I have written about this already, but it disappeared when my computer's harddrive crashed. I will try to keep all the details from over a month ago straight.
2 violent mob incidents that resulted in death at Lake Atitlan occurred within a week or two of eachother. This was just before Christmas. First, there was apparently a small group of people (from the highlands, probably- definitely not from around town) who were trying to extort money from the chicken bus drivers. (Chicken buses are the main form of transportation in Guatemala. They are old converted school buses decorated in crazy psychedelic colors, are affordable, reliable, and you can take them anywhere you need to get to)
The extorters wanted to show that they meant business, so they held a bus driver at gunpoint while he was driving from Solola down to Panajachel. This is a very popular 10 minute route for both tourists and locals. The gunman was arrested, and put in jail in Solola. Townspeople were outraged- this guy represented a threat to the whole communitys wellbeing. Guatemalans have dealt with enough corruption (especially during their 30+ years of war and puppet governments). Chicken bus transportation is a system that works well, and extortion would only serve to ruin that. A mob went to the police station, and demanded that the guy be released. The police (who are quite official, have alot of jurisdiction, and make trips all across the lake to "check" on towns in their department) would not release the guy. So, the mob firebombed the police station, which resulted in the guy getting out. They took the guy, beat him, and burned his body.
The 2nd incident is eerily similar. It took place in Panajachel, the town next to Solola. Panajachel, aka "Pana" sits right on Lake Atitlan, and is bustling tourist town. 2 ladies and a guy, not affiliated with the bus extortionists, tried to extort money from a market lady. Once again, bad idea. The market is the main focus of communities throughout Central and South America, especially in a tourist town like Pana. If these strong-arming thieves were going to prey upon one market vendor, what would keep them from doing it to someone else? So, to keep the system functioning and safe, a mob from Pana demanded that the Pana police release the extortionists.
The 2 women were moved to a different jail (one was pregnant; they were probably moved to Guatemala City) but the guy was released. They tied him up, beat him to death, and burned his body in the street. Specifically, the busiest intersection in town. My friend is a teacher at a school there and said that it was riot-like, and that the body layed in the street throughout the entire day (mostly covered with a cloth) until the guy's family came and got it).
Now, I am from a small town in New York, and this sort of justice and vigilantism is incredibly foreign to me. Probably to most people from the United States. I can't say if I like it any better or not.
Just south of Guatemala is El Salvador, a small and beautiful country that has a serious problem with organized crime. Specifically, crime run by gangs. This springs from the US deporting members of the Los Angeles-based gang MS-13 back to Latin America. MS-13 now has connections both in the US and Central America, and 50,000 members in the US, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. They are ultra-powerful, and they use their power to run drugs, extort businesses, buses, and more, and reak havoc on their community. They kill bus drivers that do not accommodate their demands. They largely contribute the the alarming murder rate, which per capita is 10 times the amount of the United States', and 5 times that of Mexico's. (according to Reuters and LA Times)
So, just to widen our worldview... on one hand, you have certain regions of Guatemala with a mob justice that entails violent murder and burning of those suspected of trying to fuck up a functioning system for their own financial gain. And on the other hand, in El Salvador (and maybe other parts of Guatemala), widespread extortion is completely the norm, and the threat of violence prevents much change.
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