Do you eat Del Monte bananas? Do you notice where your bananas come from? Are you willing to take a moment of your time to help the workers whose labor sends over a million tons of bananas to the Unites States each year?

The production of bananas in Guatemala takes place in large monoculture plantations where labor conditions are very poor. Workers receive low wages which often don’t cover the basic needs of their families and endure long 12-hour work days and exposure to dangerous chemicals. Yet employees lack the freedom to organize independent trade unions and negotiate agreements with their employers in order to improve these working conditions. Those who have tried to organize have come under attack from both transnational banana companies and independent banana producers. Illegal firings, plantation closures, temporary contracts, civil law suits, trumped up criminal charges, and violence targeting union leaders have all become commonplace. So far in 2007, four unionists have been assassinated and no charges have been made against the guilty parties.

According to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), the Guatemalan Constitution recognizes workers’ freedom of association and states that all workers retain the right to form and join trade unions. Workers have the right to organize and bargain collectively under the condition that 25% of the total workers are in agreement and possess the right to strike provided that 50% support the strike.

The Constitution also provides for a judicial system to rule specifically on violations of the Labor Code. Unfortunately, the labor courts in Guatemala are overrun with backlogged cases that can drag on for years. Even when they issue rulings, the courts have insufficient power to ensure that their decisions are respected. Consequently, employers tend to dismiss the Labor Code and are rarely held accountable for illegal firings, negligent work conditions and violence against union organizers.

Del Monte, the third largest producer of bananas, is owned and controlled by the Chilean-based IAT Group (their capital is held in the United Arab Emirates) and maintains its headquarters in Miami, Florida. As of 2005, Del Monte controlled about 15% of the world banana trade. Along with the other major banana producers like Chiquita and Dole, they wield a great deal of power in Latin America and can sell bananas to the northern markets at an extremely cut-rate price. According to a French research institute CIRAD, “only 12% of the final retail price stays in the producing countries. An even smaller proportion goes to small farmers (5-7%) or to plantation workers (1-3%)”. The rest is profit in the pockets of the CEO’s and investors.

Bandegua, the Guatemalan subsidiary of Del Monte, is one of many companies with a long history of targeting trade unionists. In 1999, Bandegua dismissed 900 workers who were involved in the Banana Workers Union of Itzabal (SITRABI), the oldest and one of the most powerful unions in Guatemala. On October 13th of that year, a heavily armed attack was led against the union organizers who were planning a massive protest in response to the dismissals. Consequently, seven members of SITRABI fled to the US to defend their lives and pursued a case against Bandegua. As a response, the US government placed Guatemala’s trade benefits on probation until Guatemalan courts convicted the criminals. Unfortunately, due to the sustained violence in Guatemala, the seven organizers continue to live in the US.

On March 7th, 2000, The International Union of Food and Agriculture Workers (UIF) signed an agreement with Del Monte Fresh Produce, which set up local negotiations between Bandegua and SITRABI and committed the company to respecting minimum labor standards. The new agreement ensured that all 900 workers who were illegally fired be allowed to return to their jobs and explicitly stated that all workers had the right to join SITRABI.

Although all parties signed the agreement, acts of violence and intimidation continue. In November of 2006, Cesar Humberto Guerra, the Labor and Conflicts Secretary of SITRABI, was followed by three armed men while driving through the Chicasaw banana plantations in a vehicle owned by SITRABI. The men fired their guns in the air and threw a stone at the windshield of the car.

In July, 2007, military officers forcibly entered a SITRABI union meeting demanding to know the identity of the union’s leaders, the size of its membership and the nature of its occupation. In response, SITRABI filed complaints with the Public Ministry and the Ministry of Defense in Guatemala, who promised there would be an “internal investigation.” According to a statement by the Solidarity Center, “Military officers had been disciplined by the Ministry of Defense in response to SITRABI complaints about the unlawful entry.”

Five days later, on the morning of September 23, Marco Tulio Portela Ramirez was brutally gunned down in front of his house by armed masked men carrying high caliber weapons as he prepared to go to work at the Bandegua banana plantation. Marco was the Secretary of Culture and Sport at SITRABI and his brother Noé Ramirez is the General Secretary. According to STITCH, a nationwide group of women organizing for social justice, SITRABI strongly believes that this killing is directly related to their fight to end the intimidation and harassment of the union.

In his statement on September 30th, Noé Ramirez declared, “At the wake and burial of my brother’s mortal remains, I saw how hundreds of workers who were there with us cried at the loss of a fellow unionist, but also how we all committed ourselves to continue forward with our struggle, refusing to be silenced, because we are not alone: we are supported by allies all over the world….I would like to ask you all to keep pressuring the government and the rest of the Guatemalan authorities so that they will immediately investigate and solve Marco Tulio’s murder, and punish both the material and intellectual perpetrators of this crime and their accomplices.”

In response to this assassination, Solidarity Center Executive Director Ellie Larson said, “The systematic attacks on SITRABI constitute backsliding on worker rights enforcement in Guatemala. No worker should lose his life for exercising a fundamental right to participate in a union. Together we must break down the wall of impunity and rebuild respect for worker and human rights.”

Please take a moment of your time to contact the Guatemalan Ambassador in the United States and urge the Guatemalan government to investigate this case and bring those responsible to justice. You can mail this sample letter from STITCH or write one of your own to gro.yssabme-alametaugnull@rodassabma.

Ambassador Jose Guillermo Castillo,

2220 R Street, NW
Washington , DC 20008

Tel:(202) 745 4952

Fax:(202) 745 1908
gro.yssabme-alametaugnull@rodassabma

Dear Ambassador Guillermo Castillo,

I am writing to ask your government to take strong and decisive action to stop the violence against unionists in Guatemala. The recent assassination of SITRABI Executive Committee Member, Marco Tulio Portela Ramirez on Sunday, September 23 is a stark reminder of the incredible danger workers face when trying to exercise their right to organize for better wages and more humane conditions in their work places. I urge your government to thoroughly investigate and prosecute the murderers of Mr. Ramirez and other trade unionist in Guatemala, including Mr. Pedro Zamora of the port workers union.

As you may recall, the SITRABI union leadership was violently intimidated in 1999 and forced to leave their country. Their case became an important test case on impunity for the U.S. government.

The government of Guatemala must also publicly condemn the violence against Guatemalan trade unions.

In addition, it is vital that the Guatemalan government take responsibility for the safety of the remaining leaders of SITRABI and ensure that they are protected from all violence and intimidation. The Guatemalan government must protect those that organize for basic their human rights. I will be monitoring the news as well as following updates from labor rights organizations to ensure that this case is taken seriously and that labor unions are protected throughout Guatemala.

Sincerely,

Your name

The communities and countries of the world are making great social, political and structural changes which are a product of neo-liberal globalization. The municipality of Ixcan is no exception. Located in the Quiche Department of northern Guatemala, on the border of Mexico, lies a vast countryside filled with coconut trees, banana trees, rushing rivers and the Mayan indigenous communities (mostly returned refugees who fled to Mexico during the civil war) who are mostly subsistence farmers, growing corn and beans. The Ixcan consists of 176 pueblos (about 75,000 people) that mostly live without electricity or running water.

On April 20, 2007, these communities held a Consulta Popular (popular referendum) on two themes: (1) the construction of hydroelectric dams on the rivers of the Ixcan, namely the Xalala Dam and (2) the permission to explore and exploit oil in the Ixcan. Out of the 19,911 people who voted, age 7 and older, 91% voted NO on both themes.

Consulta Popular: The Government Asks the People

A Consulta is a mechanism in which the authorities ask the people their opinion about important themes that directly relate to their lives, such as changes in laws, huge mega-projects or the exploitation of natural resources where they live. Within indigenous Mayan communities, the
Consulta is a traditional way in which to make decisions. The consensus process and the principles of unity are utilized to make decisions about projects which, as a result, will directly affect or benefit their communities. Many local Consultas have been held concerning development projects such as dams and mining projects in Rio Hondo (dam), Sipacapa (gold mining), Todos Santos (mining) and many others throughout Guatemala.

The results of the consulta determine the position the municipal director will take regarding the plans for these projects in the Ixcan. On April 20th, every person signed the referendum which will be sent to the capital and presented to Congress. The government then has the power to either listen to the demands of the people or ignore them. Unfortunately, the government of Guatemala has a reputation of corruption and impunity and therefore it is unlikely that the consulta will hold much power against the pressures of international development.

Rights of the People to Defend their Land

In order to open its doors to private enterprises, the Guatemalan government has had to change constitutional laws which facilitate the taxation of natural resources. For example, the Law of Hidrocarburos was changed reducing the amount of taxes paid by private corporations to the
Guatemalan government from 6% to 1%.

The right of the people to be consulted before a project has begun is recognized in every level of the Guatemalan government. Article 3 of the Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala states a “right to life.” In the Ixcan, where the vast majority of people are peasant farmers, land and
water is life. Articles 66, 67 and 68 are laws that specifically protect the land of indigenous communities.

Convention (no.169) of the International Labor Organization is an international agreement which protects the rights of indigenous communities and tribes. It was ratified by the State of Guatemala in 1997 and states that “governments should respect and protect the property
rights and possession of lands that are traditionally occupied by indigenous people.” Furthermore, “governments should recognize the special importance that these communities have in relation to their land and territories.” It also states that “governments must consult the affected communities before authorizing any program that plans to exploit the natural resources in their territories.”

Hydroelectric Dams and Xalala

The World Commission of Dams publicly announced in 2000 that “the construction of dams is generally justified if they generate electricity, control the flow of water, minimize water that is a risk to the public or divert water from a city.” In the case of the Xalala Dam, the only function is to generate electricity.

The Xalala Dam is in the planning stages for the Ixcan on the Chixoy River. 18 communities (2,328 people) will be displaced and fertile land will be swallowed by an artificial lake. There is no way of calculating the number of communities who will be indirectly affected by the dam, but
certainly, life will change for those who live downstream. Their source of water will be drastically reduced which will in affect reduce the quality of life.

The (Guatemalan) National Institute of Electrification (INDE), along with other international interests, justifies the creation of the Xalala Dam. Their reasons include: (1) to generate cheap and clean electricity, (2) to save oil, (3) to be a self-sufficient nation, (4) to generate millions of dollars by selling the electricity, and (5) to provide electricity and development to rural communities. The INDE has also stated in other declarations that the electricity generated by the Xalala Dam will be sold to neighboring countries and will not serve to provide light to the
communities of the Ixcan.

The electricity generated from the Xalala Dam is destined to be sold to the Electric Networks of System Interconnection of the Countries of Central America (SIEPAC). This system was created to generate and sell electricity between countries and is part of the Plan Puebla Panama. This
multi-billion dollar development plan will ultimately privatize land, water and public services which will be controlled by foreign interests.

The World Commission of Dams has also indicated that, concerning the construction of huge dams, there are more negative than positive impacts and other alternatives should primarily be considered. Moreover, that “the free consent and opinion of the indigenous communities” is also an important factor.

Of these negative impacts, the most severe is displacement of communities who are forced to move and live up on the hillsides surrounding a new lake. This not only leaves the population in a worsened state of poverty, but the environment also suffers as a consequence. They communities have no option but to cut down more trees to plant food which causes soil
erosion and adds to the destruction of ecosystems.

In the case of Rio Negro, this community was violently displaced by the construction of the Chixoy Dam in 1982 during the military dictatorship of Rios Montt. More than 400 people were killed during a series of four massacres. Of those that survived, they were promised compensation by INDE and 25 years later they are still fighting for their money. 25 years later
they are still living without electricity.

Over $1.2 billion was put into the construction of the Chixoy Dam and it will be shut down in less than 20 years due to erosion. No environmental impact studies were ever done regarding this project and it is considered one of the biggest financial disasters in the history of Guatemala. The question is, will history repeat itself? Or will the Guatemalan government listen to the voice of the people?