Guatemala: Photos from indigenous protest of Bush visit

Click on any of the photos in this post to view a larger (900 px wide) version.
(image 1, image 2, image 3, image 4).

Allen Sullivan, a photojournalist currently working in Guatemala (allen @ allensullivan.com) who shot these images, says:


These images were made in Tecpán, Guatemala on Monday, March 12. US President Bush, Guatemala President Oscar Berger and their entourages visited the nearby Mayan historical site, Iximché, while Bush was on his Latin American tour.

I was working with Marc Lacey, a New York Times writer, the previous week on a story about child labor in Guatemala. On the day of Bush's visit, I decided to head to Tecpán instead of Guatemala City because I knew there would be protests there, too, and I wanted something that said "Guatemala" more than another riotous metropolis like those in his previous stops.

My assistant and I had little trouble getting there, even though they were closing the road to Tecpán well before Bush arrived. The police here seem to have much more respect for the press than some I've encountered in the US. Marc tried to head to Guatemala City, but got tied up in crazy roadblocks and traffic. He turned around to join me in Tecpán.


I've covered heated demonstrations before in the US, but this was my initiation to doing so in Guatemala. I had a few reservations about how I would be perceived by the demonstrators. Turns out I had no trouble at all from them, the police or the army. Oddly, a Brazilian photographer did get a bit of trouble from the crowd, but I'm not sure exactly why.

All in all the demonstrations were peaceful, but of course boisterous at times. They were made up of indigenous groups, farmers co-ops, and various others with mostly leftist leanings. A local boy told me he'd never seen any of them in Tecpán; seems they mostly came from other parts of the country. They tried to get past the police blocks at times by taking back routes, but to no avail. It was half protest, half party.


The "high point" for the demonstrators was when Bush's motorcade speed down through the road to Tecpán. Slogans yelled, fingers flipped, signs waved, etc., but no violence. Forty-five minutes of rest and the motorcade returned the other way, the fingers and shouts again. Not long after, everyone dispersed. I heard two people were arrested near the site itself, but otherwise I know of no incidents. Protests are quite common here and sort of expected.


It was said that some Mayan priests were going to "cleanse" Iximché after the presidents' visit, but I hung out there for a while and didn't see anything like that.

Previously on BoingBoing:

  • Xeni's NPR series "Guatemala: Unearthing the Future"
  • Xeni's notes from the road in Guatemala
  • Mayan priests to "purge" Iximche after Bush's visit
  • More BB posts about Guatemala

    Reader comment: ScottG in NYC says,

    Here are some photos of post-Bush Mayan cleansing ceremony pix via Yahoo News/AP/Reuters: Link.