I left Tecpan early this morning to come to Guatemala City for the Hemispheric Council meeting of the Americas Social Forum (ASF). I came with the mother in the family where I am staying who makes the 2-hr trip every day to work in the city. I don’t know how she does it. Because of highway robberies, the trip has a reputation for being dangerous. She was constantly crossing herself all the way. The stress of the travel and all that gave me a nice big migraine. But I got here without a problem.

We spent the day in the San Carlos Hotel in the council meeting. We began with an analysis of our current political realities (coyuntura), and then discussed our participation in the WSF in Nairobi in January. In the afternoon, we reviewed the WSF proposals for the next two years and how we fit into those plans. One issue is where to have the 2009 forum, and how that fits into plans to hold the ASF in Guatemala next June.

Tomorrow we’re traveling back out to Tecpan to spend the day at the Indigenous Summit. I plan to spend tomorrow nite back there, and then come back in to Guatemala City with the summit group for a march and rally on Friday. My plan right now is to stay here at this hotel Friday and Saturday nites, and to spend Saturday during the day in Antigua. We’re close to the airport here (and right next to the U.S. embassy!), which makes it convenient to leave early Sunday morning.