In a week when the spectre of famine raised its ugly head again in Guatemala, the Programa Mundial de Alimentos (PMA) and the Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL) presented in Guatemala the study: "El Costo del Hambre, Impacto Económico y social de la Desnutrición Infantil" [The Cost of Hunger, Economic and Social Impact of Child Malnutrition].

The report spelled out in black and white just how pronounced the problem of famine and malnutrition has been in Guatemala. Relative to other countries in Central America, Guatemalans have suffered the worst malnutrition consistently since 1965.

This is a great episode of the incredibly valuable Guatemalan series "Entremosle a Guate" on the subject of alternative sources of energy in Guatemala. Our recent post on biofuels got a clutch of comments- and it's worth broadening the debate beyond just biofuels in Guatemala. It's a land of all sorts of renewable sources of power such as geothermal and hydro electric explored in this episode.

This episode looks at the example of the use of geothermal power in the production of dried fruit by Agroindustrias La Laguna. It also looks at the construction of a micro hydroelectric plant in Chel, Quiche, by the Asociación Hidroeléctrica Chelense (AHC), founded in 2001 with the support of the Fundación Solar.

It's worth adding another powerful film 'Mayan Territories' made by Victoria Tai that provides an interesting insight into the work going on in the development of appropriate technology around and in Guatemala. The film's available to download from the AIDG website for a limited period.

Both videos point to the technological innovation currently taking place in Guatemala, and hint at the potential for change given the much needed investment and support.

This excellent weekly report can't be found on the web- we publish it here with kind permission from CDHG on this blog.

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INFORME SEMANAL SOBRE DERECHOS HUMANOS
Comision de Derechos Humanos de Guatemala
No. 32/07 Del 17 al 23 de agosto de 2007

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Fuentes directas CDHG, Prensa Libre, Siglo Veintiuno, El Periódico, Guatemala Hoy
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CDHG
2 Av. 4-66, apto. C-4, zona 1.
Tel/Fax: (502) 22203576 /22534285
E-mail: cdhg@intelnett.com
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These are the headlines- for the full report click on 'more':

- Organizaciones: legislación laboral no se cumple
- Denuncian amenazas contra delegados del TSE; unos 65 alcaldes y candidatos han sido amenazados
- Presentan ante CIDH demanda contra el Estado de Guatemala, por detención ilegal
- PDH confirma crisis en hospitales nacionales
- San Marcos, preocupa contaminación de agua por minera
- Diputada presenta informe que señala poca ejecución en temas sociales
   more »

Here's a collection of the clips from John Pilger's latest documentary, 'War on Democracy' that reference Guatemala. You can read Pilger's own description of the genesis of the documentary on his website.

I got the impression that the film bit off just a little bit more than it could chew. Can you really compact the last 50 years of history of US-Latin American relations into an hour and a half? Guatemala is referenced pretty fleetingly. The 1954 CIA-led coup is a favourite of every documentary maker because it's such a stark, well documented, incontrovertible example of the US Government's disregard for democratic principles in it's foreign policy.

It's great to see US-Latin American relations getting some exposure on mainstream British television (even if it was shown at 11pm on ITV). If I have a criticism of the documentary, it's that the path it treads is pretty well trodden- Guatemala 1954, Castro and Cuba, Chile under Pinochet, Venezuela under Chavez and Bolivia in it's transition from Goni to Morales.  It would have been a great opportunity to look at the diversity within Latin America as well as the similarities. Who knows about the story of Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Costa Rica, etc.?

Personally though, it would be great if a documentary filmmaker (preferably Guatemalan) were to produce a film following the thread from the 1954 coup through to the issues facing Guatemala today.

You can read a discussion about the film on Comment is Free. There's a handful of dates remaining for cinema's showing the film. A low resolution of the documentary has been posted on Google Video.