Guatemala: a Mayan traditional doctor murdered, the country in shock

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In Guatemala, four people were arrested by national police, accused of participating in a murder that shocked the country and beyond, that of a traditional Mayan healer killed by a group of people who accused him of witchcraft . Today, several representatives of indigenous peoples denounce the stigma and racism they are victims of.

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Domingo Choc, 56, was a Mayan spiritual guide and specialist in traditional medicine from the indigenous Qeq'chi community. His expertise in medicinal herbs led him to work with foreign researchers, notably those of the prestigious University College of London.

On Saturday, he was kidnapped from his home in Chimay, in northern Guatemala. Beaten, tortured for several hours, he was then doused in petrol and burned alive in the middle of a vacant lot by a group of men and women who accused him of witchcraft.

A filmed murder, broadcast on the internet, that President Alejandro Giammattei describes as terrible and cowardly. The representatives of indigenous peoples denounce them too much murder, the symbol of racism and violence against them in Guatemala, at a time when the world is watching the George Floyd affair. The local press in its editorials also draws a parallel between the two men.

The peace agreements of 1996, at the end of the civil war, nevertheless recognized the right of indigenous peoples to live their traditions and their spirituality. But accusations of witchcraft are still spread, especially by the evangelical churches, very numerous in Guatemala.

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• Guatemala