Racism Still Major Concern in Guatemala

GUATEMALA CITY – The racism suffered by the majority of native Guatemalans continues to be a “terrible phenomenon” that impedes the country’s development, the Rigoberta Menchú Foundation said Tuesday.

The foundation of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate acknowledged that there have been some advances in the struggle against racism, noting that discrimination is now a crime in the country and a Presidential Commission against Racism and Discrimination has been created.

“But there’s much road left to travel,” it said.

The presidential commissioner against racist practices and discrimination against the country’s Indians, Estela Alvarado, said that the “worst humiliation” confronted by Guatemala’s indigenous population is “extreme poverty.”