Guatemala: Murder of teacher and union leader René Sucup Morán condemned worldwide
Education International and its Regional Committee for Latin America condemn the murder of René Sucup Morán, a teacher and STEG union leader, and call on the government to ensure an immediate and full investigation. The international trade union and education community insists that this crime must not go unpunished and that the perpetrators must be brought to justice in accordance with the law.
On Friday 5 September, teacher René Sucup Morán, a member and leader of the STEG, a union affiliated to Education International, was murdered in a commercial area of Chisec, Alta Verapaz. The attack, perpetrated by a hitman, has shocked the education and trade union community, which is demanding justice and that all those responsible be punished in accordance with Guatemalan law.
The Regional Committee has documented the attacks and the intimidation being suffered since May 2024 by STEG leaders at national, departmental, and municipal levels. Despite repeated requests for government intervention to ensure the safety of STEG leaders, a clear lack of action has been taken by the authorities to protect their lives.
In August 2024, the EI World Congress, held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, adopted an urgent resolution in solidarity with the STEG. The resolution denounced the death threats received by local and national STEG leaders in May 2024, when the union was mobilising its members across the country to demand meaningful collective bargaining negotiations. These acts represented a clear bid to use intimidation and threats to stop the union’s mobilisation, hinder collective bargaining, and weaken the organisation.
The Congress resolution condemned the threats and acts of intimidation against the STEG and called on the Guatemalan authorities to ensure the safety and to protect the lives of the STEG leaders. The resolution also urged the authorities to enter into meaningful negotiations with the union and to respect the rights and freedoms of STEG members and leaders.
Education International emphasises that the government is responsible for safeguarding the lives of the STEG leaders who have been faced with systematic threats, persecution and intimidation. The government has failed in its duty to ensure their safety.
The government is once again urged to ensure the safety of STEG leaders, to investigate this serious crime and to identify and punish all those responsible for the murder. Education International’s Regional Committee insists that the STEG leadership will not be intimidated into abandoning collective bargaining negotiations. The STEG is a legitimate organisation and is recognised at both national and international level.
Education International and the Regional Committee for Latin America will continue to denounce this situation before the relevant international bodies and the international education community, condemning the anti-union violence and underlining the government’s lack of political will to protect the lives and the safety of STEG leaders.
