Street vendors of Guatemala have joined the national strike to fight for their democratic rights. StreetNet International stands in solidarity with them and all the workers of Guatemala. Read our solidarity statament.

Dear comrades,

StreetNet International is a global organization of committed informal traders, with the goal to promote and leverage an autonomous alliance of street vendors, hawkers, and cross-border traders. As a democratic, membership-based organisation StreetNet International representsover 600,000 members from 56 organisations in 52 countries across Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe. StreetNet’s Guatemalan affiliate, the Federacion Nacional de Trabajadores/Vendedores Indepdendientes de Guatemala (FENTRAVIG), represents over 5000 informal vendors in the country.

Protest in Guatemala. Credits: FENTRAVIG

Our international council member, Jorge Peralta, has maintained us informed of the struggle for democracy of the Guatemalan people, and the central role being played by market vendors, who have formed a joint platform ‘Mercados Unidos’. In the name of more than 600,000 informal vendors across the world, StreetNet International sends greetings of solidarity, and salutes the efforts of vendors to unify in defence of Guatemalan democracy. StreetNet International will continue to monitor the situation, and to demand respect for the fundamental human rights which are the foundation of democracy.