Garance Robert, member of ÉRIGAL, publishes a post on the situation in Guatemala on the COVIDAM blog
Garance Robert, Ph.D candidate and member of ÉRIGAL, publishes a post on the COVIDAM blog entitled: "The Covid-19 pandemic in Guatemala: State weakness and citizen responses".
Some excerpts from this post: "The indigenous populations represent a very large part of the total population of Guatemala, although the inadequacies in the censuses do not allow us to have an exact idea of their current numbers. However, the government has not put in place any specific strategy in terms of prevention or treatment of Covid-19 for the inhabitants of the most remote communities".
"While agricultural workers have seen their work opportunities drastically reduced due to travel restrictions, large companies, on the other hand, have not been asked to cease their activities. Mining projects, the construction of hydroelectric power plants or the installation of high-voltage electrical towers, monoculture plantations of oil palm or sugar cane, as well as construction sites located in the inter-oceanic corridor continued to operate at full capacity. "
"The pandemic has thus often reinforced awareness of the importance of local organization, independent information management, a return to traditional measures for preserving collective health, and food self-sufficiency. The actions of leaders have been closely documented, scrutinized and often openly criticized in the media, although some journalists have sometimes suffered as a result".
To read the full post, click here!
