Among other things, Atz made reference to the work in terms of the promotion of agroecology and the work with communities affected by climate change, in this case through the Movement of Victims and People Affected by Climate Change (MOVIAC).

“This has a cause, what‘s most important is to identify the causes of climate change and who suffers the consequences”, said Natalia Atz.
The member of CEIBA Guatemala said that in the Rio+20 summit, the organizations will denounce the negative consequences of the “green economy” proposals and other false solutions, and they will try to put issues such as agroecology, food sovereignty and climate change on the agenda.

“There are real solutions, but the countries responsible for climate change don’t want to implement them”, she said.

Then she made reference to the advances of megaprojects and
extractive industries in Guatemala, a phenomenon that started in the country after the opening of economic markets in 1996, when peace agreements were signed. “There’s a struggle between life and business. Between using water for crops and human consumption or giving it to transnational corporations, especially European, who appropriate rivers, forests and grab lands”, she said.

She made reference to what is happening in Santa Cruz Barillas, where a State of Emergency was declared on May 1st, and said that the conflict started when the communities rejected a hydroelectric dam in a community consultation. “The company doesn’t respect that decision, which resulted in an extremely conflictive period in the area. The megaprojects are to blame for the suffering of the community”, she said.

According to Atz, the position of authorities was made known these past days, but not the position of the peasants "who are now starting to denounce the implications of the State of Emergency".