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Maya Movement:
Towards Justice and Participation
On November 5, 1998, ISLA attended a talk given by Maya activist Tomás
Sén Tecún in Berkeley's La Peña Cultural Center. The
event, organized by the Guatemala News and Information Bureau, was a unique
opportunity to learn first hand about the struggle Guatemalan indigenous
groups have been waging to make their voices heard.
At issue during these past few years has been the Mayas' work to get their
proposals on indigenous justice and political participation included in
the constitutional reforms put on the table during the Peace Accords. If
we consider that Guatemala's entire population is 60% indigenous, it becomes
clear why proposed reforms such as the constitutional recognition of a "multiethnic,
pluricultural and multilingual" nation are long overdue. The reforms
would also promote the equal participation of indigenous people in Guatemala's
political system, and recognize as official all 23 indigenous languages.
The nineties marked a turning point for Maya political participation. The
"500 Years of Resistance" campaigns and demonstrations held during
1991-92 drew together many organizations that had been working separately.
In the wake of the presidential coup of Jorge Serrano Elías in 1993,
the Mayas agreed to create a common front against Serrano's attempt to impose
a "civilian dictatorship" (see "The Struggle for Maya Unity,"
by Antonio Otzoy, NACLA March/April 1996, pp. 33-35). In late 1994,
150 Maya organizations came together to form the Coordination of Maya Peoples'
Organizations of Guatemala (COPMAGUA), whose main purpose has been to introduce
the Maya proposals to the peace negotiations. In March of 1995, the government
and the URNG signed the Accord on Indigenous Rights and Identity, which
drew on some of the proposals made by COPMAGUA, and recommends the revisions
to the Constitution mentioned above.
Mr. Tomás Sén is a founding member of Defensoría Maya,
one of the COPMAGUA's member organizations, founded in 1992 to promote human
rights and recognition of traditional Maya law and customs. During his talk
at La Peña, Sén provided ample explanation of the complex
issues faced by the diverse Maya groups.
Sén explained that the Peace Accords should be seen as a process,
that even now are under difficult negotiation (see ISLA editorial). "The
Accords did not fall from the sky," he stressed, "they are the
product of the blood shed by thousands of indigenous people. That is why
we musht fight for their implementation."He explained that among the
reforms proposed is the need to guarantee the protection of a people (el
pueblo), not only the individual. Considering that hundreds of Maya
villages were razed to the ground during the civil war, it becomes evident
why protection of the individual is seen as insufficient to Maya activists.
Sén said that the Peace Accords did not take into account all of
the reforms that COPMAGUA promoted, and that still today indigenous rights
remain unprotected. "For that reason," he said, "we have
been working more and more with non-indigenous people in order to seek alliances
and reach a certain level of consensus."Although not all Mayas agree
on the paths to be taken (many espouse autonomy and Maya nationalism), Sén
pointed out that all four peoples of Guatemala-- the Maya, the Xinca (a
smaller indigenous group), the Garifuna (Black people), and the ladinos
(or mestizos of mixed indigenous and European descent)--share the same needs:
"We are all poor, exploited, and suffer from injustice. Indigenous
women," he added, "are thrice discriminated, for being women,
indigenous and poor."
In explaining Maya law, Sén said it is a preventive law, focused
on conflict resolution. As opposed to the State's punitive law, Maya legal
codes seek reconciliation and damage repair. COPMAGUA's proposed reforms
to the Constitution in matters of law are:
Article 157: Recognizes the rights of indigenous
authorities to establish their own laws and apply them in their regional
territory; requires that congressional representatives be directly elected
by the people through their electoral district.
Article 203: Establishes the Judicial Branch as
independent; recognizes the rights of indigenous authorities to apply "customary
law" (traditional indigenous law).
These proposals could potentially set the groundwork
for autonomous indigenous regions. However, in contrast to the struggle
undertaken by the Mayas of Chiapas, autonomy has not been on the negotiating
table in Guatemala. When ISLA asked Sén about this, he remarked "we
cannot ask our ladino brothers to leave a given territory and declare
that region autonomous." He maintains that autonomy would create divisions
between Guatmala's different ethnicities.
Sén's belief on the importance of Maya participation in the Guatemalan
larger political arena is reflected in an interview published in the fall
of 1998. When asked what opportunities do the proposed constitutional reforms
bring to indigenous peoples, he answerd: "The reform proposals have
been practice for us in the political arena and have given us the experience
we need to continue to deliberately participate in that arena. The more
we bring our forces together as indigenous organizations, the more we will
be able to participate as citizens of a democratic state." (Report
on Guatemala, Vol. 19, No. 3, p. 12)
The Maya people have struggled intensely to bring their issues to the attention
of the Guatemalan State. Yet it remains to be seen if the reforms will be
approved. With the referendum on constitutional reforms finally scheduled
for May 16, it is hoped that the Guatemalan people will at long last have
a say about the future of their country.
Tomás Sén can be reached
at Defensoría Maya's e-mail: defemaya@guate.net |
