Ruth López: A life committed to transparency and the defense of human rights
May, 2025. Ruth López is a tireless Salvadoran leader in the struggle against corruption and for transparency and rights. She is a lawyer, human rights defender, educator, and mother. She has a broad background in constitutional, electoral, and administrative law, as well as transparency. Her rigorous technical work at the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) left […]
Tables Turned: The Manipulation of Guatemala’s Courts Against its Prosecutors
“I didn’t even have time to pack,” says Juan Francisco Sandoval, remembering the night that he fled Guatemala three years ago. After being ousted from his position as head of the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity, he knew that it was no longer safe for him to stay in his home country. Under cover of […]
‘A People Who Has No Memory Has No Identity’ – Transitional Justice in El Salvador
It’s been 42 years, but Maria Lidia remembers that night like it was yesterday. “I could hear the screaming, that was the hardest part,” she says, inhaling, “I survived, but it was a miracle.” On August 22, 1982, in the spot where we’re standing, Salvadoran armed forces from the Atlacatl Battalion shot and killed over […]
Global School Spotlights Internal Forced Displacement in Honduras
It’s another blazing hot day in Choloma, Honduras, but Claudio Castillo is used to the heat. He leaves his new home and steps out into the bright morning, making the short journey to the municipal building. He climbs the stairs and takes his place in the circle of chairs assembled in the conference room. He […]
This is What Dialogue for Democracy Looks Like
Dialogue is an essential part of creating democracy and recognizing human rights. When we speak and listen as equals we develop the practice of democratic principles. The world is facing enormous challenges to democracy and human rights from tendencies toward authoritarianism and a myriad of tools to exclude the voices of anyone who doesn’t conform […]
Fighting for Water Means Fighting Corruption
Ramiro Gomez has lived in San Miguel Siguilá, a town in the highlands of Guatemala, his whole life. He is the representative of the Transparency and Probity Commission in the municipality. His neighbors chose him to lead because of his spirit of resistance and his desire to fight against corruption. “I am motivated to fight […]
Rising from Ashes: Meet the Fenix Association
I went from living on the street to a place with dignity for me and my baby. In the street, they saw me as nobody But no one knew who I ended up there. I have suffered a lot of discrimination; everyone thought I was a criminal. I thank God and Cristosal who helped me […]
We Help Ourselves But We Cannot Do It Alone
We are afraid that they will find out that we are human rights defenders, that we are those women who lend a voice to those who don’t have one. We are afraid of this regime of exception because we are from communities classified as red zones because of the control the gang had in this […]
Reflections on Monsignor Oscar Romero
By Bryan Varela and Fátima Pacas, Cristosal Education Team, El Salvador We share common conditions in northern Central America, countries marked by violence, impunity, corruption, and inequality. These problems are exacerbated by systems that favor the few at the expense of the impoverished majority. In this complex reality, however, our communities have continued their history […]
Resilience and Determination to Reclaim a Life of Dignity
In Guatemala, our teams have witnessed the devastating effects of violence on impoverished communities, but also the resilience of individuals and families as they rebuild their lives with the accompaniment of our interdisciplinary human rights defenders. Sofi*, a 20-year-old Guatemalan woman, was the victim of sexual violence in her home. Her father was her primary […]
