Vaclav Masek is a doctoral student at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, studying the political ecology of grassroots environmental movements in post-conflict societies. He is also a freelance journalist covering Latin American social movements in outlets like El País, El Faro, and NACLA Report of the Americas. He writes monthly opinion editorials for elPeriódico and Agencia Ocote in his native Guatemala.