'We are fed up': Guatemalans continue anti-government protests

[Judi Lynn]

Guatemala’s Congress annulled a contentious budget this week, but protesters are still calling for the president and legislators to resign.

By
Jeff Abbott
28 Nov 2020

Guatemala City, Guatemala – Guatemalans have returned to protest across the country for the second Saturday in a row, as discontent with President Alejandro Giammattei and his government continues.

More than 2,000 people gathered in Guatemala City’s central plaza to demand the resignation of Giammattei and congressional representatives who had approved the country’s controversial 2021 budget.

“We are demanding that they respect our rights and that all those corrupt politicians in Congress leave,” Maria Fernanda Saldana, a 22-year-old university student, told Al Jazeera at the demonstration, where protesters chanted for Giammattei to step down.

“The only thing they have done is rob our money,” Saldana said. “We are fed up that they only take the money to benefit them and do not do anything for the people.”

Tensions boiled over last week after Congress approved a $12.8bn budget in the middle of the night that raised stipends for representatives’ meals while cutting funding for human rights agencies, healthcare, education, and the judiciary.

More:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/11/28/guatemalans-return-to-protest-as-anger-at-government-persists