The classic campaign advert (from Guate en los 80s) for Jorge Serrano Elias who became President of Guatemala in 1991 (and who later went on to try to take absolute power, failed and fled the country).

"Los mismos nos quieren engañar..." If ever you needed evidence of the worthlessness of campaign promises around the world... For more (in Spanish) read video blogger Herbert Toaspern's comments here.

With winter (our summer) approaching in Guatemala, many of the communities affected by Hurricane Stan in October 2005 are worried that the work of rebuilding is going too slowly. Articles are starting to appear in the Guatemalan press that reinforce this worry that communities are still all too vulnerable to winter flooding.

Recently the following video was posted on the internet by guatemalago.org of what it was like in Panajachel when Stan struck last year. The pictures are very sobering, and help bring home to those who were not there, what it was like for those Guatemalans who felt the full force of the hurricane and its consequences.