‘People are dying who did not have to die’: anger grows in Guatemala as Covid surges

The pandemic is at its worst moment yet in Guatemala, and discontent is growing. New cases have been spiking, hospitals are saturated, and the vaccination rate is among the very lowest in all of the Americas. Only 1.6% of the population is fully vaccinated and confirmed Covid-19 deaths surpassed 10,000 this week. While prosecutors investigate alleged corruption related to test and vaccine procurement, activists and opposition parties are calling for the president to resign. “Throughout this whole disastrous situation, corruption has been the constant,” said doctor Zulma Calderón, health defender at the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office, an autonomous state institution.