Niger and Guatemala

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Pascale Harter introduces two tales of people and power. Fergal Keane joins the queue of supplicants in the office of the local Governor in Agadez, Niger - and ends up with lessons in colonial history as well as media humility. As the sick, the needy and the agitated queue to see him, Governor Garba reads his papers, makes his notes and keeps the Nigerien bureaucracy moving. And as it turns out, the exercise of power has been practised from the same building ever since the French arrived there in 1906. Nina Lakhani sees a more grassroots process at work outside the blockaded La Puya goldmine, north of Guatemala City. In a country with a violent past, and a lasting sense of fear of the state, the peaceful protesters here have been seen as a model for others to follow - and a visit to their camp reveals their aims and some of their tactics. But how effective can these methods be in the face of State forces? Producer: Polly Hope Photo: A mayor debates with local Tuareg notables, pictured on February 4, 2012 in Chinegodar, western Niger (BOUREIMA HAMA/AFP/Getty Images)