Statement on Guatemala

On November 16 of this year, Guatemalan state security forces, led by the Public Ministry, raided the residence of 27 citizens accused of, among other alleged crimes, illicit association, depredation of cultural property and sedition.

Most of those accused are professors, students, and professionals from the University of San Carlos of Guatemala and representatives of human rights organizations in Guatemala. They were illegally arrested and charged: Marcela Blanco (Semilla Movement party), Dr. Rodolfo Chang (Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science), Alfredo Beber (Professor at the Faculty of Engineering), Javier de León (student at the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences), and Dr. Eduardo Velásquez (former Dean of the Faculty of Economic Sciences and former president of the Latin American Association of Social Sciences -ALAS-).

As has been pointed out in various media outlets and discussion forums, these arrests are part of a scheme orchestrated by sectors identified as the architects of the electoral fraud that brought Walter Mazariegos to the rectorship of the University of San Carlos (USAC). Mazariegos now seeks to vindicate all the university professionals and students who are part of the dignified resistance and who have fought to preserve university autonomy. Furthermore, the collusion between the current university authorities and the Guatemalan government is undeniable. Their aim is to fabricate political cases to prevent Bernardo Arévalo and Karin Herrera, democratically elected in August and also linked to the demonstrations and support for university demands, from taking office.

Given this situation, the Steering Committee of the Latin American Council of Social Sciences -CLACSO- appeals to the relevant authorities to ensure respect for the physical integrity and due process of all professionals and students of the University of San Carlos and other universities, as well as representatives of popular organizations who have been unjustly deprived of their rights to freedom of movement and to denounce injustice.

Free expression and public university education must prevail over actions that undermine the foundations of Central America's nascent democracies. The voices of those within critical academia who have shaped and guided the demands of traditionally excluded sectors must not be silenced.

Steering Committee of the Latin American Council of Social Sciences
November, 2023