The figures were published by the Unionist, Indigenous and Peasant Movement from Guatemala, a coalition of grassroots organizations which issued in February a report called “Guatemala: The price of union liberty”.

The report finds that the situation in terms of human rights in Guatemala has worsened with President Alvaro Colom, who took office in January, 2008, and who considers himself a social-democrat. In 2008, for instance, 16 leaders were murdered, while in 2006 one person was.

In 2010, there have been already three murders. The latest one took place last week in San Marcos department. Octavio Roblero, member of the Front of Resistance in Defense of Natural Resources of Malacatan (FRENA) was the victim.

The report also states that the murders were carried out with firearms, and that 98% of the murders took place shortly after some kind of conflict related to labour claims or defense of resources, and in most cases people where threatened.

“There is reasonable evidence that at least 23% of the murders had the participation of the security forces of the government, directly involved with orders from the Executive or the municipalities”, reads the report.

At the time of drafting the report, the Movement wasn´t aware of any case in which the people responsible for the murders had been “identified, tried or sentenced”, and that is why the organization contacted the Public Prosecutor Office to know how far have the investigations moved. The answer the unionists received, according to the report, is outrageous: the Office explained that there is no record of cases against unionists.

Photo: www.revista-amauta.org