I was really struck by something President Arévalo said to me and the delegation in our private meeting. And I will share it here, it’s not a state secret, he said that the Guatemala of today is not the same as the Guatemala of August. And I think what I and our delegation take back and we’ll share with President Biden when we get back to Washington, is just how much civil society has grown – the confidence that they have gained, in their own voices. That what it feels like right now is that the attacks against them, the attacks on the democratic will of the people, the objective of those attacks was to intimidate and to inculcate a sense of fear and disempowerment. But magically, what has happened is exactly the opposite, which is meeting with indigenous leaders earlier today, and to hear their sense of a new sense of organization and power, and a new recognition that their voices can be used not only on behalf of indigenous rights and indigenous inclusion, but on behalf of all Guatemalans. I was really struck by something President Arévalo said to me and the delegation in our private meeting. And I will share it here, it’s not a state secret, he said that the Guatemala of today is not the same as the Guatemala of August. And I think what I and our delegation take back and we’ll share with President Biden when we get back to Washington, is just how much civil society has grown – the confidence that they have gained, in their own voices. That what it feels like right now is that the attacks against them, the attacks on the democratic will of the people, the objective of those attacks was to intimidate and to inculcate a sense of fear and disempowerment. But magically, what has happened is exactly the opposite, which is meeting with indigenous leaders earlier today, and to hear their sense of a new sense of organization and power, and a new recognition that their voices can be used not only on behalf of indigenous rights and indigenous inclusion, but on behalf of all Guatemalans. Read More USAID.gov Dated Content
