In memory of Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa and other fireflies of Guatemala
On the morning of October 17, 2026, a violent event shocked Guatemala. Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa, a lawyer, former prosecutor, former Superintendent of Tax Administration (SAT), and Guatemalan politician, suffered a direct armed attack at a public soccer field where he had been playing for several years.
Solórzano Foppa was a courageous and inconvenient voice against corruption and the criminal networks that have captured the state. He challenged traditional politicians. His direct and well-reasoned discourse projected him as a different kind of politician—approachable and trustworthy. He faced defamation, persecution, and imprisonment, but his actions were always characterized by an unwavering commitment to justice and democracy.
Her social conscience was forged within a family marked by repression, as two of her uncles, members of the guerrilla movement, died in army attacks. Her grandmother, Alaíde Foppa, a prominent writer and feminist pioneer, disappeared in December 1980, and her whereabouts remain unknown. Her mother, Silvia Solórzano, a doctor and member of a revolutionary organization, has maintained a critical stance in favor of building a country where rights and dignity are respected.
The murder of Juan Francisco leaves no room for indifference. Hundreds of people and organizations have spoken out, condemning this cowardly act that leaves children orphaned, a family once again struck by political violence, and a country that has lost a voice that always stood up against injustice. Foppa, as he was known, leaves a legacy that will endure.
Collective mourning
By the Rogelias
by Mama Maquín
by the Alaídes
by the Sea Turkeys
through the Rosaries
by the Mayras
by the Olivers
by the Alexanders
by the Alfonsos
by the Manuels
and the Albertos
Now for the Juan Franciscos
thousands of extinguished fireflies
by criminal hand
Mourning for the broken spring
for every lost utopia
for each failed illusion
kidnapped by voracious elites
For young women and young people
of the sixties
convulsive
of the seventies
ignominious
of the eighties
ominous
of the nineties
betrayed
for a deceptive peace
which has increased the debt
with those who have nothing,
only their sacrificed bodies
who barely survive
and that in the eyes of power
They are barely,
Collateral damage
Mourning for the union members
by the nuns
by priests and catechists
by the students
by the leaders
by the exiles and banished
for the four indigenous holocausts
for the unnamed victims
for the righteous who pay for the sinners
who are guaranteed impunity
For the girls and boys
who continue to die of hunger
by women and men
who continue to demand justice
by the youth
whose future continues to be stolen
Collective mourning
through this land
of historical sorrows
under a closed sky
that for centuries
has known few bright moments
trapped between a past of infamy
an uncertain present
and a future without a horizon
And yet she chooses hope.
Ana Silvia Monzón
19th October 2026
Workgroup CLACSO Feminisms, resistance and emancipation
This text expresses the position of the aforementioned Working Groups and not necessarily that of the centers and institutions that make up the CLACSO international network, its Steering Committee or its Executive Secretariat.
