Statement of support for Nelton Rivera, Prensa Comunitaria and community journalism

Nelton Rivera is a journalist and historian from Guatemala. He is one of the founders and current editors of the independent media outlet Prensa Comunitaria Kilómetro 169, where he also works as a photojournalist.  His reporting has primarily focused on environmental issues in Guatemala. He was involved in Green Blood and Mining Secrets, two renowned investigations into environmental matters which had significant repercussions in the country.

Prensa Comunitaria is an autonomous journalistic project featuring a diverse team comprising journalists, artists, feminists and activists, most of whom belong to indigenous peoples such as the Maya Q’anjob’al, K’iché, Q’eqchi’, Pocomchí, Kaqchikel and Chuj, as well as mestizo individuals. It works directly with communities, aiming to preserve historical memory and shine a light on issues such as structural violence, racism, forced migration and violence against women.

Since February, a cyberattack campaign involving false information has been ongoing to incriminate, harass and discredit Nelton Rivera, co-founder of Prensa Comunitaria.

In response, Hegoa (UPV/EHU) has put its name to the statement made by Mugarik Gabe on this matter. As this statement explains, those of us who have been supporting solidarity processes in Guatemala affirm that:

• We support freedom of expression and access to information that contributes to a more active and critical citizenship regarding the things that happen in the country.

• We promote community and feminist investigative journalism that helps raise awareness of the violations of collective and individual rights in the territories and their root causes.

• We believe in communication as a democratic, popular and participatory process that facilitates change and social denunciation. We feel that this offers alternatives to the dominant messages and images promoted by mass media, and serves as a counterpoint to the economic and ideological interests that underpin the heteropatriarchal and capitalist norm.

• Attacks have increased against human rights defenders, including journalists and justice officials, targeting those who have worked on investigative journalism projects and led legal cases against corruption and impunity (UN OHCHR Reports 2023 and 2024).

We therefore:

• Condemn the threats and intimidation against Prensa Comunitaria and journalist Nelton Rivera.

• Reject the attacks on the right to freedom of expression and information by corrupt power groups in Guatemala.

• Express our solidarity and commitment to Nelton Rivera and Prensa Comunitaria, who strive to defend the collective and individual human rights of some of the most vulnerable people and groups in Guatemala.

• Demand the immediate cessation of threats and intimidation against Nelton Rivera and Prensa Comunitaria.

• Call on international institutions and governments to support our efforts to dismantle the “pact of the corrupt” that, with impunity, continues to undertake all kinds of actions to maintain its grip on power.

We call on organisations in other countries to speak out about this situation in Guatemala, express their solidarity and remain vigilant about what is happening in the country.

More information can be found on the websites of Mugarik Gabe and Prensa Comunitaria.