Guatemala City, by Brenda Larios -AGN-. Representatives of different farmers’ organizations in the country expressed their gratitude for the political will that now exists on the part of the Guatemalan Government following the arrival of President Bernardo Arévalo to office.
Maria Josefina Macz, from the Comité de Unidad Campesina -CUC-, said during the signing of the agreement between the Government and the farm sector at the Palacio Nacional de la Cultura, “These agreements are not recent; for 46 years, the main demands of this committee have been about access to land, a legacy of our grandfathers and grandmothers. That is why we applaud this moment, to sit down and sign this agreement.”
Macz highlighted that this agreement is hopeful since it was developed through a dialogue with Executive Branch representatives.
CCDA
Neydi Yasmmin Juracán, on behalf of the Comité Campesino del Altiplano (CCDA), emphasized that this is a historic day for the country.
Neydi Juracán stated, “For us, it is a historic day because we have been meeting politically and technically for these agreements.” The CCDA representative pointed out that she and her family suffered evictions for more than 28 years and highlighted the statistics that this committee reports to date for land evictions:
- 12 leaders were assassinated between 2018 and 2022.
- Seven leaders are currently imprisoned.
- 1,788 arrest warrants, 35% targeting women.
- Seven active temporary shelters to attend to agrarian conflicts.
- 1,320 cases were accompanied by the CCDA.
She emphasized that the signing of this agreement is an opportunity to reflect, as it gives hope and opens doors for indigenous peoples, women, and youth to have a chance to continue building rural security for good living.
Nuevo Día Organization
The Central de Organizaciones Indígenas Campesinas Ch’orti’ (Nuevo Día organization) highlighted that the country’s agrarian topic has been a historical problem in Guatemala.
They mentioned that this is a visible problem for the State and the people of Guatemala. They indicated that 45% of people have one hectare, while 47% have more than five hectares.
The representative of Nuevo Día said that they trust that this dialogue can continue between the farmers’ organizations and the Government.
The administration of President Bernardo Arévalo reaffirms that dialogue is the path to finding sustainable solutions to national problems.
This government is committed to complying with these agreements, recognizing that Guatemala’s progress will only be achieved through collaboration and joint efforts.
