From: The Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples/Guatemalans/Lisa Kowalchuk
No systematic information is available on Guatemalans’ involvement in Canadian political life. But many Guatemalans express their desire for social and political justice in Guatemala through participation in one of a number of solidarity organizations that have been established in Canada. Many Guatemalan organizations here are part of an international extension of groups based in Guatemala, which Guatemalan Canadians support by raising money for material assistance and encouraging awareness and political solidarity in Canada. Not all the members of these organizations are Guatemalan; typically, they count on the participation of other Canadians, especially other Latin Americans.
The Comité de Unidad Campesina (CUC) (Committee of Peasant Unity) and the Comité Campesino del Altiplano (CCDA) (Peasant Committee of the Highlands), established in Toronto in 1986 and 1988 respectively, are two Guatemalan organizations that work for the rights of indigenous and ladino peasants, rural workers, and other oppressed groups in Guatemala. They hold regular information events to motivate Canadians to demand justice in Guatemala, either through intervention by the Canadian government or directly through Guatemalan officials. The CUC has chapters in Montreal, Ottawa, Kitchener, London, and Vancouver, while the CCDA also exists in Hamilton. In addition to promoting support for the political work of its home group, the CCDA also solicits financial assistance for socioeconomic development projects in the Guatemalan highlands.
Project Balam, a Guatemalan organization founded in Toronto in 1990, is dedicated to the “defense of the environment through peace and justice.” It has organized delegations to assess the needs of the Communidades de Población en Resistencia (CPRs), or Communities of Populations in Resistance – peasants who have fled to the densely forested province of Petén to escape army atrocities – and collected money for health, educational, and agricultural projects there.
The role of Guatemalan women in politically oriented organizations has usually been minimal, although Nuestra Voz (Our Voice), a group of Guatemalan and Canadian women in Toronto and Vancouver, is an exception. The Toronto chapter, which was formed in 1989, has provided material support for projects to enhance women’s economic self-sufficiency in Guatemala.
Though Guatemalan activists in Canada agree in their opposition to the current political system in Guatemala, the importance of the cultural rights of indigenous peoples in Guatemala, such as the right to self-government, has occasionally been a divisive issue. While some sympathize with the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG), some feel that the guerrilla organization neglects native issues. Though they are not frequent occurrences, harassment and even death threats against Guatemalan activists in Canada indicate the presence of a few people in Canada who support the repressive political forces of their homeland.
