| The State Department web site below is a permanent electronic archive of information released prior to January 20, 2001. Please see www.state.gov for material released since President George W. Bush took office on that date. This site is not updated so external links may no longer function. Contact us with any questions about finding information. NOTE: External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views contained therein. |
TITLE: GUATEMALA HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1993
DATE: JANUARY 31, 1994
AUTHOR: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
GUATEMALA
Guatemala's 1985 Constitution calls for election by universal
suffrage of a one-term President, a unicameral Congress, and
municipal officers; it mandates an independent judiciary and a
human rights ombudsman, who is elected by and reports to
Congress. Midway through his 5-year term, after rising street
protests, President Jorge Serrano suspended several sections of
the Constitution and dissolved Congress and the Supreme and
Constitutional Courts on May 25. After extremely negative
domestic and international reaction to this extraconstitutional
move, Serrano was peacefully and constitutionally dismissed on
June 1. Congress and the courts were called back into session,
and on June 5, Congress, as prescribed by the Constitution,
elected then Human Rights Ombudsman Ramiro de Leon Carpio to
finish Serrano's presidential term, which ends in January 1996.
The armed forces operate with considerable institutional and
legal autonomy, particularly in security and military matters.
President de Leon Carpio, as Commander in Chief, replaced two
Defense Ministers with officers of his own choosing. The
43,000-man army, which has responsibility for national
security, has fought a leftist insurgency for more than three
decades. The National Police (12,000 strong) and Treasury
Police (2,000) report to the Interior Minister and share
responsibility for internal security with the army. A target
of frequent criticism by human rights groups, the "Hunapu"
anticrime task force patrols--composed of National Police,
Treasury Police, and Mobile Military Police (PMA)--were
eliminated during the year. However, in December, as part of a
Christmastime anticrime effort, limited joint patrols were
reinstituted in some communities. The new President appointed
a civilian as National Police chief in August, as well as other
civilians to senior positions in the police and Ministry of
Interior, and removed all military personnel from the police on
August 27. Some 500,000 men serve in voluntary civil
self-defense committees, commonly called Civil Defense Patrols
(PAC's), some of which conduct counterinsurgency patrols in
rural areas. The Human Rights Ombudsman and the Catholic
Archbishop's Human Rights Office report that some PAC members
were compelled to join the patrols, in violation of the
Constitution. Security forces and especially PAC'S committed
numerous serious human rights violations in 1993.
The agriculture-based, private sector-oriented economy was
projected to grow approximately 4 percent in 1993, which would
produce an increase in per capita income of about 1 percent.
Inflation was expected to reach 12 percent. Guatemala has
negotiated a shadow agreement with the International Monetary
Fund, despite fiscal and monetary difficulties. There is a
marked disparity in income distribution and poverty is
pervasive, particularly in the large indigenous community.
Although there were improvements in the human rights situation
in 1993, serious abuses occurred frequently. Statistics
prepared by the Archbishop's Human Rights Office showed an
increase in extrajudicial killings as of mid-December and a
substantial increase in forced disappearances, with no
improvement in other categories. Many of these violations
occurred in the latter half of the year. The civil patrols,
military, and police continued to commit a majority of the
major violations, including extrajudicial killings, political
kidnapings, and death threats. The seriousness of the
continuing violations was underlined by the circulation in
March of a "death list" containing 24 names and another in
October with 23 names. However, no one on either list was
kidnaped or killed.
The election of President de Leon Carpio, the highly respected
former human rights ombudsman, raised hopes there would be a
rapid improvement in the human rights situation. The new
President encouraged human rights groups and showed a
willingness to investigate abuses and to make structural
changes, such as dismantling the "Archivos" presidential
intelligence unit and restructuring the police, including
creation of a special police unit to investigate all cases of
forced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and other
violations of a political nature allegedly committed by the
police. Nevertheless, these changes failed to reduce the
actual number of abuses allegedly committed by government
forces. The 33-year-old internal insurgency continued to be a
major cause of human rights violations. Both the security
forces and the guerrillas committed numerous and serious human
rights abuses. Guerrilla abuses included extrajudicial
killings, kidnapings, forced labor recruitment, widespread use
of mines and explosives in civilian areas, and the use of
children in combat. Guerrilla attacks on infrastructure
targets continued throughout the year.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
Freedom from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
Politically motivated killings continued in 1993, and with few
exceptions the Government failed to investigate them fully or
to detain and prosecute the perpetrators of extrajudicial
killings. Full-year statistics from the Human Rights
Ombudsman's Office listed 14 cases of extrajudicial killings,
with 146 other cases under investigation. This compares with
48 confirmed extrajudicial killings in 1992, with 318 under
investigation. The Archbishop's Human Rights Office reported
239 extrajudicial killings up to mid-December 1993 as compared
to 204 in 1992 but did not break down the figures according to
the responsible organization.
The security forces and persons associated with or protected by
the army, such as the Civil Defense Patrols or military
commissioners, committed a number of these killings, many of
which took place in areas of guerrilla conflict. The
Ombudsman, the Attorney General, and human rights groups have
found evidence of killings by PAC's. PAC leaders are feared in
many rural communities. They enjoy army backing and often
immunity from prosecution. Likewise, members of the security
forces are rarely held accountable for human rights violations.
Civil patrols continued to be especially responsible for human
rights violations, including the killing of human rights
activists. PAC's threatened and killed members of the Runujel
Junam Council of Ethnic Communities (CERJ), a rural-based human
rights organization dedicated mainly to opposing involuntary
service in PAC's. Tomas Lares Cipriano, a CERJ and United
Peasants Committee (CUC) member in Joyabaj, was killed on April
30 by PAC members, according to family members and witnesses.
Ten persons, from two separate families, took refuge in the
Santa Cruz del Quiche CERJ office on June 10 after being
threatened with death for not participating in PAC's and for
being CERJ members. On October 14, 3 of the 10 left the CERJ
offices under police protection and resettled in a town without
a PAC. The other seven returned to their original community in
early January. Charges against CERJ leader Amilcar Mendez for
allegedly providing explosives to guerrillas in October 1992
were dropped in March. Captain Anibal Roberto Landaveri,
Commander of the Chiul, Quiche, stockade, was arrested in May
for having three CERJ members beaten on his base. He was
dismissed from the army and tried for illegal detention, abuse
of authority, coercion, and causing injuries. In addition to
being dismissed, he was found guilty and sentenced to 2 1/2
years in prison and payment of damages to those harmed.
However, the sentence was suspended by the military court,
which has the discretion to do so when a light sentence is
imposed.
On August 3, Huehuetenango PAC members fired on marchers
demanding the dissolution of the civil patrols, killing Juan
Chonay Pablo and wounding two others. Five PAC members have
been questioned by the authorities for Chonay's murder, with
one still remaining in jail. Ten arrest warrants for other PAC
members remain outstanding. Witnesses subsequently reported
receiving threats from PAC members. PAC leader Efrain Domingo
Morales, from the town of Xemal in the same area, was murdered
by unknown persons in mid-September. A surviving family member
reported that PAC members killed two peasants from Xemal,
Colotenango, on September 26.
Former Corporal Nicolas Gutierrez Cruz, convicted in the
January 17, 1992, killing of four persons in Ciudad Peronia,
exhausted his legal appeals on July 23 when the Constitutional
Court denied his request to void his death sentence. In early
October, President de Leon Carpio commuted his sentence to
30 years, the maximum legally possible. A fellow ex-soldier
convicted in the killings escaped on May 9, 1992; in May 1993,
an appellate court sentenced an army enlisted man to 2 years in
prison for negligence in allowing the escape. On March 19, the
then Human Rights Ombudsman de Leon Carpio accused army troops
of responsibility for the August 31, 1992, kidnaping, torture,
and murder of Huehuetenango peasant Lucas Perez Tadeo.
Although the army promised a full investigation, no results
were reported by year's end.
On May 1, civil patrol members in Jocopilas surrounded a house
and killed 11 inhabitants (as well as an unborn child). Many
of the 11 were known as criminals in the community and, the day
of their deaths, are said to have robbed one family and raped
three women. Police arrived prior to the killings but left
after being intimidated by the local PAC.
On the Government's appeal of an earlier acquittal, Quiche PAC
chiefs Manuel Perebal Ajtzalam and Manuel Leon Lares were
sentenced to 30 years in prison for the February 17, 1991,
killing of Juan Perebal Xirum and his son and the injuring of
another son. Those attacked had testified against Perebal in
the case of Sebastian Velasquez Mejia, a community leader
opposed to the PAC's who was kidnaped and later found dead.
Persons associated with the security forces were responsible
for vigilante killings. According to the Casa Alianza, an
organization that fosters protection of the human rights of
street children, street children Henry Yubani Alvarez and
Francisco Tziac were shot in downtown Guatemala City on April
17 and 22. Casa Alianza believes that a private security guard
killed Alvarez and off-duty military commissioners wounded
Tziac, both shot possibly due to petty thievery. On May 11, a
congressional bodyguard shot a student protesting at the
Congress. He died a day later; the bodyguard who allegedly
killed him remains a fugitive.
There was some progress in certain past high-profile cases.
Former government security agent Noel de Jesus Beteta Alvarez
was sentenced in February to 30 years in prison for the 1990
murder of Guatemalan anthropologist Myrna Mack Chang and the
unrelated beating of a minor. The conviction is now being
appealed, with plaintiff Helen Mack also seeking prosecution of
the alleged military "intellectual authors" of the crime. On
September 1, Myrna Mack's former workplace was broken into and
death threats left against Helen Mack. On September 23, Beteta
briefly escaped from jail but was recaptured 5 hours later and
charged in the escape.
On May 11, an appellate court sentenced Captain Hugo Contreras
to 20 years for planning the 1990 kidnaping that led to the
death of U.S. citizen Michael Devine and confirmed the 30-year
sentences for six enlisted men. After hearing the verdict,
however, Contreras escaped from military custody and remains at
large. While the circumstances of his escape suggested
complicity by the military, the only punishment was a 2-year
suspended sentence given to an enlisted man for not being at
his post when Contreras escaped. Senior officers accused of
covering up the case have not been brought to trial.
On August 18, an appeals court sentenced 22 former police
officers, who formed part of a "Hunapu" patrol, to 30 years in
prison for the April 10, 1992, death of university student
Julio Rigoberto Cu Quim and for injuring six other students.
Earlier, on July 22, seven PMA members of the same patrol were
given sentences of 14 years (4 commutable) for the crime.
There was no progress in resolving numerous other cases of past
extrajudicial killings, including the 1988 "white van" case, the
1989 disappearances and murders of university students, the 1990
Hector Oqueli Colindres and Gilda Flores killings, the 1990
disappearance of Maria Tiu Tojin and her daughter, the 1991
murder of police detective Jose Luis Merida Escobar, the 1991
disappearance of Diego Domingo Martin, or past kidnapings and
murders of various CERJ members. On May 5, an appeals court
upheld a lower court decision to dismiss charges against six
military defendants for the 1991 "Traileros" killings in
Taxisco. The decision was appealed. The Government's frequent
inability to control or sanction those responsible for human
rights offenses is a major impediment to human rights progress.
b. Disappearance
The Archbishop's Human Rights Office reported 46 forced
disappearances during 1993, as compared with 11 in 1992.
Seventeen were either labeled or presumed to be political in
nature. Reports linked many political disappearances to
persons connected with the armed forces. The Ombudsman's
Office listed 2 cases of forced disappearances, with 29 others
under investigation at year's end. This compares with the
Ombudman's 1992 statistics of 10 confirmed forced
disappearances and 62 cases still under investigation. The
Government did not identify or prosecute the perpetrators of
any of these disappearances.
In August the wife of guerrilla Efrain Bamaca claimed he was
being held in a clandestine prison after results of an
exhumation of his supposed grave proved negative. The army
denied this, though it has admitted in the past to housing
former guerrillas who cooperate with the armed forces on
military bases. One of these ex-guerrillas, Angel Osorio, was
killed on August 19 by members of the Guatemala National
Revolutionary Unity (URNG) guerrilla coalition when he was
stopped at a guerrilla roadblock after leaving a Quiche
military base to visit his family.
Guerrilla forces kidnaped San Marcos PAC members Margarito
Lopez and Obdulio Zapeta on August 7 and Diego Chel Matom, an
army enlisted man riding a bus in Quiche 3 days later. In
early December, the press reported that 10 persons dressed in
the manner of URNG guerrillas approached Ramona Munoz and
Maritza Gil as they were working on their Santa Rose farm and
took them to nearby mountains under threat of death. The
whereabouts of all these persons were unknown as of year's end.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment
The Constitution protects the integrity and security of the
person. However, as in past years, many bodies were found
throughout Guatemala bearing signs of severe disfigurement or
postmortem mutilation. The Human Rights Ombudsman's Office
listed seven cases of torture in 1993. The Archbishop's Human
Rights Office listed nine cases of torture through
mid-December. In one case, a male student was picked up by
three unidentified men on March 27, beaten unconscious, held
for 3 days, and asked about student leaders. In April a female
victim was also beaten unconscious but apparently was not asked
any questions.
There were other credible reports of mistreatment by security
forces, including use of excessive force by police at the time
of arrest and of abusive treatment of persons in rural areas by
the army, Civil Defense Patrols, military commissioners, and
police. The Government often failed to investigate or take any
other action in response to such reports. Although action was
rarely taken, cases of rape traced to individual soldiers were
reported.
Casa Alianza, the organization dedicated to street children,
reported in March that street child Julio Cesar Reyes was
picked up by two persons he recognized as policemen and burned
on his arm 29 times with a cigarette. On May 23, a street
child reported having acid thrown at him by the police. There
were numerous other reports of policemen beating or illegally
detaining street children; the authorities rarely took action
in any of these instances.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
Despite legal safeguards, there were frequent credible reports
of arbitrary arrest by the security forces, incommunicado
detention, and failure to adhere to the prescribed time limits
for legal procedures. A court-issued arrest warrant is
required unless a person is caught in the act of committing a
crime. Police may not detain a suspect for over 6 hours
without bringing him before a judge. The law provides for bail,
access to lawyers, and limits to 20 days the time anyone may be
held. After that period, a detainee must be charged or freed,
and the authorities must produce detainees on court request.
Some persons detained illegally reported having been held at
safe houses allegedly operated by security forces. Those
responsible for illegal detentions routinely ignore writs of
habeas corpus. The Archbishop's Human Rights Office charged
that prisoners are sometimes not released in a timely fashion
after completing their sentences due to the failure of judges
to issue the necessary court order.
Investigations during the Serrano presidency into the
activities of former Izabal department governor Lilian Vasquez
de Guzman and alleged corruption by former Health Minister
Miguel Montepeque appeared politically motivated. Montepeque
was subsequently cleared of charges; Vasquez de Guzman went
into self-imposed temporary exile in mid-February. The problem
of politically motivated investigations lessened after the
accession of de Leon Carpio to the presidency.
Exile is prohibited under the Constitution and is not practiced.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The judicial system is ineffective and often unable to ensure a
fair trial (see below). The Constitution provides for an
independent judiciary composed of a Constitutional Court, a
Supreme Court, appeals courts, and several courts of special
jurisdiction, such as labor courts. However, military courts
have jurisdiction over military personnel, including military
commissioners who commit crimes while on official business,
thus limiting the ability of civil courts to prosecute persons
under military control in human rights abuse cases. PAC
members are civilians and not under military jurisdiction.
Civilian trials are public after the first 15 days, which are
dedicated to an initial investigative phase that is closed.
Defendants have the right to be present at trials and to legal
representation. An appeals court automatically reviews
convictions. The Criminal Procedure Code is being changed to
introduce oral proceedings (in both Spanish and indigenous
languages) open to the public and to establish a viable public
defender program. To allow more time for training and
compliance, however, in December the effective date of the new
Criminal Procedure Code was postponed until July 1994.
Most human rights violations are not investigated; security
force personnel are reluctant to investigate cases involving
colleagues. Police are also relatively few in number and lack
resources and training. Judges are susceptible to intimidation
and corruption and suffer from low pay, bad working conditions,
and low morale. The Supreme Court and some lower court judges
came under public pressure to resign for corruption and
politicization of the legal system.
Some judges succeeded in being excused from hearing prominent
cases by alleging they had received death threats. A total of
12 different judges were excused from the Myrna Mack Chang
case, for example. The appeals court judges who heard the
Mack, Devine, and "Traileros" cases reported having received
threats in 1993. In addition, officials from the Attorney
General's and Human Rights Ombudsman's offices, including the
Ombudsman himself, have received threats.
Charges continue to be made publicly that the Supreme Court
pressures lower court judges to decide cases in line with its
wishes. In January the Constitutional Court ruled that the
Supreme Court practice of arbitrarily transferring justices was
unconstitutional, limiting one means of interfering in lower
court cases.
There are no known political prisoners.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
The Constitution provides for the inviolability of home,
correspondence, and private documents, but these provisions are
not always respected. Elements of the security forces continue
to monitor private communications. Many human rights monitors
reported receiving threats in the form of surveillance,
telephone calls, and anonymous letters.
On March 26, the Guatemalan postal workers union and the Human
Rights Ombudsman exposed a secret government mail interception
unit located at the central post office. The Ombudsman
attributed responsibility for the letter-opening operation to
the presidential intelligence unit known as "Archivos," which
was later disbanded.
Officials enforcing the military draft continued to enter homes
and places of business without legally required court orders.
The army attempted to curb such abuses in Quiche by setting up
a draft board consisting of the zone military commander, the
local representative of the Human Rights Ombudsman's office,
and other civilian leaders. Under recruitment practices also
adopted in other departments, potential draftees receive three
induction notices, after which they are arrested if they do not
report for enlistment. Under Guatemalan law, such arrests must
be effected pursuant to a court order.
Credible reports of forced recruitment continued, however,
particularly in late January. On July 27, in what was said to
be the first case of its kind outside a city, Jalapa peasant
Juan Engel Morales Lima filed suit claiming he was a victim of
forced recruitment. In September Alvaro Enrique Madrid Matta
was released from the army due to his being a minor after the
Human Rights Ombudsman filed suit on September 14, asserting he
had been forcibly recruited in August.
The Constitution requires that PAC service be voluntary.
However, army officers, military commissioners, and PAC leaders
often pressure men in areas of conflict to become PAC members.
There were credible reports that some who refused to serve were
killed or suffered other abuses.
g. Use of Excessive Force and Violations of Humanitarian
Law in Internal Conflicts
Guatemala's armed internal conflict entered its 33rd year in
1993 and continued to be a major cause of human rights
violations by both government and guerrilla forces. After a
promising first half of the year, peace talks collapsed in
early May. Human rights issues and the timing of a proposed
cease-fire were primary areas of disagreement. The de Leon
Carpio Government sought to renew the peace talks under a
format allowing greater participation by other groups in
Guatemalan society. Talks resumed under U.N. auspices in
January 1994.
Communities of People in Resistance (CPR) claimed army
harassment throughout the year, including late evening
helicopter overflights and restriction of commerce. On
February 27, Episcopal Conference Secretary Bishop Ramazzini
announced that some 500 Guatemalans had fled to Mexico to avoid
army operations in Cuarto Pueblo, Quiche. They later returned.
On August 23, two former PAC members stated that PAC leaders
and a military officer had forced them earlier in the year to
harass a CPR. In September President de Leon Carpio met with a
CPR delegation to discuss their complaints. CPR leaders
announced the intention of their communities to live openly,
establishing permanent settlements in 1994.
Bombings conducted by unknown perpetrators continued, with
targets including former President Serrano's Solidarity Action
Movement party headquarters and the headquarters of the
Christian Democratic Party. Four banks were also bombed, and
numerous rural electrical towers were blown up in January and
February. Further bombings occurred in September, apparently
tied to a political struggle involving efforts to remove
allegedly corrupt Congressmen and Supreme Court officials from
office. Commercial institutions, Christian Democratic Party
headquarters, the Guatemalan Jurists Association, and the
offices of the Mutual Support Group (GAM--a human rights group
active in the removal effort), were targets. Shots also were
fired near GAM leader Nineth Montenegro de Garcia's home on
September 11; some congressional deputies and the Supreme Court
president also reported death threats. No one was apprehended
for these attacks and threats.
Guerrilla forces continued to recruit children into their
ranks. Government troops found a 10-year-old child guerrilla
after an armed engagement near Raxhuja, Alta Verapaz, on
March 9. The wounded child was evacuated to a Guatemala City
military hospital. In another instance, on June 17,
13-year-old Mario Ixcal was captured near La Libertad, Peten,
after being wounded in an army-guerrilla clash. Treated and
released to the Ombudsman's office, Ixcal said his URNG unit
contained two other young boys. Documented cases of civilians
being injured by guerrilla mines also occurred in 1993.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The Constitution provides for freedom of expression. However,
radio and television station owners charge that licensing and
renewal procedures have been used to threaten stations critical
of the Government, security forces, or powerful individuals.
When Serrano was President, newspapers also complained about
government interference, especially efforts to silence
criticism of the President, his family, and alleged wrongdoing
by security forces. On February 4, newspaper columnist Marta
Altoaguirre's father's automobile was attacked by a group of
heavily armed men. Although neither her father nor driver were
injured, Altoaguirre, an outspoken critic of then President
Serrano, characterized the attack as an effort to intimidate
her.
While journalists assert that they operate more freely under
the de Leon administration than they have at any other time in
recent history, threats and attacks on journalists continued.
On July 3, Jorge Carpio Nicolle, El Grafico publisher and a
political party leader, was shot and killed by a group of armed
men while traveling along a highway in Quetzaltenango. On
December 24, Victor Manuel de la Cruz, a reporter for Radio
Sonora, was shot and subsequently died in Guatemala City. Both
cases remained unsolved at year's end, although the Government
claims motivation for the attacks was criminal, not political.
On August 1, unknown individuals fired on the offices of the
daily newspaper Siglo XXI. Despite President de Leon's
personal interest, this case also remained unsolved at year's
end. Five days later, three police officers threatened two
journalists covering a student disturbance. The new police
director disciplined the three officers, and one is currently
awaiting trial for this threat. In mid-August, a television
journalist who interviewed two senior URNG officials received
threats.
On October 8, Oscar Masaya, director of a cable television news
program, was severely beaten in Guatemala City. On October 28,
10 journalists were beaten by unknown individuals when they
attempted to cover a press conference being given by activists
occupying the Congress. During November the weekly Cronica
reported receiving a threat that it should pay protection money
to an alleged URNG representative. On November 25, newspaper
editor Carlos Rigalt Cervantes was shot and pursued by persons
in a car that moments earlier had struck the auto he was
driving. A number of journalists, including the director of
Tinamit magazine, also reported receiving death threats
throughout the year. Several were included on a 24-person
"death list" that appeared in late March or on a separate list
that appeared in early October.
Newspapers, magazines, and radio and television stations were
subjected to censorship when President Serrano announced his
May 25 extraconstitutional actions. Radio and television
stations also were forced to broadcast standardized government
programming for extended periods. Security forces seized
several thousand copies of the Cronica magazine issue reporting
Serrano's actions, which were found burned by a roadside in
late July. A number of journalists refused to cooperate with
authorities during the coup; they were not harmed as censorship
quickly broke down and a free press returned after Serrano's
fall.
Despite harassment, the news media reported all major human
rights stories and publicized communiques from the URNG,
leftist groups, and others opposed to the Government or its
policies. Both major press associations denounced incidents
restricting freedom of the press and vowed to continue coverage
of sensitive topics. Journalists admit, however, that
self-censorship stemming from fear of reprisal continues to
impede full investigative reporting on a variety of topics,
including alleged government human rights violations,
corruption of government officials and influential politicians,
aspects of narcotics trafficking, and issues affecting the
economic interests of powerful individuals.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The Constitution guarantees the right of peaceful assembly and
association, but authorities banned rallies and broke up a
demonstration following Serrano's May 25 coup. Prior to the
coup, there was a plethora of demonstrations, some involving
violence between police and marchers. Some demonstrators also
claimed later harassment by security forces in retribution for
their participation in the marches. Street demonstrations were
a factor in focusing public disapproval on Serrano's actions.
With his exit from office, constitutional guarantees of
peaceful assembly and association were restored.
Freedom of political association is guaranteed under the
Constitution, although organizations are nominally required to
obtain legal status, a cumbersome and expensive procedure. In
mid-December, the Government announced a streamlining of these
procedures.
c. Freedom of Religion
No state religion exists. Religious freedom is constitutionally
guaranteed and is respected in practice. Religious personnel
are sometimes threatened for political reasons. About 70 per
cent of the population is nominally Catholic, but many other
faiths operate freely, especially evangelical Protestantism.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
The Government does not restrict foreign travel, nor does it
revoke citizenship for political reasons. Movement inside the
country was unrestricted except where the army and PAC's
limited travel in some areas of conflict. Guerrillas continued
to establish roadblocks, assault private citizens to demand
"war taxes," attack and drain petroleum trucks, and limit
travel in certain rural areas.
Repatriation of refugees continued. By the end of 1993, 5,135
refugees had been repatriated to Guatemala. In December a
large group of approximately 1,300 refugees returned to a
conflict-torn zone that was originally their home.
On August 25, a representative of the Guatemalan refugee
community in Mexico, Joaquin Jimenez Bautista, was beaten by a
crowd including PAC members in Todos Santos, Huehuetenango.
Jimenez had returned to Guatemala on August 17 as part of a
refugee group searching for resettlement sites. On the day of
the beating, he had left the group, returning for a visit to
his former village. Crowd members later formally charged that
Jimenez was a known guerrilla, who participated in murders in
that town in the 1980's. Jimenez was briefly detained by
police after a military patrol prevented the mob from lynching
him. Jimenez was released by order of the Minister of
Government and returned to Mexico on August 26.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
Guatemalans have the right to change their government by
peaceful and democratic means. Universal suffrage by secret
ballot exists for those 18 years of age and older; there are no
property or literacy requirements, but members of the armed
forces and police may not vote. The last national elections,
which international observers found free and fair, were held in
January 1991.
Following the removal of President Serrano and Vice President
Espina, Ramiro de Leon Carpio was elected President by a
congressional vote and sworn in on June 6, as prescribed by the
Constitution. Congress elected Arturo Herbruger, who was head
of Guatemala's independent Supreme Electoral Tribunal until
retiring in early June, as Vice President on June 18.
Several women hold prominent political positions, including
three Cabinet posts. Six of 116 members of Congress are
female; 2 women are Supreme Court justices. A few women also
hold important positions in political parties. Of the over 300
municipalities in Guatemala, women serve as mayors in only 5
(there had been no female mayors prior to the May elections in
276 small municipalities). There are no legal impediments to
women's participation in politics, but females are
underrepresented in the political arena. As of March 1990, 60
percent of registered voters were men and 40 percent women,
despite women being slightly more numerous than men in the
general population.
Indigenous people enjoy equal rights under the Constitution,
and some have attained positions as Congressmen, army officers
(including one general), government officials, and judges.
Nevertheless, pervasive discrimination (see Section 5) limits
opportunities for indigenous people to assume prominent roles
in politics.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
of Human Rights
Local human rights groups are permitted to operate, but members
suffered threats and violence from security forces and PAC's.
A greater tolerance for their activity exists since the de Leon
administration took office. As noted in Section 1.a., members
of the human rights organization CERJ were killed and
threatened, and CERJ's Guatemala City office was broken into on
May 8. CONAVIGUA, an indigenous widows' organization prominent
in the advocacy of women's and human rights issues, also
received threats. Prior to the midyear change in
administrations, President Serrano and members of his Cabinet
criticized both local and international human rights groups,
accusing them of intentionally distorting Guatemala's human
rights record for political purposes. High-ranking government
officials working in the fields of human rights and
jurisprudence complained publicly and privately of receiving
threats stemming from their interest in resolving cases related
to human rights violations, official corruption, and drug
trafficking.
Relations between the executive branch and the Ombudsman's
office were tense at times in the first half of the year,
though, after the election of de Leon Carpio as President,
matters improved considerably. The Ombudsman's office
continued to enjoy widespread public support and respect;
Congress elected Jorge Mario Garcia Laguardia as the new Human
Rights Ombudsman to replace de Leon Carpio. The new Government
made clear its willingness and commitment to receive
international and domestic human rights groups. Senior
officials met numerous foreign and international officials and
activists.
The Peace Brigades, an international human rights monitoring
organization, was unable to obtain government recognition
despite persistent efforts. The absence of legal status did
not, however, prevent Peace Brigades or other human rights
organizations from operating openly.
On June 17, union activist Elizabeth Recinos was kidnaped, along
with a companion. Though the companion was quickly released,
Recinos was held for 4 days, drugged, and beaten. President de
Leon condemned the kidnaping, and the police conducted an
investigation, though no arrests were made. The police
initially labeled this a "self-kidnaping," although there were
more credible claims that the action was meant as a threat to
unions and human rights groups. On July 11, union official
Walter Manuel Najera Molina was kidnaped and interrogated about
union activities for 3 hours by four armed men, during which
time he was beaten. During his questioning, Najera was asked
about various political and human rights leaders, whom his
captives linked to the guerrillas.
On September 1, a member of a group advocating a purge of
alleged corrupt congressional and Supreme Court officials, Olga
Marina Ruano Cruz, was abducted and beaten before being
released a day later.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
Disability, Language, or Social Status
Women
Despite legal protection, women face job discrimination and on
average receive significantly lower pay than men. They are
primarily employed in low wage jobs in the textile industry,
agriculture, retail business, and the public sector. A
mid-1991 U.N. study reported that women, although slightly more
than half the total population, make up only 24 percent of the
economically active population. More working women than men
are employed in the informal sector of the economy, where pay
and benefits are generally low. A 1989 survey reported that in
Guatemala City women are underrepresented in high-income
categories and overrepresented among poorly paid workers.
The Constitution asserts the principle of equality between the
sexes. Nonetheless, not all domestic laws have been modified
to take into account this constitutional provision or to reflect
the numerous treaties bearing on the rights of women to which
Guatemala has adhered. (Provisions of such treaties take
precedence over domestic law.) In some cases, laws remain
discriminatory against women, such as the Penal Code's
provisions on adultery. Only women may be charged with
adultery, while men fall under a different statute, which is
more limited, makes it more difficult to prove, and carries a
lesser penalty.
CONAVIGUA reported that violence against women, including
domestic violence, remains common but receives little attention.
There is no specific law against domestic violence, although it
is considered to fall under other statutes. Criminal sexual
violence often goes unreported by victims, and relatively
few rape cases come to court. The Ombudsman's office has only
recently begun collecting statistics on this problem.
Children
When signing the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child,
the Government stated its commitment to children's human rights
and welfare and pledged to revise its laws in line with the
Convention. The Human Rights Ombudsman's office, along with a
commission of 25 governmental and nongovernmental organizations
(NGO's), was revising the current Code but at year's end had
not completed the task.
The abuse of street children (see Section 1.c.) is a serious
problem in major cities. Estimates of street children range
between 1,500 and 5,000, with the majority of these youths
concentrated in Guatemala City. These children are often
recruited into thievery or prostitution rings. The Government
and a number of NGO's have youth centers, but the funds devoted
to them are inadequate for the problem. In August the
Government opened a school in San Jose Pinula for the
rehabilitation of street children.
An accord between Casa Alianza and the Attorney General's office
was not renewed in 1993 due to problems involving the suspension
of the then Attorney General. On August 16, the new civilian
police director met with Casa Alianza as one of his first public
acts and expressed his commitment to the rights of street
children and his intention to punish police officers and others
who abuse them. Casa Alianza announced after the visit that it
and the police will coordinate programs to combat street
children's drug addiction and abuse of the children. The police
director also assumed personal responsibility for the
Department's Minors' Division, and the Ministry of Government
established a separate division to handle street children
matters.
Indigenous People
Indigenous people comprise one-half of the population but
remain largely outside the country's political, economic,
social, and cultural mainstream. Indigenous people suffered
most of the serious human rights abuses described throughout
this report. Rural indigenous men were more likely than urban
dwellers to be drafted by the army or forcibly recruited by
either the army or guerrilla groups. Although indigenous
people are accorded equal rights by the Constitution, in
practice they have only minimal participation in decisions
affecting their lands, culture, traditions, and allocation of
natural resources.
Rural indigenous people have limited educational opportunities
and thus have limited employment opportunities. Illiteracy is
prevalent in indigenous communities. Many indigenous people do
not speak Spanish. Linguistic barriers hinder interaction with
the Government and limit access to public services, including
the judiciary, because few officials speak indigenous
languages. Indigenous persons arrested for crimes are often at
a disadvantage due to their lack of Spanish. The Public
Defender's Office is charged with providing judicial
translating services but is not sufficiently staffed to cope
with the problem. Under the new Penal Code, the Government
will be required to provide translating services to all in need.
People with Disabilities
The Constitution provides that the State should protect
disabled persons. Nonetheless, physically disabled persons are
discriminated against in employment practices, and few
resources are devoted to combat this problem or otherwise to
assist people with disabilities. There is no legislation
mandating accessibility for the disabled.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The Constitution and the 1947 Labor Code, as amended, provide
workers freedom of association and the right to form and join
trade unions. The Labor Code was amended in late 1992 to
facilitate freedom of association, to strengthen the rights of
working women, to increase penalties for violations of labor
laws, and to enhance the role of the Labor Ministry and labor
courts in enforcing them. All workers have the right to form
or join unions, including public sector employees, with the
exception of members of security forces. In February a decree
interpreting "essential services" in such a way as to restrict
organizing public sector workers was withdrawn, following
protests by public sector employees and the Minister of Labor.
After national police officers were unsuccessful in their
attempts to form a trade union or association during most of
the year, the new Director opened a dialog with representatives
of this group. Between 5 and 8 percent of the work force is
organized. The 890 unions in the country are independent of
government and political party domination.
The Labor Code amendments simplified the process for unions to
obtain legal status, which had been criticised as excessively
cumbersome, by eliminating a number of provisions, including
one that required the nation's President to sign the final
papers. Complaints by trade union leaders about continuing
problems with the recognition process, plus concerns expressed
by the International Labor Organization (ILO) Committee of
Experts, prompted the new Minister of Labor to seek revisions
to this procedure. In November the Labor Ministry issued
revised internal regulations covering the approval of new trade
unions. This reduced the number of steps needed within the
Ministry to grant approval, established strict timetables for
consideration of union applications, and made clear that
noncompliance with this timetable could lead to dismissal of
guilty bureaucrats.
Experience with these new regulations during the last 2 months
of 1993 seems to indicate they helped accelerate the approval
procedure. For example, the application by workers at a
bottling company in La Mariposa received final approval in a
record 5 weeks. During the last half of 1993, most of the
backlog of union applications was eliminated and several
previously controversial union applications were approved, such
as the union representing Coca-Cola workers in Puerto Barrios,
several unions representing "maquila" (drawback, or in-bond
export) workers, and the long-pending application by the union
representing workers in the Bank of the Army (Banco del
Ejercito).
Workers have the right to strike, but Labor Code procedures
make legal strikes cumbersome. The ILO Committee of Experts
criticized the requirement that two-thirds of the workers vote
to approve a strike and the prohibition of strikes by
agricultural workers at harvest time, as well as those deemed
by the Government to affect the national economy seriously.
The few strikes that did occur were generally called without
legal authorization, and in practice the Government made no
effort to intervene on the basis of illegality. Nonetheless,
the lack of legal sanction for a strike can be used as a threat
against strikers. Organized labor's structural weaknesses, a
reluctance to organize forcefully, the paucity of membership
funds, and a poor overall economic situation with high
unemployment and underemployment limit the duration of
virtually all strikes.
The law protects workers from retribution for forming and
participating in trade union activities, but compliance with
the law varies. While some employers accept unionization, many
employers routinely attempt to circumvent Labor Code provisions
in order to resist union activities, which many view as
exceedingly confrontational and disruptive. Enforcement of the
right to form and participate in trade union activities is
further hindered by an incompetent legal system and the
inadequate level of penalties provided by law for violations.
Fines for violating the Labor Code were increased when the Code
was amended in 1992.
Trade union leaders and individual workers reported that
workers were threatened with the loss of their jobs or physical
harm for their interest in forming a union. The International
Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) alleged that a wave
of illegal and arbitrary mass firings and intimidation took
place at the beginning of the year, including the dismissal of
515 union members at the State Forest and Wildlife Office and
the firing of 25 workers from the National Agrarian Reform
Institute for joining a union.
One union leader was discharged in late 1992 by a state-owned
enterprise for participating in a seminar sponsored by the
American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial
Organizations despite clear contract language that would permit
such training. Although a lower labor court acted quickly and
ordered the company to reinstate this leader, there was no
final action on his case during the year. This case was
unusual because union leaders and other industrial relations
observers agree that labor courts are generally slow to hear
complaints, as well as to issue decisions related to complaints
by workers and unionists that their rights to form and join
trade unions are not protected.
Trade union leaders and members were among those subjected to a
variety of abuses, such as threats, assassination attempts,
kidnapings, and physical harm (see Section 4). A number of
trade union officials or members were kidnaped during the
year. They were generally questioned about the activities of
well-known union leaders, often physically abused (but not
killed), and then released. Since many of these incidents
happened during the period just after Ramiro de Leon Carpio
became President, these attacks seemed intended as a warning to
trade unionists and other leaders about their increased
exposure in political affairs.
Public sector union leaders, as well as unionists in the
high-profile maquila sector, also reported receiving threats
against themselves and their families, usually coinciding with
union demands for improved benefits. The ICFTU charged that
many trade unionists were forced into or sought exile.
By law, union leaders may serve only one term in a particular
union office, but, by rotating union positions, the same
persons can stay on union executive boards for extended periods
of time. The Constitution and the 1992 Code amendments protect
the right of political participation for individuals, including
trade union leaders. During 1993 trade union leaders became
more involved in national political affairs, particularly
during the political turmoil following the resignation of
former president Serrano and the move to purge Congress and the
Supreme Court.
Unions may and do form federations and confederations and join
international organizations. With very few exceptions, trade
unions depend on assistance received from international
contacts.
An active "solidarity" movement claimed approximately 100,000
members in over 350 companies. Unions may legally continue to
operate in workplaces which have solidarity associations, and
workers have the right to choose between the two or belong to
both. The Government views these associations as civic
organizations which need not interfere with the functioning of
trade unions, since the amended Labor Code stipulates that
trade unions have the exclusive right to bargain collectively
over work conditions on behalf of workers. Unionists charge,
however, that solidarity associations are promoted by
management to avoid the formation of trade unions or to rival
existing labor unions. There are credible reports that, at
times, democratic principles are not adhered to in the
formation and management of some of these associations, and
workers are unable to participate fully and freely in
decisionmaking. Similar credible charges are made against some
trade union organizations.
At the request of trade union leaders, the independent Human
Rights Ombudsman, through his Office for Economic and Social
Issues, receives complaints related to trade union activities.
Union leaders and workers filed a number of complaints with the
Ombudsman during the year, but no results were apparent by
year's end. In June members of the ILO Committee on the
Application of Conventions noted the serious situation of
violence and insecurity that exists in Guatemala, including
murders and abductions "with the participation of the army and
death squads," as well as the "difficult transition towards
democracy" under way in the country and asked for "total and
unconditional respect" by the new Government to their
observations.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
Workers have the right to organize and bargain collectively but
are often denied this right by antiunion actions of employers.
The practice of collective bargaining is limited, moreover, by
the weak structure of the union movement, the lack of
experience with this practice, and by the preference of
management in many cases to avoid formal ties with trade
unions. While some well-written collective contracts are
honored by both management and the unions, other contracts were
openly ignored and violated by both parties. Most workers,
even those organized by trade unions, do not have collective
contracts to cover their wages and working conditions. Wages
received by the bulk of the work force tend to be the minimum
wages established by a bipartite commission, which operates
under the guidance of the Ministry of Labor.
Workers cannot be dismissed for participating in the formation
of a trade union; complaints in this regard must be filed with
the labor inspectors for resolution. The Labor Code provides
for the right of employers to fire workers for cause and
permits workers to appeal their dismissal to the labor courts
but does not require the reinstatement of any worker fired
without cause. The revised Code prohibits employers from
firing workers for union organizing and protects them for
60 days following the official publication of approval of the
union. It also prohibits employers from firing any member of
the executive committee of a union and protects them for an
additional 12 months after they are no longer on the executive
committee. If a member is fired for cause, this can only be
made effective after a trial and a court resolution has been
issued.
Labor courts responsible for enforcing labor laws continued
generally to be ineffective. Efforts to restructure and
modernize the labor court system made no headway. A heavy
backlog of labor cases continued to clog the courts.
The scarcity of labor inspectors, the lack of adequate training
and resources, and structural weaknesses in the labor court
system resulted in only minimal enforcement of the Labor Code.
The Ministry of Labor hired 37 new labor inspectors in
mid-September and provided them with training and resources to
carry out their functions. Some were assigned to rural areas
to give greater attention to the lack of protection of worker
rights for rural workers. In the second half of the year, the
Ministry of Labor significantly stepped up its inspections and
the number of cases it filed in the courts for failure to
comply with the labor law.
Labor laws and regulations apply throughout the country,
including in the few export processing zones (EPZ's). The laws
governing EPZ's are not discriminatory on the subject of
organizing trade unions or collective bargaining. While union
leaders often blame employer pressures and unofficial
restricted access to the EPZ's for their virtual inability to
organize workers in these zones, labor conditions in these
zones are no different from those found outside the zones.
Workers and trade union leaders charge that all workers,
including those in EPZ's, receive low wages, work long hours
without legally required overtime pay, and toil under poor
working conditions. While Labor Ministry inspectors filed
numerous complaints before the labor courts on these charges,
few of these cases were resolved due to inefficiencies within
the court system, corruption and political chicanery, and legal
maneuvering to prolong the hearing process.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
The Constitution bars forced or compulsory labor, and the
practice does not exist. Human rights and indigenous groups
continue to charge that coerced participation, particularly of
indigenous peoples, in the PAC's violates prohibitions against
forced labor. There were credible reports of isolated
instances of unpaid PAC members being used to provide free
manual labor, but no systematic pattern of such practice was
established.
d. Minimum Age for the Employment of Children
Although the Constitution bars employment of minors under the
age of 14, children below this age are regularly employed in
the formal and informal sectors of the economy. Laws governing
the employment of minors are not effectively enforced, due to
the shortage of qualified labor inspectors and structural
weaknesses in the labor court system. Only 5,000 minors have
legal permission from the Labor Ministry to work. Thousands
working without legal permission are open to exploitation,
generally receiving no social benefits, no social insurance, no
pension or vacations, and no severance pay and are paid below
the minimum wage level. The Labor Ministry has a program to
educate minors, their parents, and employers on the rights of
minors in the labor market. Economic necessity, however,
forces most families to have their children seek some type of
employment to supplement the family income.
The Constitution provides for compulsory education for all
children up to the age of 12 or to the sixth grade. The
statistics on illiteracy, however, clearly demonstrate this law
is not enforced. The national illiteracy rate is 52 percent,
with rural areas showing a rate of 85 percent. The bulk of
those who cannot read or write are women, particularly
indigenous women. Child labor is largely confined to small or
family-type enterprises, to agricultural work, and to the
informal sectors of the economy. There are no export
industries in which child labor is a significant factor.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
Minimum wages are set by law. Due to a variety of factors,
most importantly the oversupply of labor and the limited demand
for it, the minimum wage for most unskilled and semiskilled
workers is the prevailing wage ceiling and not the more
commonly accepted wage floor. Widespread, credible reports
indicated the minimum wage is commonly, if illegally, not paid
to significant numbers of rural and urban workers.
The minimum wage was last increased in late 1991, when it was
raised by 78.5 percent. The minimum wage for commercial and
industrial workers is $2.42 (14 quetzals) for an 8-hour
workday, including a required hourly bonus. The minimum wage
for farm workers is $2.00 (11.60 quetzals) per day, including a
mandatory bonus. This minimum wage does not provide a decent
standard of living; government statistics indicate that it
should be at least three times higher than the current level.
An estimated 80 percent of the population lives below the
Guatemalan poverty line, including approximately 70 percent of
those employed. A bilateral committee representing labor and
management is named each year to make recommendations for
increases in the minimum wage. In the event that agreement is
not possible, the Government may decree such increases.
The legal workday is 8 hours and the workweek is 44 hours, but
a tradition of much longer hours remains in place due to
economic conditions. The amended Labor Code continues to
require a weekly rest period of at least 24 hours. Trade union
leaders and human rights groups charge that workers are
commonly forced to work overtime, often without premium pay, or
given drugs to help them work longer in order to meet work
requirements. Labor inspectors report that numerous instances
were uncovered of such abuses, but corruption and
inefficiencies in the labor court system inhibit adequate
enforcement of the law.
Occupational health and safety standards are inadequate. As
with other aspects of the labor law, enforcement of standards
that do exist is also generally inadequate. Workers have the
legal right to remove themselves from dangerous workplace
situations, and the law provides them with protection for their
continued employment. However, few workers are willing to
jeopardize their jobs by complaining about unsafe working
conditions. Training courses for labor inspectors in health
and safety standards were provided, but this area is not
perceived as a high priority for the resource-poor ministry.
Legislation requiring companies with more than 50 employees to
provide on-site medical facilities for their workers is not
effectively enforced, even though many large employers do
provide such facilities.
[end of document]
Return
to 1993 Human Rights Practices report home page.
Return to DOSFAN
home page.
This is an official U.S. Government source
for information on the WWW. Inclusion of non-U.S. Government links
does not imply endorsement of contents.