patth@ccnysci.UUCP (08/20/89)
Ported from PeaceNET: /* Written 12:17 am Aug 17, 1989 by cries in cdp:cries.regionews */ /* ---------- "Guat: Teachers' Strike Continues" ---------- */ GUATEMALA: TEACHERS' STRIKE CONTINUES Striking teachers in Guatemala continue to stage actions in order to press their demands. Education workers in recent actions are attempting to draw attention on a regional level to its almost four month long strike. Protests increased in the first weeks of August and state authorities are taking a hard-line approach in response. The strike is seen as a test for the Christian Democratic administration of Vinicio Cerezo in this pre-electoral year. Guatemala is suffering from its own version of the economic crisis which wracks the nations of Latin America, trying to find a way to receive more loans in order to help revive its already debt-burdened economy. [See "Fighting Over Scraps" elsewhere in this upload.] As a consequence, officials have declared that the money isn't there to meet teachers' demands. As well, a raise for the education sector would provoke similar demands by other public employees. In the air still in Guatemala - often referred to as an "emerging democracy" - is the question of who really runs the country. Conflicts between Cerezo's civilian administration and the military and the rightist private sector organization CACIF are rife, and commentators have noted that Cerezo has at most a fragile grip on power. Teachers have dropped their demands for a raise, although even government officials have recognized that they are justified given the current economic situation. Government negotiators told strike leaders early on in the conflict that wages could possibily go up in the coming year. That, however, can clearly be seen as an attempt to win support to the incumbent Christian Democratic Party (PDC) in the upcoming elections. Strikers point to a number of things which fly in the face of government allegations of a lack of budget capacity to grant a pay hike. Army officers received a raise on June 30. Cerezo also authorized a steep raise for himself and for government ministers. State funds, teachers accuse, are being used to finance the campaign of Cerezo's chosen candidate for the PDC presidential nomination, Alfonso Cabrera. As well, they allege that the government is spending large sums on small-scale development projects which have a combined goal of developing the rural infrastructure (roads, bridges, etc.) in order to improve the army's ability to wage war against the guerrillas and to win the support of campesinos prior to the elections. Drawing Regional Attention Strike leaders travelled to the Central American presidential summit meeting in Tela, Honduras in order to present their case to the region's leaders but were refused access to the meeting. Teachers in the capital, Guatemala City, temporarily occupied the embassies and consular offices of Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, and Costa Rica on August 8 as part of a resurgence of activity in order to press their case. Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, according to the Guatemalan news agency CERIGUA, agreed to act as a mediator between the government and the strikers after receiving a petition to that effect from the teachers. Other actions, including the blocking of border posts on the Honduran and El Salvadoran borders and an occupation of the offices of the Organization of American States took place in the days following. Police are resorting to the use of riot squads in order to control the situation and some schools were occupied by security forces in order to prevent further protests from occurring. Reports indicate that an undetermined number of teachers have been detained as a result of the hard-line approach being taken by the government. The daily paper, "El Grafico", editorialized that "the power vacuum is growing." It noted, "Communities which traditionally have been tranquil and calm [are now] being convulsed because of the lack of a solution to the conflict resulting from the government-teacher confrontation." --- Patt Haring | UNITEX : United Nations patth@sci.ccny.cuny.edu | Information patth@ccnysci.BITNET | Transfer Exchange