Browse Cases

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Guatemalan protests against Monsanto Law (2014)

Country
Guatemala
Time period
Late July, 2014 to Early September, 2014
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Human Rights
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Rebecca Griest 02/10/2015

On 10 June 2014, the Guatemalan Congress approved Decree 19-2014, more commonly known as Plant Varieties Protection Bill or the Monsanto Law (because of Monsanto’s, a multinational company, promotion of the law) and it was planned to take effect on 26 September 2014.  The Monsanto Law outlawed the replanting, transportation, or selling of privatized seeds without permission, and made these actions punishable by one to four years in jail and a fine of 1,000 to 10,000 quetzals (130 to 1,300 US dollars).

Guatemalans refuse to serve in civil patrols, 1988-1993

Country
Guatemala
Time period
March, 1988 to 1993
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
Peace
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Sarah Gonzales, 09/04/2013

From 1961 to 1996 Guatemalans endured a bloody civil war.  During this conflict the military-controlled government fought the leftist guerillas or the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG).  These groups fought each other for political control.  The extreme violence pushed many indigenous Guatemalans high into the country’s highlands or displaced them as refugees into other countries.

Guatemalan indigenous peoples campaign for equal rights, 1977-1981

Country
Guatemala
Time period
1 May, 1977 to 14 February, 1981
Classification
Change
Defense
Cluster
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Economic Justice
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Mackenzie Welch, 17/03/2012

On February 4, 1976, a massive earthquake hit the highlands of Guatemala and displaced more than one million people. Indigenous groups from the departments of Sacatepequez, Chimaltenango, Guatemala, and Quiche were hit the hardest and the weak response from the national government brought to light the racial inequalities affecting indigenous peoples.

Guatemalan activists defend human rights, 1960-1995

Country
Guatemala
Time period
1960 to 1996
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Peace
Total points
7 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Manuel Figueredo, 17/12/2011

The Guatemalan people have endured numerous hardships throughout the years, but none more tragic than those perpetrated by the Guatemalan government and military during the country’s thirty-six year civil war. The Guatemalan civil war began in 1960, when a group of insurgents sought to depose the US-backed military government. The military had obtained complete authority in Guatemala by overthrowing the democratically elected President Jacobo Árbenz in 1957.