This is the fifth labor conflict to flare on the banana plantations of this region in recent months. In all the cases, workers say their actions were provoked by management efforts to block the union organizing efforts underway on the farms. In addition to the El Paraiso dispute, conflicts continue at Mopa and El Panorama farms, leased from Bandegua, and at Arizona and Alabama plantations, which are leased from Cobigua, a supplier for Chiquita Brands. Court Rules Against Human Rights Ombudsman Guatemala City, April 16. The Supreme Court granted yesterday a temporary stay against a resolution issued by the Office of the Human Right's Ombudsman.
Critics say the move threatens the independence and effectiveness of the office.
In a unanimous decision, the 13 judges granted the temporary injunction arguing that ombudsman Julio Arango had failed to seek the government's version when last week he accused President Alvaro Arzu of violating the right to freedom of expression. Figueroa stressed that the decision was only temporary, until the court studied the case further. The court also ruled that the ombudsman's resolutions have legal, not just moral, weight, and therefore fall within its jurisdiction. Arango said he will do just that. He argues that his resolutions cannot be considered to have legal weight since they carry no sanctions.