buyers? the parents? the state? The tragedy is that these children have to work. #11deazucar

Child labor in the sugar cane fields is not new: back in 2007, this video with pictures of sugar cane workers in Guatemala, including children was uploaded on YouTube.

Although the sugar industry in Guatemala is one of the fastest growing and highest grossing in Guatemala, this growth and wealth is not passed on to the people farther down in the chain. In fact, the sugar association that brings together the 13 sugar processing plants in Guatemala, Asazgua, only guarantees a minimum wage for those who work processing the sugar, not those who cut it and believes the problems of the cane workers exposed are neither examples of child labor or, in fact, their problem, since they are cutters and not sugar workers: since they are providers they are not part of Asazgua and it is not up to them to stop this from happening.

At Flamenco, by Alberto Arce, CC BY

In the Plaza Publica article, Arce and Rodriguez tell of how the plantation owners and Asazgua show themselves as victims, suggesting that child work at the plantations is the farmers' choice, and that not allowing children to work at the fields might lead to the farmers or their children burning down the fields and sabotage the production.

The article and investigation had results, but sadly, not as expected. Journalist Alberto Arce posted on twitter that althought the Finca Flamenco farm ceased operations as a consequence of the article on sugar in @PlazaPublicaGT, there are cane workers who lost their jobs in Retalhuleu.

Guatemala: President Calls on Military to ‘Neutralize Illegal Armed Groups'

Silvia Viñas — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:53:18 +0000

Bloggings by boz comments and reports on “a new top priority,” issued by the newly sworn in President Otto Perez Molina, for the Guatemalan military: “‘Achieve an interdiction of external threats and neutralize illegal armed groups, through the use of military power, by regaining and maintaining control of the air, maritime and land domains.'”

Video Highlights: Activism, Freedom of Speech, Identity and Culture

Juliana Rincón Parra — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:57:18 +0000

Middle East North Africa:

Yemen: The Amazing Life March Arrives in Sanaa
From Yemen we have the amazing story of the historic 264km Life March, which is the longest since Mahatma Gandhi's 390km long Salt March in 1930. During the Life March, villages and towns came together to give food and drink to the thousands of people who marched for four days straight through winding mountain passes protesting the immunity that outgoing President Saleh asked for himself and his aides and family for the killing of protesters in the Yemen uprisings.

However, the march didn't seem to sway the newly formed cabinet members who approved the bill: it will now go on to parliament for it to become a law.
Yemen: Saleh Gets Away With Murder…He Gets Immunity

It is those martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the rest of Yemen to live a life of freedom and democracy, whom Yemenis feel they must never be forgotten nor should their blood go in vain.

This next video is a silent remembrance for those who died during the peaceful uprising:

Some online activists are also promoting an online campaign against a stimulating herb chewed by many Yemeni men and women for hours on end, sometimes daily. The campaign is for a day without using the leafy green plant, Qat:
Yemen: January 12, a Day Without Qat

As blogger @Afrahnasser, proposed on Twitter:

An average citizen in Yemen wastes 8 hrs in searching money for qat, another 8 hrs in chewing qat & the rest 8 hrs in sleeping @NoonArabia

The idea of the campaign is to turn those hours spent on qat into active endeavors which build up Yemen.

Sub-Saharan Africa:

Ethiopia: Swedish Journalists Found Guilty of Terrorism Charges
Swedish journalists Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson crossed from Somalia to Ethiopia illegally which caused the Ethiopian authorities to detain and put them on trial for supporting terrorist activities and crossing illegally into the territory, although the defense claims that they were performing their duty as journalists to report both sides of the conflict. This next video was used as evidence during the trial, where the journalists are seen planning their journey as journalists

Western Europe:

Spain: Fighting for the Right to a Home

Families who got into debt to buy a home and ended without jobs or income to pay for them are being helped by an organization aiming to stop families from being evicted and to give them temporary homes in foreclosed and empty houses when they aren't able to stop the banks. The video on this post shows their success in avoiding an eviction and keeping a man and his 13 year old son off the streets.

Eastern and Central Europe:

Hungary: Memories of Barvalipe Roma Pride Summer Camp
Growing up Roma in Europe can make children feel stigmatized and rejected by their peers, causing them to hide their origins and feel ashamed of their heritage. The Barvalipe Roma Pride Summer Camp aimed to give Roma youth a chance to discover their roots by learning the language, history and cuisine of the Roma people.

East Asia:

Hong Kong: Protest Against Luxury Brand to Defend Local Identity
A luxury brand which doesn't allow for photographs to be taken of its store is not news, but when they stated that the rule only applied for local residents of Hong Kong and not tourists from Mainland China, the people of Hong Kong made their anger known through a flashmob outside the store.

Latin America:

Chile: Wildfire in Torres del Paine Shocks Netizens
The wildfire in one of Chile's top touristic spots, National Park Torres del Paine had netizens blogging and tweeting about the fire, both as experienced by those inside the park at the time of the evacuation and recorded it on video as well as from concerned people following the news and updates.

Central America: LibreBus Project Presents its Documentary
The documentary follows the activists who climbed on board a bus driving through 5 different Central American countries to spread the message of free software, the defense of freedom of speech and content sharing.

Colombia: Salsa Song Criticizes Bus Rapid Transport System
Public transportation makes it easier for people to get from one location to another without having to use their own vehicle, however, when that public transportation system is overcrowded, it can become a torture instead of a relief. The salsa song (with translated captions) shows what it is like for people to use the popular Transmilenio System in the capital city of Bogota.

Guatemala: Speaking out Against Mainstream Media's ‘Bad Press' for President Colom

Silvia Viñas — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:37:23 +0000

In a recent editorial, The Guatemala Times is critical of the country's mainstream media, who they say has “unleashed an increased and endless flow of bad press for President [Álvaro] Colom and his government since Otto Perez won the election.” Mike, in the blog Central American Politics, comments on the media coverage of President Colom and describes The Guatemala Times' stand as “courageous”.

Central America: LibreBus Project Presents its Documentary

Jenny Cascante Gonzalez — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:17:39 +0000

Several months have passed since the LibreBus [es] collective project traveled across the streets of five different Central America countries looking for free culture and knowledge sharing enthusiasts.

As Jane Park explained in October, 2011:

Librebus, a project inspired by Free Culture principles, consisted of a regional tour spanning most of May of this year [2011] to explore Central American shared culture and digital communities. Twenty-seven “librenautas” [free navigators] with different nationalities, backgrounds and skills, from the free software community, Creative Commons chapters, freedom of speech activists and natural commons experts, shared their “open” knowledge with others in a variety of activities, from roundtables to public data hackathons and the first Central American CC Salon in Guatemala.

Conversations were held in each city with representatives of diverse communities that promote the use of information technology and communication. LibreBus ‘free navigators' also organized meetings with digital natives whose contributions complemented to the discussion on free software and the defense of freedom of speech and content sharing.

Musicians, artists and users in general were able to learn about the cultural commons licenses. Also, participants had the opportunity to learn about the development of knowledge and technological constraints that farmers face in the region because of the legislation and use of transgenic seeds.

A documentary [es] showing the different interactions that took place during the tour through Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala, is now available online. The organizers are open to arranging a similar tour in the future, under the same flag: free collective knowledge.

These are some extracts from the documentary:

El 16 de mayo de 2011 LibreBus dejó de ser un viaje por Centroamérica para convertirse en un compromiso.

On May 16, 2011 LibreBus was not just a trip through Central America, it became a commitment.

LibreBus leaving Honduras. Image by Flickr user LibreBus (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

24 personas subieron y bajaron en el trayecto pero son muchos más los que comparten la filosofía de ser librenauta.

24 people got on and off the bus along the way but there are many more who share the philosophy of being a free navigator.

Ser librenauta es seguir un camino: el del conocimiento libre para todos y todas.

To be a free navigator is to follow a path: free knowledge for everyone.

Information on presentations related to free software, photographs of the trip, and posts published by some participants can be found on the LibreBus [es] website. You can also follow the project on Twitter @Librebus [es] and Facebook [es].

Latin America: Youth Unemployment

Silvia Viñas — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 11:22:56 +0000

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.”

Guatemalan Children Caught in the Cycle of Starvation

Silvia Viñas — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 13:34:57 +0000

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.”

Latin America: Social Networks Bring Recognition to Primary Recyclers

Betsy Galbreath — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:46:26 +0000

[All links lead to Spanish language pages except when otherwise noted]

“Being aware of the value of social networks, we will take advantage of them. So if you're one of our followers, you'll notice we're on Twitter”. With this statement, the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Recyclers (Red LACRE in Spanish) celebrates the 500 followers gained on its site in three months of work since they opened their account @redlacre. They are celebrating, but they want more, because the challenge is to reach 1,000 soon and keep going in order to extend this network of contacts that allows them to promote the value of their work much easier.

But what is a primary recycler? They are the people whose business is to gather, choose, recover, transform, market and reuse solid wastes from the primary source, making it their main source of income. In our countries, we commonly call recyclers by different names. For example, in Chile and Argentina they are known as cartoneros, in Mexico pepenador, and in Nicaragua buzo [translator's note: all terms loosely translate to “waste picker”], among other names they would like to do away with, so that they can be recognized as primary recyclers or simply recyclers (reciclador in Spanish and catador in Portuguese).

Recyclers in Guatemala, by Exequiel Estay, Facebook Red Lacre, used with permission.

They have been organizing across the continent since the early 90s and now have a formal network, Red LACRE, which consists of 15 countries and 4 more will soon join. The purpose of their movement is to be recyclers “with inclusion”, that is, each country guarantees that it will allow and formally recognize their work. The key to realizing this objective is enhancing visibility via the Internet and social networks, among the best tools they have to help advance their goals more rapidly.

These networks also allow us to understand better what a recycler is and how valuable his work is. We find that in Wikipedia, on October 23, 2011, (according to their site), the term “Primary Recycler” appears, where we are given some key points to better understand this profession.

Se distingue además de cualquier otro tipo de reciclador, por ser quien trabaja directamente en donde se depositan los residuos, lo que comúnmente se conoce como basura. Por ello, la selección de los residuos sólidos, los hace desde el lugar de disposición primaria y los transportan hacia el lugar donde se realiza la selección fina y enfardado, para una venta posterior. Se entiende por selección fina la separación de distintas calidades de materiales, lo que le permite el acceso a mejores rangos de precio.

“They are also distinguished from any other type of recycler, because they work directly where waste is deposited, what is commonly called trash. The sorting of solid waste is made at the first site of deposit, then transported to another area for secondary sorting and wrapping for later sale. Secondary sorting is understood as separating out various qualities of materials, which allows for access to better price ranges”.

Conversation in 140 characters

Embroidered Logo for the Recyclers of Chile. Photograph by Chilean Recyclers, imaged used with permission

Looking at the Twitter accounts of the recyclers who are organized through their network, we see a kind of raising-awareness and education campaign to learn about their work.

Statements like “we live off of recycling” or “RedLacre fights to formalize our work and improve current labor conditions” are repeated in their messages, as well as other messages that give more hard facts that enable us to gauge the impact of this work, such as “Did you know that the number of people who live off of recycling in Latin America is more than 4 million?” or “We help save municipal budgets. We recycle waste from your neighborhood and create jobs”.

Similar conversations do not only revolve around explaining the work, but also begin to paint a picture of the characteristics of the countries involved and the specific scenarios that make up the realities in each country. Add to this the comments made with reference to this profession:

Alvaro Alaniz (@alaniz_a): En Brasil, las latas de Coca Cola tienen la imagen e historia del pdte de una cooperativa de recicladores de Rio. INCLUSION!

Alvaro Alaniz (@alaniz_a): In Brazil, the Coca Cola cans have the image and story of the president of a cooperative of recyclers in Rio. INCLUSION!

Exequiel Estay Tapia (@RECICLADORESYA): recicladores chilenos luchando por una inclusión en el anteproyecto de ley de residuos…inclusión verdadera YAAAAAAAA

Exequiel Estay Tapia (@RECICLADORESYA): Chilean recyclers fighting for inclusion in the draft solid waste laws, true inclusion NOW.

Francisco Pollak (@panchopollak), también refiriéndose a Chile: Hoy conocí tres historias de los llamados “cartoneros” convertidos en recicladores y emprendedores. La materia prima es voluntad.

Francisco Pollak (@panchopollak), also referring to Chile: Today I learned the stories of three so-called “cartoneros” transformed into recyclers. Their will is their raw material.

PLACC (@cclimatico): Recicladores de Perú se formalizan y crean pequeñas y medianas empresas #cambioclimatico #Gestiónderesiduos.

PLACC (@cclimatico): The recyclers of Perú organize and create small and medium businesses #climatechange #wastemanagement.

CiViSOL (@civisol), sobre Colombia: Por inclusión simulada de recicladores la Corte suspendió la licitación de aseo de Bogotá. Esta es la historia >larepublica.co//archivos/ECON…

CiViSOL (@civisol), about Colombia: Because of the deception involving inclusion of recyclers, the Court suspended the bidding for waste removal in Bogotá. This is the story > larepublica.co//archivos/ECON… [es]

Friends with benefits

Facebook is another social network where we find a strong presence of the different recycle cooperatives that exist on the continent. Here we see how the traditional bulletin board has moved to the computer screen and this large virtual community has become a coordinator of actions, and promoter of experiences and identities.

Photographs, videos and links add information such as hours of operation, grant requirements, course dates, and a series of data useful to the public about the work of all the groups and its members.

Image of Inside Out Montevideo. Photograph by Jorge Meoini, used with permission

The page for the Network has more than 700 friends and from there one can access other groups such as the Recycling Dream Cooperative of Montevideo Uruguay (Cooperativa Reciclando Sueños de Montevideo Uruguay.) This group shares on its wall the experience of a group of recyclers whose faces were photographed to appear on billboards in various areas of the city, as part of the international project Inside Out (financed by the TED award).

According to the artists who created the work, Magdalena Gurmendez y Agustín Fernández, the images are a way of providing recognition of the vital work the recyclers perform in the city.

La tarea de clasificación de residuos es uno de los primero pasos en la cadena del reciclaje, por lo general esta tarea se realiza en pésimas condiciones de trabajo -recorriendo la ciudad en carros para buscar en los contenedores-, pero el trabajo en cooperativas permite una dinámica distinta, trabajar bajo techo, con residuos pre-clasificados…

“The job of sorting waste is one of the first steps in the recycling chain, and in general this work is performed in dreadful work conditions — traveling the city in carts looking in dumpsters — but working in cooperatives provides a different dynamic, working indoors, with pre-sorted waste…”

In conclusion, this fight for inclusion gets its strength through social networks. There, the workers gain a new space, from the streets to the heart of social networks, to no longer be invisible, to garner understanding of their work as a profession and how it should be formalized. The Internet is at the service of recycling, of the environment and of the generation of new economies, so that with a click, we rediscover this work that we usually don't even see.

Gerardo Espíndola Rojas is Product Manager of Red Mi VOZ. Read more about our partnership with Mi VOZ [en].

Guatemala: Survivors' Testimonies Help Define Genocide in Online Documentary

Silvia Viñas — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 22:01:26 +0000

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.”

Guatemala's Alarming Femicide Statistics

Silvia Viñas — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 14:03:13 +0000

“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.