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As the world marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, there were protests and cultural events around Latin America. At Contracorriente, we published a deep-dive into the obstacles rural and indigenous women in Honduras face when they try to leave violent partners or obtain land.
And while there were some cultural events in Honduras as well, to mark the day, the week kicked off with large demonstrations in Guatemala against the president and next year’s budget, and ended with protests in Honduras on Friday, then more in Guatemala on Saturday..
Things have gotten to a boiling point for many, seeing them join demonstrations despite the pandemic. Likewise, the number of migrants travelling from Central America, through Mexico to the US seems to be increasing, as some people face going hungry.
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Over the last 12 years, only 28% of the loans granted by Honduras’ agricultural development bank have benefited women.
When women try to leave violent partners, they often have no property or land to turn to. Land cooperatives set up for rural indigenous women struggle to stay out of poverty, as they aren’t able to obtain credit or technical support from the government. Although some groups have been farming their land for more than 15 years, they do not legally own it, which is a prerequisite for government assistance and loans.
Wendy Cruz, from the Honduran chapter of La Vía Campesina, an international peasants’ movement, says, “We are not viewed as having rights, which is why there are no policies to provide access to productive goods for rural women. There is absolutely no government presence where the country’s poorest women live.”
We take a deep dive into the domestic violence women face and the realities when it comes to acquiring land, and we tell the story of Doris Hernández, among others, who has been farming since she was eight, after being forced to work by her stepfather.
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📍 Women in Honduras demand an end to violence
On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, young women held cultural events to denounce the violence they experience. In October alone, this year, there were 29 recorded femicides in Honduras.
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Chamelecón: Neglected people rebuild
Approximately 350 families from the sector of Chamelecón are sheltering underneath a bridge, following the two hurricanes that recently hit Central America.
Roxy, a 25-year-old trans woman, is one of those now living under the bridge. She lost everything with the flooding, and she also lost contact with an aunt in the middle of the disaster - she doesn’t know if she’s dead or alive.
Santos España, an old man who is also living under the bridge, says being homeless makes people forget about the pandemic because there are other problems to be solved.
Have a read of this story with the accompanying photo gallery.
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Huge anti-president protests in Guatemala 📢🧨
This week kicked off with some bold and large demonstrations in Guatemala. Amongst it all, protestors set fire to the congress building to express their rejection of cuts to next year’s budget.
On Saturday, the protests resumed. One of main chants was “beaners united” after a deputy recently called those rejecting the 2021 budget “bean eaters” as an insult. The march was generally peaceful, though a few people did burn a bus.
The cuts come after Guatemala has also faced heavy damage from the two hurricanes, as well as the pandemic measures, on top of decades of extreme poverty and inequality.
Demonstrators want President Alejandro Giammattei to resign, after the US$13 billion budget cut funding for healthcare, education, human rights and the justice system.
Protests in Honduras 🕺✊
On Friday, people also held protests in Honduras to denounce the government’s management of the current emergency.
Many protestors went to the main airport in Tegucigalpa, where former president Manuel Zelaya was being detained. Zelaya was overthrown by a rightwing coup, with support from the US, in 2009.
Now, he has been detained based on claims that he was carrying a bag with $18,000 in it. He says the money isn’t his. The detention comes as Honduras enters into an election year, next year.
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Despite lynchings, the pandemic, and closed shelters — migrants still heading north 👀
Despite the COVID-19 threat, forced migration from Central America hasn’t abated. However, things have changed. There are new challenges for those brave enough to journey across Mexico towards the US border.
“COVID is real... it’s a worldwide virus, so you really need to adapt to it. COVID is here to stay, it’s not going to disappear. You can’t sit around waiting for it to go away, because that’s not going to happen. What do we gain by staying in Honduras and dying of hunger?” one migrant from Honduras, Roberto Gómez Hernández, told El Faro.
Further, rejection by local residents, and stricter immigration controls have pushed migrants underground, to what some migrants are calling “dark and lonely roads.” Migrants have been forced to board freight trains, walk through jungles and pastures, cross rivers, lakes, and even the sea.
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In depth and contextualised reporting ❤📲
Help us get the word out about how the pandemic and hurricanes are affecting people in Central America, by sharing some of our in depth and contextualized articles above, or by encouraging friends and contacts to follow us on Facebook and Twitter. You can also now get updates via Whatsapp.
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