For us, the Guatemalan women—Mayan, Xinka, Afro-descendant, Garifuna, and Mestizo—organized in various groups and movements and defined by our diversity and plurality, it is extremely important to welcome the delegation of Nobel Peace Prize laureates at this critical juncture for the world, the Mesoamerican region, and our country.
Reflecting on our recent past—36 years of Internal Armed Conflict in Guatemala—we are deeply concerned about the current international context. The hegemony of the arms industry, the technology of death, and militarism are the seeds of wars, evident now in the genocide against Palestine and other territories. The competition for natural resources and global control by great powers is fueled by conservative mindsets resistant to change, seeking to deny our rights as women, our peoples’ rights, and our political participation in all public and private spheres of daily life.
Despite the significant contributions of many women, particularly in our region, to sustain the web of life, build peace, and redefine protection and security, we face ongoing challenges. In a country where the consolidation of democratic spaces and efforts, the defense of body-land-nature, and the memory and history of women and peoples are crucial, these processes are under threat. In neighboring Mexico and Honduras, where two women have reached the presidency, entrenched power structures and conservative forces systematically work to undermine their governments and erode their credibility. Meanwhile, in Guatemala, as the Electoral and Political Parties Law is being reformed, women’s organizations are striving to ensure parity, alternation, and inclusion of all peoples.