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- In Guatemala, opposition to the state budget for 2021 is growing.
- In particular, financial cuts in the social and educational sector are rejected.
During new protests against the state budget for next year, protesters in Guatemala City set parts of Congress ablaze on Saturday.
Flames in parliament
A group broke into the building in the city’s historic center on Saturday and set it on fire. Television showed flames coming out of a parliament window. Later, the fire department brought the fire under control, police said.
Police arrested numerous protesters in Guatemala City.
Reuters
On the sidelines of the mostly peaceful demonstration, protesters threw stones at police and officials fired tear gas at the crowd.
President threatens violent protesters
“There is the right to demonstrate,” wrote President Alejandro Giammattei on Twitter. “But we cannot allow public or private property to be destroyed. Anyone who participates in these criminal acts will face the full severity of the law. “
The protesters asked the head of state to veto the budget. The budget for next year was last approved by the deputies in a fast-track procedure without public debate.
Economy, church and social groups on a boat.
The draft of the next state budget found the rejection of numerous social groups, from businessmen to social movements and from the educational sector to the Catholic Church. High new debts, cuts in the social, education and health sectors, as well as a lack of transparency were criticized.
Critics accused Congress of having passed the budget quickly, as the population of the Central American country struggled with the consequences of the devastating tropical storms “Eta” and “Iota.”
Migration to the north as a sign of poverty
The situation in his country “is very serious,” Cardinal Àlvaro Ramazzini recently reported. Corona is a new problem “that adds to the normal problems of poverty.” A sign of the social imbalance in the country is “migration to the north, for example to Mexico and especially to the United States.”
“Our health system is precarious,” the cardinal continued. Furthermore, “many people have lost their jobs, often jobs in the informal sector, which ensured their survival from day to day, such as selling fruit or sweets on the street.” Due to current exit restrictions and curfew, “these people are now unable to earn a living,” adds the cleric.
