Desperately poor Guatemala erupted in violence yesterday, as tens of thousands of citizens gathered in Guatemala City and in other cities around the country to protest the 2021 budget, passed by the Congress in a secretive, closed-door session in the wee hours of Nov. 18, with no public debate or input. Current funding levels for social services are already woefully inadequate. In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, and having just been slammed by two back-to-back hurricanes, Eta and Iota, angry Guatemalans took to the streets to protest government corruption, when it became known that the new budget provides no new funding for education and healthcare, including for the response to the coronavirus pandemic, poverty, food security and child malnutrition. Legislators did approve more funding to cover their own meals and expenses!
In Guatemala City, while protests were largely peaceful, a small group of violent, hooded provocateurs broke windows and threw incendiary devices inside the National Congress building, setting a portion of it on fire. Riot police responded harshly, even against the peaceful protesters, setting up barricades, using tear gas and arresting and injuring dozens of citizens.
