Weekly News Roundup

July 6 – July 12

• Lolita Chavez, member of K’iche’ People’s Council, attacked. On July 4, the activist was attacked by armed men on her way home from a protest against projects affecting the environment and extractive practices. Three other women in the group were hospitalized.

• FLACSO receives Peace Archives documents. The Center for Documentation at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences received a variety of studies and documents from the Peace Archives Directorate, according to Ruth Del Valle. Del Valle, the coordinator of the Memory, History, and Justice program at FLACSO, explained that the intent is that the research carried out by the Peace Archives will be useful and well-known.

• Break-in and threats against Domingo Hernández Ixcoy, member of the Maya Waqib´Kej National Convergence and Coordination. On July 10, Hernández Ixcoy’s house was broken into and vandalized.  A threatening note was left on the floor which stated :”leave the message on top of the body”. Other documents detailing his whereabouts and plans to his home were also left, as threats showing the amount of information the perpetrators have on him.

• Social groups in Santa Rosa reject mining activity. Various representatives from Santa Rosa de Lima, Nueva Santa Rosa y Casillas, Santa Rosa, presented their views against mining in a press conference on July.  The communities are in opposition to the San Rafael mine in the northern part of the department; Enrique Arredondo, mayor of Santa Rosa, said that 98 percent of the community had rejected the mine in a consultation last year.