Central American News

Mar 10, 2022

Dear Readers,

Throughout Central America, thousands of women protested for their right to live and the right to decide over their bodies this past week. Femicide rates continue to be high in Central America and the Caribbean and impunity for these crimes as well. Access to safe abortions is thoroughly limited, if not impossible.

Additional demands were made depending on the country - in Guatemala, for example, demonstrators also asked the state "to end the judicial persecution" of anti-corruption prosecutors and in Panama, women demanded the recognition of unpaid domestic labor in social security considerations. In Nicaragua, women could not protest due to Ortega's ban on civic demonstrations.

Below our headlines, we've compiled goods reads and music on the theme of International Women's Day. We hope they'll inspire you!

Salú,

Melissa and the team

In El Salvador, feminists denounced machist violence in universities and workplaces. Photo:Emerson Flores/Gato Encerrado

Headlines

Migration

📰 Unaccompanied & Deported: Texas courts blocked Biden's administrations' exemption of unaccompanied children from deportation under Title 42. This means that unaccompanied minors could now be deported under Trump-era Title 42 policy.

📰 Reform: Two conservative groups are pushing an advertisement campaign in favor of border security measures.

📰 Ukrainian and Russian Refugees: A growing number of Russians and Ukrainians are traveling to Mexico to seek asylum in the U.S. Since early 2022, almost all the Russians and Ukrainians have been allowed to remain in the U.S. while they pursue asylum claims. Immigration Lawyer Allen Orr denounces a differential treatment of asylum seekers from Europe versus those from Mexico and Central America.

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Belize

📰 Reparations: CARICOM's Sub-Committee of Reparations drafted a letter to re-engage European nations on the unresolved issue of reparations for the Caribbean region. The Caribbean has been "subjected to generations of resource-extraction and dehumanization of their people in order to fund the economic growth of European countries that colonized those nations," writes Amandala.

📰 Women's Day: Belizean mayors organized the "She4She Champions World Summit," which features women politicians, entrepreneurs, diplomats, and other professionals from various countries.

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El Salvador

📰 Women’s Day: On March 6, about 3000 women marched in San Salvador calling for the legalization of abortion and for authorities to combat femicides. They also condemned possible legislative changes to the "Comprehensive Special Law for a Life Free of Violence for Women" (LEIV). The LEIV is the only law that legally recognizes several types of violence women face. Prior to the march, Nuevas Ideas deputy Marcela Pindea said that the LEIV is "useless" and suggested reforming it.

📰 Bitcoin: In April, El Salvador will host the World BlockChain Festival where attendees will learn about the country’s Bitcoin law and the development of Bitcoin City.

📰 Possible Evictions: The Fundación de Estudios para la Aplicación del Derechos (Fespad) warned about the possibility of "forced evictions" of communities settled in "protected natural areas" for business.

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Honduras

📰 Women’s Day: Women from different movements and organizations sat-in at the Public Ministry protesting the femicides and the lack of investigation of gender-based violence crimes. They also called to legalize the day-after pill. Girls and young women are most impacted by femicides; 52 femicides occurred in January and February this year according to local media.

📰 Extractive Industry: The United Nations expressed concern over the situation that the inhabitants of Azacualpa experience due to mining activities. They stated in a press release that the mining exploitation “has generated conflict and rupture of the social fabric, displacement of communities, criminalization of defenders of the territory.” Radio Progreso reports on "savage capitalism" in mining business in Honduras, which destroys lush hills, communities and lives.

📰 Education: Many schools are returning to in-person classes, yet 6,000 educational centers across the country lack potable, drinkable water.

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Guatemala

📰Women’s Day: On March 8, Guatemala City was filled with women from diverse backgrounds who demanded justice in cases of violence against women and the release of former anti-corruption prosecutors as well as the end of the judicial persecution against Judge Erika Aifán.

📰Women’s Rights: On the night of March 8, Congress approved a law that increases prison sentences for women who undergo an abortion and for doctors who perform it. It also allows the possibility of ordering investigations into spontaneous abortions.

📰LGBTQ Rights: The "Law for the Protection of the Family", which was recently approved by pro-government deputies, prohibits sexual education in private and public institutions and establishes that a “nuclear family” is made up of a father, a mother, and their children. LGBTQ groups have called for demonstrations against it.

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Costa Rica

📰 2022 Presidential Election: With less than 40 days left until the runoff presidential election, Rodrigo Chaves is ahead in the latest CIEP-UCR poll with 46% of decided voters saying they will vote for him while 36% say they will vote for his opponent José María Figueres Olsen. 15% of voters say they are still undecided.

📰 Public Sector Reform: The legislature passed an initiative to approve public employment reforms that establish a universal salary between institutions in equal positions and reduce salary distortions as part of an agreement with the IMF. The initiative has been rejected by unions but President Carlos Alvarado has called it a “necessary reform.”

📰 COVID-19: The government lifted the final restrictive measure on local travel following a reduced number of COVID-19 cases and a return to “normality.”

📰 Women's Day: Women marched in San José to demand an end to violence against women, impunity and sexual harassment.

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Nicaragua

📰 Abortion: Every year almost 9,000 women are hospitalized for all abortions (including miscarriages) in Nicaragua, where abortion is illegal. As the Ministry of Health does not reveal the causes of these, an expert on the subject argues that the government "wants to hide the negative consequences of the absolute criminalization of abortion, including one of the most dramatic, which is maternal death."

📰 Justice: Judges have received promotions based on rulings against political prisoners.

📰 COVID-19: Excess mortality analysis reveals an excess of 14,815 deaths since the start of the pandemic in Nicaragua. However, official reports only indicate 218 deaths from COVID 19.

📰 Women's Day: For the fourth consecutive year, women's organizations have not been able to march publicly on March 8 due to President Ortega's restrictions on protests.

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Panama

📰 COVID-19: Health Ministry is analyzing the proposal to eliminate the mandatory use of face masks outdoors. Currently there are less than 150 cases per day. Panama implemented the use of masks in June 2020, months after the first cases were reported.

📰 Women's Day: Hundreds of women marched on March 8 in Panama City. The march started from Porras Park and ended at the Cinta Costera. Demonstrators advocated, among other reasons, for the recognition of domestic work as unpaid work in social security discussions, decent work, more women in leadership positions, and sexual and reproductive rights, mentioning the recent case of sexual abuse and pregnancy of an 8 year old.

[Tweet] 8M in Guatemala

Our Guatemala news curator, Jody García, reported on Women's Day from Guatemala City.

Jody García @JodyReporta

“Esto no es violencia es digna resistencia”, gritan las mujeres jóvenes al ingresar a la Sexta Avenida. La impunidad es una de las consignas. En 2021 el 39% de las denuncias por violencia contra la mujer fueron desestimadas en el @MPguatemala.

[8M] Central American Women

Founder of Central American Disruption Sussan Garcia listed nine Central American women she looks up to. "Largely ignored in mainstream media, Central American women, particularly Black, Indigenous, low-income, campesina women, have been paving and continue to pave the way for communal and regional liberation in different ways," she writes on her blog, Central American Disruption.

Miriam Miranda is one of the nine women in the list

[Music] Rebeca Lane - Flores Rojas

Guatemalan rapper Rebeca Lane release Flores Rojas (Red Flowers), a song and illustrated music video that seeks to inform girls and adolescents about menstruation. Lane wants to share a new narrative about menstrual blood, one including positivity, love and tenderness, instead of harmful myths. Check out other Latin American feminist songs on Global Voices.

[Sports] Women in American Football

An interview with three Salvadoran women who found a safe space in American Football -- and excel at it! (Gato Encerrado)

[Beers] Becoming a Brew Master in Belize

Carina Cal is Belize Brewing Company's first female brewer. Her training continues as she explores new beer flavors and styles and learns more about the creative process. (Ambergris today)

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