2007-03. Bush, Murderer, Out of Our Nation
Guatemala City, Guatemala.
March 10, 2007.
Issue: Society / Imperialism
The arrival of U.S. President George W. Bush to Guatemalan territory during the 11th and 12th of March, 2007, has stirred much controversy as well as rejection by several sectors of society.Historically, the United States have applied a suffocating policy of intervention in the region. In Guatemala, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) orchestrated the 1954 coup d’État which removed the democratically elected President Jacobo Arbenz. Such event is widely regarded as the spark which ignited a series of events that eventually culminated in a devastating 36 year civil war claiming more than 200,000 victims.
On Saturday, March 10, 2007, dozens of non-government organizations congregated for a march to protest the arrival of the North American head of state behind the slogan: “Bush, Murderer, Out of Our Nation.”
According the National Front for Struggle in Defense of Public Services and Natural Resources (FNL), civil society completely rejects Bush’s arrival: “Let’s make sure it is perfectly clear that no one has invited him to come, nobody wants him here, no one is happy he has arrived. On the contrary, his visit is a flagrant offense since he has continuously harmed our people here and there [in the United States]. Here by imposing policies and there through the persecution of Guatemalan workers who are treated as delinquents and are deported by the thousands.” (1)
As the FNL communiqué states, the arrival of Bush to Guatemala comes during a time when immigration issues are causing great debate and strain between the two countries. According to PrensaLibre, “More that 18 thousand Guatemalans were deported during 2006. Most of these were detained while on their way to work.” (2)In particular, the December 2006 ambush on illegal workers inside the Swift & Co. meat packing plants in Texas has been highly criticized in Guatemala. A few days before the start of the holiday season, 1,282 presumed illegal workers were detained in the stated meat packing plants, from which 536 were identified as Guatemalan nationals. The majority were quickly deported and denied the opportunity to settle domestic affairs hence leaving over 100 children abandoned without parents. The news sparked a national outcry towards the inhumane treatment of immigrant workers in the U.S. (3)
The Plastic Arts Labor Union of Guatemala (STAP) presented a remarkable cloth-mural which expresses a rejection towards neo-liberal policies forced upon the region by the North American government. As the Free Trade Agreement between the two nations nears its second anniversary (part of the DR-CAFTA), Guatemala begins to suffer some of the negative side effects related to the structural skeleton which forms such agreement: the Plan Puebla-Panama (PPP). Violent evictions of communities, for example, due to the construction of mega-projects related to the PPP are some of the social problems which are generating conflict within the fragile post-war society.
The demonstration covered several sectors of the Capital City lasting nearly four hours and bringing together roughly 2,000 protestors.
Several participants found the occasion an appropriate one to declare their unconformities through a method widely used historically in Latin America: vandalism to some, public art for others.
Since 1900, the United States has carried on over one hundred military interventions throughout the globe. (4) With Guatemala included in this seemingly non-exclusive list, it should come as no surprise that Bush’s aggressive policies in Iraq and Afghanistan are hardly popular in the Central American nation.
Such sector of the city, known as the financial and commercial district, absorbed much of the ire released by the protestors. Currently, the Guatemalan banking system finds itself in a deep crisis, as two of its major entities suddenly folded in recent months. Internal corruption and the disappearance of large sums as well as bank directors have caused a widespread distrust in the national economy.
As the 2007 electoral campaign heats up, many participants stated their opinions regarding some of the presidential candidates. General Otto Pérez Molina, presidential candidate for the Patriotic Party, heads the extreme right hard liners whose slogan states: “A Hard Hand is Needed!” Pérez Molina participated as one of the select military officers who signed the 1996 Peace Accords between the army and guerrilla groups.
At the beginning of the 1960’s, “President John F. Kennedy approved a pacification program aimed at the most rebellious provinces -Zacapa and Izabal- including both ‘civic action’ projects such as digging wells and building clinics and a sharp increase in military assistance.” (5)A couple of weeks before Bush’s arrival, nearly 1000 members of the U.S. Marines landed on Guatemalan soil, settling in the Department of San Marcos with what seem similar intentions. It is precisely in San Marcos where the highly conflictive Marlin Project gold mine, as U.S.-Canadian venture, is located. Without a doubt, San Marcos most likely falls within the definition of a “rebellious province” at this time. The program which justifies the foreign military presence, deemed New Horizons, is supposed to last for three months and proposes the construction of “two schools, two health clinics and three water wells.” The total cost for these 7 structures will be of 14 million dollars. (6)
The demonstration made its way to the U.S. embassy where several protest speeches were pronounced.
While a number of U.S. flags burned, embassy security personnel located along the structure’s rooftop filmed those demonstrating.
Members of the National Civil Police (PNC) lent their services to protect the flag and structure of the U.S. embassy. Despite the tense situation, fortunately both opposition groups respected their boundaries and violence was averted.
The writing on the pavement reads: “No to Private Property”.
A truly incomprehensible event which took place was the extremely low flyby of U.S. fighter jets in an attempt to intimidate those in the demonstration. I wonder, are Guatemalan fighter jets allowed to fly over Washington when President Berger visits his U.S. counterpart?
Globalization or Imperialism?
“The United States, number one in the world: in Terrorism”.
Twenty-first century weapon of resistance.
“We don’t want to and we don’t feel like, being a U.S. colony!” (Slogan often repeated during the march).Versión en Español aquí.
1 Boletín del Frente Nacional De Lucha En Defensa De Los Servicios Públicos y Los Recursos Naturales. Guatemala, 21 de Febrero del 2007.
2 http://www.prensalibre.com/pl/2007/enero/03/159869.html
3 http://www.prensalibre.com/pl/2006/diciembre/14/158596.html
4 http://www.globalpolicy.org/empire/history/interventions.htm
5 Schlesinger, Stephen y Kinzer, Stephen. Bitter Fruit, the C.I.A. in Guatemala. Harvard University Press, 1999. P. 214. (Thank you to Dawn Paley for researching the citation).
6 http://www.prensalibre.com/pl/2007/febrero/13/163374.html
James! Thank you for the awesome pictures; I had no idea he was so thoroughly hated in Guatemala.
I’m putting a link to this on my site.
– Rob!
VIVA Guetamala!
MUERTE al Maldito Imperialismo!
MUERTE al los Yankees!
I have nothing against protest demonstrations such as the one you blogged about above, nor do I make any judgment on you as a person, but I think you were wrong about the USA being the number 1 terrorists in the world. I think that crown solely belongs to the ARABS.
This is SO amazing to me to think that any Guatemalans would even consider protesting bush! The people in this story obviously fail to recognize the terror that is occurring in their own country. Thousands and thousands of Guatemala women are murdered often brutally, and the government sits by and apethietically lets it happen, not prosecuting but a handful of cases.
Why arent these people protesting the injustices of their own government and culture??? Women are considered on par with flies in guatemala, and they want to protest bush?? amazing
for more info regarding this the femicides in guatemala can be found at http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40203