Guatemalan Bishop banned
GlobalMarkets, is part of the Delinian Group, DELINIAN (GLOBALCAPITAL) LIMITED, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX, Registered in England & Wales, Company number 15236213
Copyright © DELINIAN (GLOBALCAPITAL) LIMITED and its affiliated companies 2024

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement
Emerging Markets

Guatemalan Bishop banned

Guatemalan Catholic Bishop Alvaro Ramazzini was yesterday barred from addressing journalists at the IDB meeting.

The Bishop learned, to his surprise, that he is considered a big threat to finance ministers and bankers.

Ramazzini, bishop of the overwhelmingly indigenous San Marcos diocese, and three Maya leaders, were kept out of the press conference with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on social inclusion and inequality by the Guatemalan government.

In a letter to the NGO organizers, the government said it could not approve the event with Ramazzini – a high-profile campaigner on poverty issues – for security reasons.

Ramazzini was angered by the excuse. “Personally, I don’t believe that I am a security threat,” he told Emerging Markets in a phone interview from San Marcos .

“It would have been much better if the government had said that I had nothing relevant to add to a meeting about high finance. Instead, they raise the security question as a way to stop whatever they don’t like.” 

He said his exclusion is even more surprising given the ubiquitous theme of the IDB’s Guatemala meeting: “That no one is left behind.”  

The organizers of the seminar that would have included Ramazzini were also surprised by the decision. They said that they followed the regulations and provided the government and the IDB with the names of participants and themes of the presentation.

“I think they cancelled, because they knew that Bishop Ramazzini and the indigenous representatives were going to contradict directly what the IDB has been saying these past few days,” said Paulina Novo, of the Bank Information Center.

Ramazzini said he was “disappointed” that the IDB appeared to have condoned the exclusion. The IDB said that NGO visitors had been accredited for events on previous days, but that yesterday passes had been refused across the board.

Civil society groups have been attending the IDB’s annual meetings for years, pointing out that macroeconomic improvements have not trickled down to the poor majorities – something even most governments acknowledge and are actively trying to address.

Ramazzini said that he had planned to talk about the fact that the government is touting 5% GDP growth, while conditions in the countryside deteriorate for the indigenous majority.

“I don’t get how there is macroeconomic growth and people are poorer. Something is wrong,” he said.

Guatemalan activists also question the government’s tax policies and plans to attract foreign investment, which go hand-in-hand.

Gift this article