Articles by Heather Gies

Maria Soto and other Ixil women celebrate on May 11, 2013 after former Guatemalan dictator Rios Montt was found guilty of genocide against the indigenous Ixil people. Trócaire's partners had fought for almost 30 years for justice for the Ixil people. (Photo credit Elena Hermosa).

The New Colonization: UN Expert Urges Guatemala to End Structural Racism Against Indigenous People

Heather Gies June 5, 2018 Heather Gies

“In the end, the [mining] company is a new form of colonization and exclusion,” Sister Maudilia López Cardona, who works with the Catholic parish in her western Guatemalan community, told Toward Freedom. “The system has worked to erase the historical memory of our people and teach us not to think,” she continued. “These thoughts, these ideas, these preconceptions have soaked into our people’s bones … We have to work to return our hearts to their place.”

Zapatista women and thousands of women from around the world listen to the opening address kicking off the first International Political, Artistic, Sporting, and Cultural Gathering of Women who Struggle in the Zapatista Caracol in the Tzots Choj region, Chiapas, Mexico, March 8, 2018. Photo by Heather Gies

“Don’t Surrender, Don’t Sell Out:” The Zapatistas’ First International Gathering of Women Who Struggle

Heather Gies March 19, 2018 Heather Gies

Women insurgents wearing the Zapatista’s iconic black balaclavas greeted thousands of women from over four dozen countries at the entrance to the Zapatista Caracol in the highlands of Chiapas under a vibrant banner reading “Welcome women of the world.” Kicking off the first International Political, Artistic, Sporting, and Cultural Gathering of Women Who Struggle surrounded by murals celebrating women’s resistance, Zapatista compañeras invited women from around the globe to commit to organizing to rise up and fight capitalism and patriarchy.

Demonstrators protest up against a line of military police during Juan Orlando Hernández’s inauguration for a second term in office. Tegucigalpa, Honduras, January 27, 2018. Photo by Heather Gies

Honduran Congress Deepens Authoritarianism by Legalizing Political Corruption

Heather Gies January 31, 2018 Heather Gies

Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández was sworn in for a second term Saturday amid ongoing protests and cries of election fraud. For protesters, Hernández has kept a stranglehold on power through fraud and military might. As the crisis deepens, on January 18th Honduran lawmakers passed a new Budget Law to protect corrupt politicians from legal proceedings, essentially legalizing corruption in the country.