Dictator/War Criminal/President

Our neighbor in Antigua was an interesting and idealistic guy who rode his bike from Oregan to Guatemala and who currently works for Lawyers Without Borders.  He offered to take me to a hearing in the case of Ríos Montt, the former military dictator recently charged with genocide for his alleged involvement in the massacre of indigenous people during the civil war.  Montt is the only Latin American leader to have been so charged by his own country, and I was excited to see what the hearing would be like.

Neighbor and I left in the morning and hopped a chicken bus to Guatemala City.  We arrived at court hours early so that Neighbor could get a good position in the courtroom, as part of his job is taking photos.  When Montt was first charged, there were huge demonstrations in front of the courthouse, demonstrations in which people scattered rose petals to signify the spilt blood and held signs condemning Montt as the impetus behind the genocide.  The hearing I attended had been scheduled only the day before it was to take place, so the human rights community and survivors of Montt's policies didn't have time to mobilize in the same way.  The plaza in front of the courthouse was quiet and peaceful.

After Neighbor checked in with his colleagues, we entered the courthouse (which looks exactly like all the depressing 70s-era courthouses I've seen in the U.S.) and rode the elevator up to the courtroom.  On the way there, a reporter told us that the judge had been recused and that the hearing had been canceled - this was news even to Neighbor's colleagues (i.e., the lawyers involved in the case).  There are lots of theories about why the judge was recused so suddenly, some of them involving politics and Montt's remaining network of incredibly influential friends.  (There's a brief article about the recusal here, but it doesn't mention the sudden change in prosecutor that took place the very next day.  I make no comment.)  The immediate reaction to the judge's recusal seemed to be that the case likely wouldn't go forward and that a new judge would be appointed who would dismiss the charges against Montt.  As it turned out, though, the new judge's first move was to deny Montt's claim of amnesty, so it remains to be seen what'll happen in the end.

Since the hearing was canceled, we decided to wander around and do a little tour of Guatemala City.  At the entrance to the Presidential Palace, an imposing building on a giant square, it became apparent that some event or another was taking place inside.  Curious, we pretended to be members of the press and took our seats in the palace's main courtyard.  We looked wildly out of place.  Everyone else there wore a suit, and I was one of only three or four women in the crowd.  We were among the only gringos. Security people eyed me and my jeans.  

It was only when someone passed around a program that we realized the event we had crashed was the President's unveiling of his new economic policy  -- and that we would hear President Molina himself speak, at close quarters.  And that we did, seated next to various members of congress.

The speech itself wasn't interesting - but what political speech these days is?  President Molina and his advisers spoke only in the vaguest and most general terms about improving the economy, increasing exports, "green" energy, road conditions, and other nonspecific topics.  I listened casually and turned my attention to the architecture.

I've heard various things about Molina since we've been in Guatemala: that he's a war criminal (mostly from American sources), that he's already improved security in the country since taking office very recently (mostly from Guatemalan sources), and that indigenous people fear him even more than they fear Montt (from a single source - my Spanish tutor).  All these competing opinions of Molina aside, it was cool to hear him speak in such an intimate setting.

Eventually, the event reached its conclusion, we attended the nice reception following the event, and a chicken bus took us back home to Antigua.

Next up, perhaps: The Richardson-Royer Parents Come to Play or, alternatively, The Brokenvan (in other words, Will We Ever Get to Honduras?).