Guatemalans Protest Financial Situation
Hundreds of Guatemalans staged protests in several points of the capital as the opening session of the 48th Assembly of Governors of the Inter American Development Bank (IDB) was held.

Near the Miguel Angel Asturias National Theater, the venue for the ceremony, people who lost their savings as Banco del Comercio (Trade Bank) went bankrupt vented their anger for the lack of response to their problem.

Fernando Merida, one of the affected, told Prensa Latina that they were trying to attract the attention of IDB executives to the country's financial reality.

According to Merida, more than 8,000 Guatemalans, mostly elders and small and medium-sized business people, were affected by the institution's bankruptcy.

Another demonstrator, German Marcos, denounced that the government of President Oscar Berger has refused to make any statement on the matter, as security forces attack them when they protest.

Meanwhile, Mesa Global (Global Table), grouping several social, humanitarian organizations, convened a press conference and an alternative forum to IDB meeting in the capital.

In the meeting, representatives of communities affected by IDB-sponsored programs will reveal social and environmental damages inflicted.

Most of the programs, mainly those for the energy sector, have only benefit private initiative rather than most of the population, said Lucrecia Cordon.

These works also generate more foreign debt for the country, which is paid for by the taxpayers' money, Cordon recalled.