When the Truth Becomes Dangerous – RUDA Challenges Power in Guatemala
We’re not meeting in a newsroom. That would be too risky. Instead, we gather in a public meeting room in Guatemala City – one of many small safety measures that the journalists of RUDA must constantly adapt to. In a country where journalism can be life-threatening, RUDA has chosen a path that challenges those in power and amplifies the voices of those most often silenced.
RUDA is no ordinary news outlet. It is a feminist media collective in Guatemala that gathers stories from over 100 grassroots women journalists – women from across the country, many from Indigenous communities, who report on what is often absent from the national news cycle: women’s struggles, resistance, violence, and healing.
All content is published digitally, and their driving force is clear: visibility. Women’s voices, the experiences of LGBTQI+ individuals, children’s rights, and sexual violence that has never seen justice – this is RUDA’s everyday beat.
“We started RUDA in 2020,” says journalist Isela Espinoza. “At the time, I was working with the media house Prensa Comunitaria, and we saw that women’s experiences weren’t getting the attention they deserved. RUDA became the answer – a dedicated platform for feminist journalism, under the umbrella of Prensa Comunitaria.”
The same year RUDA was founded, their collaboration with IM also began. This support has been crucial – especially since 2021, when the situation for journalists in Guatemala worsened dramatically.
A Country Silencing the Truth
According to several international human rights organisations, Guatemala’s Public Prosecutor’s Office has used a manipulated legal system as a tool to persecute journalists, judges, and human rights defenders. Criminal charges, harassment, threats, and violence have all been deployed to suppress critical reporting, particularly by those investigating corruption and human rights violations. In 2021 alone, 135 attacks against journalists were recorded – including one murder. Many have been forced into exile.
RUDA’s reporters operate in this landscape. They speak of threats, surveillance, online hate campaigns, and vindictive judges.
“I photographed a judge during a trial,” recounts Ana Alfaro. “Afterwards, she came up to me and said: ‘Now it’s my turn to take a picture of you. And I’ll be following you.’ She later published my photo on X. Things that would be considered threats elsewhere are normalised here.”
Ana Alfaro has worked as a journalist for many years and covers court cases involving female lawyers who, after defending human rights, have themselves been prosecuted. One such lawyer was imprisoned for 81 days in 2023.
Abuse of Power Against Women and Children
Jazmin López, another RUDA reporter, follows the legal proceedings in two of Guatemala’s most high-profile cases:
“One concerns the 41 girls who died in a fire at a state-run children’s home in 2017. They had been locked in as punishment after protesting against conditions at the home, including sexual abuse. When the fire broke out, they were unable to escape, and many were burned alive. The other is a current trial of three former paramilitaries accused of raping Maya women 36 years ago,” she explains.
RUDA’s work sheds light not only on women’s rights, but also on historical justice, Indigenous rights, and the protection of children.
“We want to give space to the stories that are so often silenced,” says Angiros Ross Domingo, who is responsible for RUDA’s visual content and writes on issues related to historical memory.
Protection Strategies
“The threats are constant,” says editor Violeta Paiz. “That’s why we work strategically to protect ourselves. We follow trials through Facebook livestreams from other media outlets to avoid putting ourselves at risk. All our work is done digitally and with flexible schedules – crucial for those of us with children.”
Each year, RUDA awards grants to young journalists who wish to report on sexual and reproductive health. This not only builds knowledge – it forges alliances.
“Ruda is the name of a medicinal plant used in abortions,” explains Isela Espinoza. “It symbolises both resistance and healing.”
In a place where telling the truth is dangerous, every published article is an act of defiance. And in RUDA’s case – a collective promise to keep holding power to account.
In the top photo: from left to right, Violeta Paiz, Ana Alfaro, Angiros Ross Domingo, Isela Espinoza, Jazmin López. Photo: Malin Kihlström.
By: Malin Kihlström