The 2005 Guatemalan protests were mass street protests and violent anti-

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

protests after the president

Óscar Berger Óscar José Rafael Berger Perdomo (; born 11 August 1946) is a Guatemalan politician who served as the President of Guatemala from 2004 to 2008. Early years and family Berger was born to an upper-class family with large sugar and coffee hol ...

signed the Central America Free Trade Agreement with the

in March-April 2005.

Protests

Protests occurred against it, and the opposition vowed to step up protests calling for the resignation of Óscar Berger. The protesters claimed it will harm farmers and businesses from running, and sparked nation-wide protests, leaving police to disperse crowds of protesters in

Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, ne ...

. Demonstrations intensified on the 4th day of daily street protests, when nonviolent demonstrations turned violent after protesters banged pots and pelted stones at the

Riot police Riot police are police who are organized, deployed, trained or equipped to confront crowds, protests or riots. Riot police may be regular police who act in the role of riot police in particular situations or they may be separate units organize ...

, who responded with killing one protester. Weeks of street protests swelled. The protesters want a referendum on the Central American Free Trade Agreement (Cafta), as well as the resignation of the interior minister and police chief. One more protester was killed during the sixth day of protests after

used

tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ...

and

water cannon A water cannon is a device that shoots a high-velocity stream of water. Typically, a water cannon can deliver a large volume of water, often over dozens of meters. They are used in firefighting, large vehicle washing, riot control, and mining ...

to dispel the marchers, some of whom were throwing rocks and bottles at them. The participants in the protest movement and street demonstrations was indigenous farmers, trade unions and students.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guatalmalan protests, 2005 Protests in Guatemala 2005 in Guatemala 2005 protests

Protests

See also

References