Far more difficult will be countering crime networks and deeply embedded corruption, the platform on which Arévalo was elected. Sophisticated money laundering schemes, smuggling and fraud help blur the line between the drug trade and politics, according to the think tank Insight Crime. Those who suffer the most tend to be the poorest, with predatory gangs involved in extortion in poor urban neighborhoods.
Arevalo believes education is the answer here, too. Visiting a school renovation project, the president said, “For a long time, we have not invested in the same way to bring development to all communities in the country. The future of the children is at stake in the schools, and the future of the country is at stake in the children’s education.”
But for now, it is the teachers who must operate at the border between education and the world of gangs and the drug trade. Divas, the head teacher in El Mezquital, said some of her students are the children of gang members. Some parents are in prison for murder, kidnapping and extortion.
According to Divas, the Bible program is about showing the children values that are different from those of the gang culture. “I see this project as planting a seed … inviting them to live a life that is good. They may not even understand it right now, but I know they will someday.”
And, says Divas, those values can work their way into the wider culture.
The British and Foreign Bible Society sponsored the author’s travel to Guatemala, where she was hosted by the Bible Society of Guatemala.
This article originally appeared here.
