For four decades Joviel Acevedo Ayala has worked as a teacher in the public sector. It is assigned as a teacher in Izabal and, during that time, has been relocated three times, always in the same department.
Acevedo’s relationship with the national teaching began 41 years ago. He was 19 when the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) hired him, on July 3, 1984 and began teaching at the Official Rural School (EORM) of the San Felipe de Lara village, morning day, in Livingston, Izabal. There he also began his approach to movements related to the political and union sphere of the country.
Four years later he was relocated to the Eorm María Chinchilla, in the Oneida village, morning day, in Morales. His appointment kept him there for 17 years.
In 2005 Acevedo was transferred again, this time to the Official Urban School Mixed (EOUM) October 20, evening day, always in Morales, although this time a degree was not assigned to teach courses, then, as General Secretary of the Guatemalan Education Workers Union (Steg), He began to enjoy a partial union license, according to the Mineduc report.
Article 17 of the Collective Pact of Working Conditions of the Magisterium, approved in 2022 during the administration of Claudia Ruiz Casasola – Minister of Education of the Government of Alejandro Giammattei -, establishes that the members of the National Executive Committee, a group in which Acevedo appears, They enjoy license with full -time salary enjoyment, during the term of his mandates for the exercise of his union functions.
Dismissed and reinstalled
The Ministry’s records indicate that in 2005 Acevedo was subject to two administrative sanctions. He was built two minutes to leave the position of Master without having permission on October 6 and 12 of that year, which gave rise to an administrative process that concluded with its dismissal, through the Ministerial Agreement DRH-3624-2008, of December 8, 2008.
The collective pact that was in force at that time indicated that The license to exercise union activity was nine days a month, for the majority union, And Joviel Acevedo had exceeded time.
María del Carmen Aceña, who was Minister of Education at that time, was the one who began the process of dismissal of Acevedo. She remembers that it was because It was found that he was absent from teaching to do union work. He had subcontracted to another teacher to take his place in the school where he was assigned.
When that happened, César Hernández, director of the educational squad, said that Acevedo rarely appeared to teach and that, as a trade unionist, he enjoyed two days off per week for union proceedings. At first he notified his absences, but stopped doing it, as recorded in press publications of that time.
The union leader was dismissed, but reinstated through a resolution, dated December 16, 2008, of the National Civil Service Board, during the Álvaro Colom government.
Ranking f
Originally from the Guijo village, in Usumatlán, Zacapa, Acevedo was born on April 11, 1965, so he just turned 60. For working time as a teacher, it is located in the highest range of the ranks, that is, the F, with a salary greater than Q10 thousand. According to the Law of Dignification and Cataloging of the National Magisterium, every four years teachers have the possibility of ascending of hierarchy.
As of June 1, the base salary of the teachers of Preprimary and Primary is Q4 thousand 558, an amount that includes 5% of the increase that the MINEDUC granted to the Magisterium on April 30. To that sum, the corresponding to the ranks must be added, so that the class F receives Q5 thousand 697.50 additional.
The salary of Joviel Acevedo as Primary Education Master in the Flafon F will be since June of Q10 thousand 255.50. However, from that total the payment of the Income Tax (ISR), the Montepío, the posthumous help of the national teaching and the quota given to the Guatemalan Institute of Social Security (IGSS) must be deducted.
At the head of the Steg
Bernardo Caal, former director of the Magisterium in Alta Verapaz, remembers that Acevedo began in the Steg as a spokesperson and then amounted, in 2003, to the position of Secretary General, since he has held since then and in which he will remain vital, since the statutes to choose directive are “tailored made” to be re -elected.
“The Statutes of the Organization (Steg) do not allow you to make broad calls for more people who wish to hold the position. In addition, Joviel controls the calls and the people who attend the elections every two years, ”says Caal, who knows well the interiorities of the union, as he was part of this.
On the other hand, he points out that the statutes of the STEG were modified so that Acevedo continues as the maximum representative of the organization. “In a nutshell, he will be, according to the statutes, a life secretary,” he adds.
Government after government
During the time he has been in charge of the Magisterium majority union, Acevedo has measured forces with seven presidents: Alfonso Portillo, Óscar Berger, Álvaro Colom, Otto Pérez Molina, Jimmy Morales, Alejandro Giammattei and Bernardo Arévalo. The accusations of mobilizing the teachers in support of some rulers, in exchange for benefits for the union dome and the guild, have not separated from their union figure.
His position at the head of the STEG has allowed him to negotiate the collective pacts of working conditions for the teachers and press the authorities to give in to their demands. As happened in 2003, when teachers suspended tasks for 52 days and achieved a salary increase of Q150, the cancellation of sanctions for the absence of classes and an increase to the education budget.
During the government of Pérez Molina there was another vast magisterial concentration, which led to the signing of the collective pact that won in April 2016. In this they established privileges such as a 30% increase to the salary of teachers and workers, and life insurance for employees equivalent to 15 salaries. Cinthya del Águila was a minister at that time and asked Acevedo to support the changes to the initial teacher training that ended with the closure of normal schools.
“I know that I can rely on Joviel to do important things that suit Guatemala,” said Vice President Roxana Baldetti, who witnessed honor in the negotiation of that collective pact.
The story was repeated during the government of Jimmy Morales. Acevedo directed mass marches to exert pressure on the negotiation of a new collective pact. In 2018 there were 21 days of strike and four more days of one plant in the Plaza de la Constitución.
The STEG managed to authorize Minister Óscar Hugo López to install a negotiating table, and a salary increase of 15%was achieved, in a staggered way, in addition to a bonus of Q2 thousand 500 every end of the year and Q500 additional for teachers with university degree.
During the Giammattei government there were also mass mobilizations, in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. Minister Ruiz approved the pact and established a 3% readjustment to the Magisterium salary.
The demonstrations, the permanent assemblies – its classroom for an indefinite class – and the Masters Camp in the Central Park are the letters that Acevedo has used to bend to the rulers, and now take them out now to press Arévalo and demand an increase of 15%.
But Caal has a theory: The power of the Steg call is due to coercion and threats towards the teachers who occupy the places 021, because the union leader has had interference and decision power on the granting of contracts, relocation and transfer of teachers.
At the discretion of the ex -syndicalist, the current permanent assembly made by the STEG affiliates – commented on May 19 – and the camp installed in the Plaza de la Constitución – since May 26 – They are actions that Acevedo uses for the authorities to access to install a negotiating table.
“The first thing that Joviel negotiates is that there are no reprisals against those who participate in these actions,” he says. But this support can be expensive, since Arévalo and the Minister of Education, Anabella Giracca, are not willing to give in and They have announced that they will sanction those who are absent from their work, Add.
Article 76, subsection 6, of the Civil Service Law indicates that it is the cause of justified dismissal of public servants of the Opposition Service: “When the server stops attending work without the corresponding permission or with a duly justified cause, for two complete working days or for four means of working days in the same calendar month. The justification of the absence must be done when resuming their work, if it had not done it before. ”
Fight of powers
Since March 6, 2024, Acevedo is one of the three Steg representatives who feel a new collective pact every Wednesday With the Mineduc delegates. The discussion project is under confidentiality, despite the efforts of the portfolio to make it public.
It was agreed that the discussion of articles with economic impact would be left for the end, as recorded in the minutes that are raised after each meeting. These points include the salary increase, but, due to the lack of consensus, Giracca, accompanied by President Arévalo, announced on April 30 a salary increase of 5%, unilaterally.
Steg is not satisfied and demands 15%. In your demands It is now included to Q10 the school feed, deliver uniforms and shoes to students, Hire cooks and janitors for schools, and improve infrastructure and furniture in establishments, among other aspects. The warning is that they will continue with the facts until the authorities feel to negotiate.
He tried to talk via telephone with Joviel Acevedo to know his position and expand on his union demands, but although he responded to the call and hung after hearing the issues for which an opinion was requested.
International signaling
On July 19, 2023, The United States Department published a list of corrupt and antidemocratic actors from Guatemala, in which he mentioned several relevant figures, including Acevedo. At Caal’s discretion, this signaling has subtracted strength from the figure of the union leader.
“Joviel Acevedo Ayala, the current leader of the Guatemalan Education Workers Union (Steg), incurred an important corruption by providing political support to the Steg in exchange for bribes of public officials“The report points out.