A nationwide strike, which paralyzed Guatemala on June 8, was organized by a diverse coalition of citizen groups. Although demands to end the wave of land evictions of predominantly indigenous families was the central issue, Guatemalan civil society organizations were also protesting the newly proposed regressive tax and the recent signing of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).

More than one hundred indigenous rights groups, women’s organizations, human rights groups, campesino organizations, and labor unions organized the 12-hour strike that impacted most of the country. In addition, a demonstration at the Guatemalan Embassy in Washington, DC supported the strikers.

The general strike marked a victory for citizen groups in Guatemala. Despite concerns that the government would resort to violence to quell the protest, the strike ended peacefully. What’s more, the coalition of groups that organized the strike succeeded in achieving an agreement with the government, which was signed by President Oscar Berger and Supreme Court’s Chief Justice José Rolando Quezada Fernandez.

Violent Land Evictions
Thirty-nine land evictions--including 23 involving severe violence--have occurred since President Berger took office on January 14, 2004. These evictions left 1,500 families homeless and without food, shelter, and security. On February 23, President Berger promised to end the violent evictions. But the evictions continued apace--with 15 of the 23 violent evictions having occurred after his promise.

The large number of evictions during Berger’s first several months in office contrasts with the record of his predecessor Alfonso Portillo. Only five land evictions occurred during Portillo’s four-year tenure--although a consistent pattern of other human rights abuses sullied his presidency.

The pattern of land distribution in Guatemala is one of the most skewed and inequitable in the world. In 1998, less than 0.15 percent of agricultural producers held titles to 70 percent of arable land--virtually all of it producing crops for export. At the same time that most small farmers lacked enough land even to guarantee their own subsistence, 60 percent of usable cropland remained uncultivated. Since 1998 land ownership has become even more concentrated, and the new wave of land evictions is reinforcing the problem.

Many protesters also expressed their fear that the CAFTA trade agreement with the United States will further impoverish small landholders and restrict their ability to compete in both local and global markets. Also of concern was a new regressive tax plan, which proposes a value-added tax hike that would disproportionately affect the poor. The new fiscal plan will tax all salary bonuses and will cancel the current tax exemption status for those workers earning less than $4,500 a year.

The strike extended throughout 20 of the country’s 22 departments. Thousands of protesters surrounded the Congressional building, the Finance Office, and the office of the Public Prosecutor, as well as Aurora International Airport and the domestic airport in the Petén. Major highways and roads, including those to Honduras, Mexico, El Salvador, and both coasts were blocked by protesters.

Negotiations Produce More Promises
Although the strike was originally scheduled to last two days, eight hours into the strike President Berger began negotiations with strike leaders. An agreement was reached and signed four hours later, ending the strike peacefully. In the agreement, the Supreme Court, represented by its Chief Justice José Rolando Quezada Fernandez, agreed to investigate the legality and process of the recent land evictions. President Berger agreed that his government would promote concrete measures to resolve agrarian conflicts, including opening a special office on agrarian affairs and asking Congress to review the laws on land occupations--although both of these measures had been previously promised.

President Berger also reiterated his past promise to end the land evictions. Technically, however, Berger cannot make such a promise at all, as authority over evictions falls under the jurisdiction of the Guatemalan judicial system--all of which has resulted in some skepticism about the integrity of this promise.

Berger also committed the government to circulating copies of the CAFTA agreement in all the Mayan languages--another old promise. Finally, President Berger promised that his GANA political coalition, which holds 39 of the 158 seats in Congress, would vote against the taxation of salary bonuses and against the repeal of the tax exemption for people earning less than $4,500 a year. In exchange for these concessions, the protesters agreed to a ninety-day moratorium on protests and strikes, after which time they will reconvene with the government to evaluate what, if any, progress has been made. However, Vice President Eduardo Stein cautioned that in such a short time period only “the groundwork” will be laid for a solution.

Both sides hailed the successful resolution of the strike. By offering to negotiate, the government was able to avoid a second day of the strike. For their part, the protesters were pleased with the government’s willingness to listen to their demands.

According to Miguel Angel Sandoval, leader of the Agrarian Platform group, “Until Wednesday, the government had given priority to the interests of the business sector, of which it is a faithful representative, but it now understands that it has to change directions and take public opinion into account to govern.” Cesar Davila, leader of the Social Organizations Collective of Guatemala, agreed: “For us, the strike's main success was getting the government to agree [to meet] to discuss our requests.”

Marco Antonio Barahona of the Association of Investigation and Social Studies had a more cynical assessment. The political analyst called the strike a “waste of popular energy” because President Berger had already promised much of what he agreed to in negotiations.

Nevertheless, the strike underscored the strength of Guatemala’s popular organizations when they unite. The strike’s success in forcing the government to hear its demands opens the possibility that the national strike will become a more common tactic used by popular organizations to ensure that their voices are heard.

The protesters are counting on President Berger’s promise to halt the land evasions. But the government is under extreme pressure from wealthy landowners to continue evicting poor campesinos from their unused land. Another eviction before the end of the ninety days could spark renewed public protest. The next few months will reveal the extent of the Guatemalan government’s political will to comply with the negotiated points and to resolve the country’s deepening agrarian crisis.

(Rebecca Brigham is an associate of the Guatemala Human Rights Commission and a contributor to the IRC’s Americas Program www.americaspolicy.org.)