Monthly Archives: October 2013
Guatemalan stories ripped from the Onion or the Business Press?
Mike Allison of the Central American Politics blog has some great commentary on two stories that appeared in the news today. Guatemala among top global reformers in World Bank’s Doing Business report Leader Of The Year: Otto Perez Molina, President … Continue reading
To Salvadoran Army: Please stop paying tribute to war criminals
El Faro has a long piece on the Salvadoran Army’s continued reverence of war criminal Lt. Coronel Domingo Monterrosa. Two years ago, President Funes publicly apologized for the state’s role in the massacre at El Mozote (where over 800 civilians, … Continue reading
What if we just give people money? Results from long-awaited study on GiveDirectly’s unconditional cash transfers
There has been a lot of debate in the development community over the past few months over the effectiveness of Unconditional Cash Transfers (UCTs), i.e. just giving people money, no strings attached. Over the summer, the debate went mainstream with … Continue reading
Why are politics absent from so many development plans?
Duncan Green’s From Poverty to Power blog has a post today about the lack of politics involved in climate change policy in Africa. Matthew Lockwood, who has expressed frustration about the apolitical thinking in development work and specifically in the … Continue reading
Guatemalan Constitutional Court supports amnesty for Rios Montt
After Rios Montt’s May, 2013 conviction for genocide committed against the Ixil Indians in 1982-83, it looked like Guatemala had become the first country in the world to try and convict a former head of state for crimes committed while … Continue reading
Guatemala: most dangerous country in the world to be a trade unionist
Belonging to a trade union in Guatemala has been hazardous since the 1954 coup when they were virtually outlawed, but violence against Unionists has picked up in the past five years. According to this article in the Tico Times, over … Continue reading
Water Alternatives Special Issue review (boring for non-practitioners)
I just wanted to warn the average person that this review might not be all that fascinating for people not involved in development and water, but I’ll do my best. Water Alternatives June 2013 issue is titled ¨Voices of Water Professionals: … Continue reading
Army to take control of Customs at Ports
The President announced yesterday, at the request of the tax collection agency, that the executive branch will be taking over customs at the ports in Guatemala. They say, and it is generally agreed here, that there are a lot of … Continue reading
Guatemala or the US?
This article in Prensa Libre today laments the sorry state of Guatemala today. The intro reads: Existing laws are not enforced, political parties do not Respond to legitimate popular demands, lack of government institutions, corruption, bureaucrats hired for political favors and … Continue reading
Guatemala tackling malnutrition
The Guardian ran an article today about the Guatemalan government’s efforts to reduce malnutrition throughout the country. The zero-hunger plan is one of the centerpieces of the Pérez-Molina government trying to reduce Guatemala’s malnutrition which currently is the third worst … Continue reading
EU says people should pay the real price of water
People must pay the full cost of water, says EEA ¨ As the UN marks the anniversary of the decision to make the right to water legally binding, the European Environment Agency has called for governments to charge the full … Continue reading
Cleaner Buses in Guatemala City
Guatemala City buses are in a sort of transition right now. The old red buses, known as killer tomatoes, still operate in the majority of the city. But two other services, the Transmetro and Transurbano, have improved on the old … Continue reading
Problems with water protection in the Guatemalan mining law
After the mini-scandal (at least for now) at MARN this morning, I noticed a group that was quoted in the article that sounded critical for the right reasons. Madre Selva is an environmental activist group funded by Oxfam and the … Continue reading
Which kind of person are you?
From Matias Vernengo’s Crooks, Liars, and Idiots article over at Triple Crisis: Economic historian Carlo Cipolla famously noted that human beings fall into four basic categories: the martyr who takes an action and suffers a loss while producing a gain … Continue reading
Guatemala’s Vice President is really rich for a career politician
The vice president, Roxana Baldetti, has been getting some unwanted attention lately as ElPeriodico renews their investigations into her unexplained wealth. Yesterday she was a no show yesterday at a Children’s Hospital where the press was eagerly awaiting her for … Continue reading
Water and Politics
Although the title of this blog will be the main focus (water and politics) the idea is that it will deal with a number of different topics from politics, economics, the environment and Guatemala. I am currently a Fulbright-Clinton Fellow … Continue reading
Water & Politics 