I call on the government of Guatemala to immediately cancel eviction orders against the indigenous Maya community Rincon de San Valentin.  I request that the residents of the community be given title to the land they have worked on for decades while receiving no pay.  I call for the cancelation of arrests against community leaders, including Felipe Chun, Domingo Cahuec, Tiburcio Chiquin, Fernando Chun Sansario, Evaristo Chun Ac, Gerardo Chun Cahuec, María Cristina Chuc Ac, Adela Chun, María Cristina Chun Ac, Gloria Mes, Aureliano Chun Ac, Alfonso Cap Xicol, Ruben Mes, and Carlos Manuel Chun Ac.  I call on the government to immediately end the use of violence and arrest on false charges against Rincon de San Valentin and other indigenous communities throughout the country.

Background:

The Guatemala Solidarity Project calls for action in solidarity with the indigenous peasant community Rincon de San Valentin in the municipality of Purulha, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala.  Families in the community are facing ongoing violence and threats in attempts to steal land that is rightfully theirs.  The government has ordered an eviction of the community and has issued arrest warrants against at least 14 community members.

Like many indigenous communities, the people of Rincon de San Valentin were mozos colonos, or serfs, who worked for the owner for no pay.  Indigenous people were forced to work under these conditions by US supported dictators until the revolution of 1944, which instituted elections and ended unpaid labor.  The US government violently opposed democracy and indigenous rights in Guatemala, and supported various efforts to overthrow democratically elected governments in the country.  Finally in 1954 the US Air Force bombed Guatemala City, and the military has maintained control since then.

The 1954 invasion forced thousands of indigenous communities to return to unpaid labor.  Many continue to work for no pay.  In the case of Rincon de San Valentin, community residents worked for decades without receiving pay.

In the 1990s World Bank and International Monetary Fund investments dramatically changed global agriculture markets, and many “land owners” in Guatemala sold “their land” and moved to evict indigenous peasants who had been living there for centuries.  The plantation surrounding Rincon de San Valentin has been sold four times since 1998.  During this time community members have been repeatedly attacked and threatened, including kidnapping of children, arrest of community leaders and the January 15, 2014 attack against the community by over 200 members of the National Civil Police.

Today the community lives in constant terror.  Families await a threatened violent eviction by the government.  Residents must use extreme caution when going to the market or church because they might be arrested on false charges.  Children suffer increased malnutrition as a result of the precarious situation.

For more information please visit www.GuatemalaSolidarityProject.org