Abel died that night. According to the Constitution, it's the state's duty to guarantee healthcare free of charge. Last week despite widespread opposition from grassroots groups, Congress amended the Health Code in order to legalize user fees in public health centers for those who can afford them. The child advocacy group Casa Alianza has called on the Inter-American Human Rights Commission to designate a special rapporteur for street children in Latin America. And they singled out Guatemala as one of the worst violators of the children's rights.
Today there is no empathy for street children.
Worse still, there is zero tolerance. The children, most of whom are between the ages of 10 and 14, have often been forced onto the street by abuse in the home, or because their families are too poor to support them. The majority of them are fleeing from grave situations of physical or sexual abuse within the family. But life on the street leaves them vulnerable to attacks by security agents and other violations under the Inter-American Human Rights Convention, he said. And in most cases the government does nothing to stop these abuses.