Guatemalan Indigenous
Denounce Election
Exclusion
On the occasion of the
International Day of
Indigenous People,
representatives of
Guatemalan native
communities charged on
Thursday that the
election system and the
political parties still
exclude part of the
population.
According to Juana
Batzibal, leader of the
Waquib Kej Indigenous
Community, the existing
structures were designed
to perpetuate power in a
small traditional
circle.
Our fundamental
citizen's rights are
limited, because the
election campaign
becomes a matter of who
has more money and in
what extent he she can
be nominated for a post.
"The amount of money
that the political
parties ask for the
candidacy will depend on
the post you aspire,"
the indigenous leader
told Prensa Latina.
She added that there are
many difficulties to
exercise the right to
vote, because many
indigenous people lack
documents and live in
faraway areas.
Another clear example of
racism is that the
entire election campaign
is in Spanish and the
native languages are not
taken into
consideration, she
pointed out.
For his part, Domingo
Hernandez, also from
Waquib Kej, acknowledged
that there are more
indigenous
representatives in the
ongoing election
campaign, but it is
still very far from the
aspirations of the
largest sector of
Guatemalan society.
He described as positive
the presidential
candidacy of Peace Nobel
Prizewinner Rigoberta
Menchu, adding that
there is a chance that
some 20 representative
of the Maya people will
make up the future
158-seat Congress of the
Republic.
On Sept. 9, nearly six
million Guatemalans will
vote to elect the
president, the vice
president, deputies and
municipal governments. |
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