Community radio has been a vital presence in Indigenous communities in Guatemala since the 1960s. Indigenous Peoples in Guatemala rely on community radio to keep their cultures, languages, and traditions alive as well as to inform their communities about issues and events relevant to their lives. Community radio also serves the vital function of distributing content to listeners in their own language, reaching even the poorest areas where radio may be the only affordable form of communication.
After almost a decade of resistance, a cautious victory has been declared for a Maya community in Guatemala in their fight against a Spanish hydroelectric company attempting to install a dam on their sacred river.
Cultural Survival joins PAYXAIL YAJAWKONOB' CHUJ, AKATEKO, Q'ANJOB'AL, POPTI' (the traditional government of the Chuj, Akateko, Q’anjob’al, and Popti’ Nations) as well as the International Maya League and E
By Anna Hernandez
As recent high profile corruption cases continue to bring worldwide attention to Guatemala’s government and military institutions, other, less-known human rights cases have been overlooked.
Rigoberto Juarez Mateo, a long-time Indigenous community activist from Santa Eulalia, Guatemala was arbitrarily arrested on March 24, 2015 in Guatemala City, while he was denouncing human rights violations against himself and his community. Rigoberto Juarez is a representative of the Pluri-national Government of the Q’anjob’al, Chuj, Akateka, Popti and Mestizo peoples, of Huehuetenango.
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that we are headquartered on Massachusett land, in Cambridge, MA, and we thank the past, current, and future Indigenous stewards of this territory.
