Stop the evictions in Guatemala!

Campaign kicks off with launch of a multimedia project on the agrarian conflict

Guatemala City, 4 September - The agrarian conflict in Guatemala has reached critical levels, seriously affecting indigenous and peasant communities. Between January and July 2024 alone, more than 15 communities were evicted from their lands in the areas of Alta and Baja Verapaz, Petén, Escuintla and Jalapa, leaving them homeless and without access to basic services such as healthcare and education. This situation exacerbates violence and inequality in rural areas, where 76% of the population lives in poverty. The affected communities are not only claiming their right to the land they have inhabited and worked for generations, but also their role as protectors of the environment from agribusiness and other extractive industries.

The Agrarian Agreement, signed in February 2024, offered a glimmer of hope. The agreement was between President Arevalo and four peasant organizations¹ that have been working with communities at risk of eviction for nearly 30 years.. The Agrarian agreement aims to address agrarian conflict, renew land-related institutions, facilitate access to land, and strengthen the peasant economy. However, its implementation is progressing slowly, while evictions and criminalization of community members continue.

Carlos Morales, coordinator of the Verapaz Union of Campesino Organizations (UVOC), said: “By signing this agreement, we will have some improvement; there are 100 cases on the table.” Leocadio Juracán, coordinator of the Comité Campesino del Altiplano (CCDA), added: “We are not favoring indigenous peoples or peasants here. What is happening is that historically these sectors have been excluded. This government is more sensitive and, within the framework of legality, is trying to attend to and listen to the demands of the population, assigning specialized teams so that they can address the cases according to their characterization”.

Despite certain advances, such as the inclusion of new indigenous and peasant representatives in the Board of Directors of the Land Fund², the central issues related to the agrarian conflict have not yet been addressed.

In response to this critical situation, the campaign Stop the evictions of rural and indigenous communities in Guatemala! For effective compliance with the Agrarian Agreement was launched, and seeks to denounce evictions and violence against indigenous and peasant communities in Guatemala. The campaign also demands the effective implementation of the Agrarian Agreement, including the implementation of a Crisis Response Mechanism with a preventive approach.

The initiative is promoted by Land Rights Now (LRN), the International Land Coalition LAC (ILC LAC) and the Plataforma por la Defensa de la Tierra y el Territorio - Coalición Nacional por la Tierra de Guatemala (CNT Guatemala) in alliance with VIST Projects³ and the collaboration of the Unión Verapacense de Organizaciones Campesinas (UVOC) and the Comité Campesino del Altiplano (CCDA).

As part of the campaign, VIST Projects has developed the multimedia report “The voices of those who live in the mountains: Resistance of Guatemalan communities facing evictions”, which documents and makes visible the situation of communities affected by evictions in different areas of the country, following on-site visits. Through various materials, the stories of five communities are presented, highlighting their capacity to respond and their demands. The campaign will also include advocacy actions in Guatemala to raise awareness among the actors involved in the eviction issue. This initiative gives continuity to the efforts of the Stop Evictions campaign promoted by LRN, ILC LAC and CNT Guatemala in 2023.

[1] Unión Verapacense de Organizaciones Campesinas (UVOC), Comité Campesino del Altiplano (CCDA), Asociación Indígena Campesina Ch'orti' Nuevo Día and Comité de Unidad Campesina (CUC).

[2] The Fondo de Tierras (Land Fund) is the institution in charge of regularising land adjudication processes via the market.

[3] VIST Projects is a foundation that creates and develops contemporary visual narratives on social and cultural issues through a multiplatform content laboratory.

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