Menchu Leads New Guatemalan Party
The emergence of the Winaq movement, led by Nobel Peace Prizewinner Rigoberta Menchu, has shaken the weak system of political parties in Guatemala and has created new expectations among both indigenous people and Guatemalans.

Francisco Garcia, coordinator of the Central American Institute on Political Studies, said the creation of the group is timely, intelligent and audacious, as an alternative to a scheme of traditional parties that have been incapable of changing the country.

Garcia added that whether or not a presidential candidate materializes for the upcoming elections, the path taken by the indigenous movement will continue to strengthen irreversibly.

Winaq, which means integral person in the Mayan language, has opened a new age in the process to incorporate the indigenous people into Guatemala s political life, and will allow Menchu to enter the presidential race in 2007 or 2011, he said.

This organization resulted from many years of effort and will not be made up only of indigenous people. It will be a pluralistic, democratic, participative and equitable movement, according to its leaders.