On 21 November 2020, thousands of people came out to protest against a controversial budget that was passed by the Guatemalan parliament. The protests eventually turned violent, with some protestors burning down bus stations and clashing with police. Hundreds of protestors managed to break into Guatemala’s congress and burn down part of the building, and while firefighters quickly put out the blaze, the full extent of the damage remains unclear. There have been dozens of reported injuries and arrests as a result of the clashes, but no deaths have been reported at the time of writing.

The budget in question was controversial because it entailed large spending cuts for education and healthcare as well as other public services. This outraged many Guatemalans who were still recovering from back to back hurricanes that caused widespread damage to critical infrastructure and displaced thousands of people. The cuts to healthcare were especially painful for a country that is still in the midst of battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

The budget was also contentious because of the areas which received increased spending, namely more money for lawmaker’s food stipends. The fact that the budget also proposed cutting funds to combat malnutrition made this inclusion especially insulting for Guatemalans. Another source of frustration for the protestors was the lack of transparency in the budget crafting process. Many felt that the government tried to press through the unpopular legislation in secret while the country was distracted by the many crises affecting it.

Guatemala remains a very fragile state, and one with a history of civil unrest and violence. Many of the country’s institutions were destroyed during a brutal civil war that lasted from 1960 to 1996 and killed an estimated 200,000 people. Ever since the peace accord was signed in the late 1990’s, Guatemala has seen fast economic growth and contested democratic elections. However, the country still struggles with high rates of poverty, crime, and an increasingly violent drug trade that breeds instability. How the government responds to the protests will determine if Guatemala can effectively combat these challenges without experiencing democratic backsliding.

The president of Guatemala, Alejandro Giammattei, denounced the arson and called for those involved to be prosecuted. However, he also seemed to heed the concerns of the protestors and claimed in a news release that he was reviewing potential modifications to the budget. The anger at Giammattei and the Guatemalan government has come from all corners of Guatemalan society, from youthful protestors in cities to the leadership of the Roman Catholic church. The outrage over the bill even spread to Giammattei’s own cabinet, with the Vice President openly calling for Giammattei to resign.

Many of the protestors’ concerns went beyond the unpopular budget, with many demonstrators calling for an end to the rampant corruption that has plagued the country for decades. In 2019 former president, Jimmy Morales, kicked out a UN commission tasked with investigating corruption, and there has been no sign of a change of course under the Giammattei administration. For many, this budget is a continuation of the status quo in Guatemala, where politicians are more concerned with their own welfare than that of their constituents.