While the article Green jobs in agriculture in Guatemala: how close are they?, published last December, highlighted the uncertainty surrounding newly elected President Bernardo Arévalo – faced with a plot known as the ‘Corrupt Pact’ aimed at derailing his presidency, Arévalo’s inauguration ceremony took place in extremis – the prevailing sentiment at the Third International Conference of Solidarity with Guatemala, ‘Defence of Democracy and Labour Rights,’ held in early April, had shifted to one of hope.

The organisers of the conference – the Mesa Sindical de Guatemala, with the support of the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) – along with trade union representatives from Argentina, Belgium, Colombia, El Salvador, Spain and the Dominican Republic, acknowledged that, although the new Guatemalan government offers a more democratic vision and commitment, special interest groups continue to threaten democratic governance. And while Guatemala has repeatedly failed to comply with international standards, including fundamental International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions, participants in the conference remain optimistic that the new authorities will firmly take on the challenges resulting from serious human rights violations, attacks on labour rights and trade unions as a socio-political actors, and ‘rampant’ impunity (specifically acts of violence against trade unionists, including murders), insisting that trade unions are fundamental to democracy.

Employers’ organisations have also expressed their support for the new government. For Roberto Suárez, secretary general of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), freedom of association is crucial and must be guaranteed by the authorities. He further stresses that the independence of organisations is indispensable for a strong democracy, and calls for solid bridges to be built between employers’ and workers’ organisations, an unequivocal commitment: “We must be ambitious”.

Will trade unions and their allies support the new government’s agenda?

At the same conference, TUCA general secretary Rafael Freire committed to defending the new government and ensuring its success, while also making clear that this support should not be blind. Luc Triangle, general secretary of the ITUC, for his part, recalled the enormous challenges that Guatemala faces: the 2023 ITUC Global Rights Index ranked it as one of the ten worst countries in the world for working people; in the last 20 years, Guatemala has had 111 cases before the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association; and the priority plan for implementing the Road Map agreed with the government in 2022 has so far achieved nothing. “We must be critical because we want to see achievements,” he says, reiterating the high hopes that he and many have for the new government.

Leading Guatemalan trade union figures consulted for this article echoed these sentiments. Julio Coj, secretary general of the Unión Sindical de Trabajadores de Guatemala (UNSITRAGUA Histórica), affirmed that the most representative organisations at regional and global level will support the agenda in order to promote improvements for the working class, widen the scope of respect and compliance with freedom of association, and promote wage and social security policies.

Coj points to positive signs from the new government, including a commitment to strengthening democracy with social justice and dialogue with Indigenous peoples and peasants, both of which represent a significant shift in policy from the previous government.

José Pinzón, founder and member of the Executive Committee of the Confederación Central General de Trabajadores de Guatemala (CGTG), sees a rare opportunity to contribute to solving Guatemala’s problems. Amongst the positive signs he sees are the contacts with government officials and members of parliament that show inclusion of the trade union movement and an openness to influence, mainly on issues affecting trade unions.

Carlos Castillo, coordinator of educational programmes for Movimiento de Jóvenes de la Calle (MOJOCA), speaking in a personal capacity, says that it remains to be seen how Arévalo will respond to the demands of the trade union movement – addressing minimum wages and violations of labour and trade union rights – considering the agreements he has made with the business sector.

Amongst the positive signs he sees, Castillo lists denunciations of cases of corruption, the elimination of ghost jobs (people who are paid without working, a very common practice in previous governments) and the capture of some criminal gangs. However, he views these moves as insufficient for the trade union movement to support the government’s agenda as a whole.

Also speaking in a personal capacity, Luis Fuentes, who has a long history in the trade union movement beginning with the historic Rayovac factory union, believes that it will take time to re-establish the structure of the state, especially when it comes to the monumental tasks that the Ministry of Labour must undertake to build an institutionality, absent since 1954, that guarantees minimum social rights, freedom of association and collective bargaining.

Fuentes notes the evident signs of change in government policies, especially in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, which indicate an improvement in labour and trade union matters, though there is still a long way to go.

“Direct and serious” dialogue and compliance with the 2013 Road Map

In order to build a win-win relationship, Coj, along with Pinzón, Castillo and Fuentes, propose establishing direct and serious dialogue (which under previous governments was nothing more than a ploy to gain time) with a view to fulfilling the commitments of the Road Map (adopted on 17 October 2013 by the Government of Guatemala in consultation with the social partners to avoid the appointment of an ILO Commission of Inquiry), implementing labour legislation and defining a wage policy.

All of them propose the promotion and follow-up of the Platform of Trade Union Struggle for the Development of Guatemala (Plataforma de Lucha Sindical para el Desarrollo de Guatemala), which seeks to articulate the proposals of the trade union movement with the social and democratic sectors of Guatemala, and the defence of political, economic, social, cultural and environmental rights, as well as establishing conditions for bi- or tripartite social dialogue. In addition, they agreed that it is necessary to defend rights and democracy in the face of attacks from regressive and authoritarian sectors, which does not, however, mean unconditional support for the government.

It should be noted that the Platform of Trade Union Struggle includes proposals relating to the strengthening of democracy, the fight against corruption, the state as an empowering force for the majorities, peace with social justice, trade unions as bulwarks of democracy, a decent and dignified minimum wage, the extension of social protection, trade union self-reform, self-determination of indigenous peoples, equality between men and women, fair distribution of wealth, the role of foreign investment in national development, agrarian development and the defence of nature.

Those interviewed agreed that fulfilling the Road Map is a priority for the trade union movement. This includes solving the murders of 58 trade unionists and prosecuting the perpetrators and masterminds.

The Road Map, which was repeatedly mentioned in the opening ceremony of the conference, also provides for strengthening the mechanisms for prevention and protection against threats and attacks against union leaders and workers who are union members or who participate in the formation of trade unions; promoting the direct participation of the victims and trade union organisations in investigations and judicial processes; reforms to the Labour Code to address long-standing amendments proposed by ILO supervisory bodies; immediate enforcement and implementation of labour court rulings; awareness-raising campaign on freedom of association and the right to work and organising workers and employers.

The development of the Road Map commitments includes eliminating the administrative obstacles, implemented in open violation of the provisions of the Labour Code, that hinder the registration of trade unions (whose members are virtually defenceless against the retaliatory actions of many employers), deny the standardisation of collective agreements on working conditions, and go so far as to object to agreements that exceed the amount of the minimum wage; as well as promoting reforms to the Labour Code to facilitate the formation of trade unions by industry or branch of economic activity, which is impossible under current requirements.

In conclusion, it should be said that the hopes placed in the new president are justified. He is a decent politician trying to run a decent government in the face of obstacles put in place by the Corrupt Pact.

The feeling shared by those interviewed is that, for the first time in many years, there is an opportunity to overcome the anti-worker and anti-union bias of past governments, especially the previous two. It is no exaggeration to say that this is the last call for the state to fulfil its supreme purpose of pursuing the common good for all the inhabitants of Guatemala, and to make decent work a reality for all.