By Michael Fernandez

As we approach the ten year anniversary of the signing of the peace accords in Guatemala, the question of what has actually changed since then has obviously arisen. From reading articles, opinion pages, and indeed talking to countless people who have lived their entire lives in the country, the general consensus seems to be 'very little,' and most would agree that the Guatemalan government has completely failed to implement the agreements reached back in December 1996. Evidence of this failure is everywhere: the scourge of impunity that continues to prevail in Guatemala – nowhere more evident than in the lack of progress in the genocide case against Ríos Montt and his high command; the glaring inequalities and extreme poverty in a country where an estimated 75% of the population live below the poverty line; and the continuing violence and intimidation against those struggling to improve the human rights situation and bring social justice to Guatemala.  

My time working as an international accompanier in Guatemala with ACOGUATE has given me the opportunity to see first hand the lack of progress since 1996, and indeed how many of the original causes for the outbreak of the internal conflict back in 1960 are still prevalent to this day. While many accompaniers spend their time living in communities and accompanying witnesses involved in the genocide case, I was asked to form part of the so-called 'short term' team, which accompanies other individuals, communities and organisations that are under threat due to their work or their struggle for justice. The main case I have been involved in, that of the sacked farm workers of the Finca Nueva Florencia, is clear evidence of how land and labour rights are continuously denied to the campesinos of Guatemala, and how the power of the large landowners in the country continues unabated.  

In March of 1997, less than three months after the signing of the peace accords, 38 families of the Finca Nueva Florencia formed a union to negotiate with the landowners for better pay and working conditions. This was in large part due to the fact that, despite the wealth of OTTMAR SA, the company that owns this mainly coffee producing plantation, workers received less than ₤2 per day. Just one week later, in violation of article 209 of the Code of Work, all members of the union were sacked. Ever since then members of the union have been fighting for compensation for salaries not paid since that date and for their reinstatement. Despite 13 decisions in the courts in favour of the sacked workers, including two the Constitutional Court, the conflict is yet to be resolved, and the landowners have been able to continually delay and block any court rulings with countless appeals and motions.  

Many of the union members have left, simply unable to fight for so many years, while a systematic campaign of intimidation and reprisals from the landowners has been waged in an attempt to force the remaining eleven members to give up. For the four families who continued living in their houses on the plantation in particular, the hardships have been devastating: their electricity and water have been cut off; their children have not been allowed to attend the school on the plantation or use the playground; they have been denied access to the farm's health clinic, with children being refused vaccinations despite the fact that the vaccinations were a government programme; they are not allowed to cut firewood on the plantation; letters have been sent to all the landowners in the area urging them not to give the sacked workers employment; and security guards have been installed to harass and intimidate them.

Since May of this year the intimidation has been particularly severe. On the 11th May, with OTTMAR claiming not to have the funds available to pay the sacked workers their compensation, the courts awarded two parts of the plantation to the union. Faced with the prospect of losing very profitable land, the landowners stepped up their campaign of intimidation, with a massive increase in the number of armed guards, dressed in military uniform. Shots were fired outside the houses of the families living on the plantation, a particularly horrific experience for their very young children, and the brother of the main union organiser was held with rifles pointed at him for simply cutting weeds. The workers also received notice that the guards had been ordered to shoot them if they entered the coffee plantations on the farm. Accusations have been made to the Office of Public Prosecution (Ministerio Público), but as yet, no investigation has been made into these intimidations.  

In the face of all this, the union members approached ACOGUATE about the prospect of international accompaniment. Since then we have been visiting them at least every two weeks in an attempt to show the landowners that there is international attention on this case, in an effort to dissuade them from further intimidation, and as an act of solidarity, offering the union members vital moral support. The effects of our presence have been noted, and according to the union members the level of intimidation, in particularly the gunshots in front of their houses at night has diminished. However, the intimidation does continue, and while shots being fired at your house once a week is better than every night, it is still an unacceptable situation.

I feel extremely privileged to have been able to visit and get to know the sacked workers of Finca Nueva Florencia. Their stories of hardship and tales of injustice have been truly eye-opening, and reflect many of the wider problems of Guatemala. I have been continually amazed, however, by their courage, conviction and determination to see this struggle through to the end, and this too is a reflection of the efforts of countless numbers of people and organizations throughout Guatemala. They retain hope and are now at a critical stage in their case. With the landowners running out of motions and appeals to block the case, the workers may soon get the land they are owed. The process is far from complete, however, and many obstacles remain, but the hope that is now there shows that through the efforts and sacrifices of courageous individuals and the hard work of numerous organisations and civil society working together, changes can be made.  

The fact of the matter, however, is that it should not require so much suffering and so many years of struggle to achieve justice. In a clear demonstration of how the peace accords have not been implemented, the Guatemalan state, by allowing the case to last for nearly 10 years, has completely failed in its duty to uphold its own laws, and to ensure the economic security of its people. Ten years is far too long to wait for justice, and it is too long to wait for the implementation of the peace accords, which once provided Guatemalans with real hope. It is time now for the Guatemalan government to bring about serious changes in the country, end the culture of impunity and ensure that land and labour rights are respected in accordance with the law.


Background Information

Amnesty International USA has really informative section on its website about the land rights issue in Guatemala. The section includes video testimony from many of the key actors on the issue in Guatemala.

Including: researcher Sebastian Elgueta who explains AI's main concerns regarding Guatemalan land rights; Juan Tzib who talks about how the current Guatemalan laws affect campesinos (rural workers); Ingrid Urizar who talks about the difficulties campesinos face accessing the courts; and Daniel Pascual who talks about the current government's policy of evictions.