IC Power (ICP), the largest power supplier in Guatemala, was the main target of a series of demonstrations in which thousands of people took part along main highways in the country last week.
In January this year, ICP, a subsidiary of Kenon Holdings which is headquartered in Singapore and listed in Tel Aviv and New York and controlled by Idan Ofer, bought the Guatemalan Energuate group, which has two power production and transmission units, for $299.5 million. Energuate supplies electricity to 60% of the population of Guatemala.
According to reports on Jewish and Catholic websites in Latin America, about 20,000 people took part in the demonstrations, in which placards were waved condemning "the Jewish power company."
According to catholic website Redes Cristianas, most of the demonstrators were poor farmers of Mayan descent who called for the release of farmers who had been jailed, for the punishment of corrupt legislators, business people and military officers, for the abolition of tax breaks and subsidies to large companies, for renationalization of privatized companies, and for redistribution of farmland. The website's report stated that the demonstrators condemned Jewish power company Energuate owned by Israel Corporation an error, as ICP's parent company Kenon was spun-off from Israel Corporation in 2015.
According to other reports, the anti-Semitic slogans were cruder; one placard, for example, had a representation of Jesus on the cross alongside the text "The Jews killed him on the cross. Now the Jews of Energuate are killing the believers of Guatemala with electricity." Other placards read: "Jewish Energuate out of Guatemala. Unite for nationalization of power plants" and "Jewish hypocrites hiding from principles of justice."
There has been social instability in Guatemala for years, and there are wide economic gaps among its population. The UK Foreign Office's advice on travel to the country states: "Incidents of political violence, strikes and large demonstrations can occur, often with little or no notice. Although most demonstrations are peaceful, they can turn violent."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 22, 2016
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