Guatemala's Indigenous Women in Resistance (pdf ... - PBI Guatemala

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Guatemala’s Indigenous Women in Resistance: On the Frontline of the Community’s Struggle to Defend Mother Earth and her Natural Assets 1. Indigenous Peoples, Rural Women and Poverty Guatemala is a multiethnic, multilingual and multicultural society. According the country’s National Institute of Statistics (INE), 40% of the population is indigenous of Mayan, Xinca and Garinagu origin, and 60% is mestizo. Despite these official statistics, there is no consensus about the actual percentage of indigenous peoples in Guatemala, with some sources estimating it to be 60%, noting the limitations of the census. 1 The total population is estimated to be about 13 million, of which 52% live in rural areas and more than half are women. Twenty-four indigenous languages are spoken in the country, while the official language is Spanish (Art. 143 of the Constitution). A referendum was held in 1999 on proposed constitutional changes regarding the identity of indigenous peoples and official recognition of the 24 indigenous languages. The referendum was rejected by voters, however. 2 According to several studies, poverty and extreme poverty affects women, indigenous peoples and those living in rural areas, more than it does men, the mestizo population and urban dwellers. 3 Therefore, poverty particularly affects rural Guatemalan indigenous women, and the discrimination they suffer is evident in the fact that they are denied social, cultural, economic, political and civil rights. In general, the evaluations conducted by civil society organizations, numerous international organizations, as well as historical analysis, recognize poverty and discrimination as institutionalized problems resulting from the continuance of an exclusionary and inequitable economic, social and political structure that began with the Spanish conquest and has lasted through the Guatemalan civil war (1960 to 1996). The poverty and discrimination of today are the consequences of a long history of conquest and colonization that 1 UN Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and the fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples, Mr. Rodolfo Stavenhagen. November 2007. 2 ACNUR, http://www.acnur.org/biblioteca/pdf/6289.pdf 3 Mindiola, O. and Chabot, J. P., E, Economic Opportunities and Indigenous Development, Canadian Foundation for the Americas (FOCAL). May 2008. 14
National and International Policies and the Reality of Guatemalan Indigenous Women began 500 years ago and culminated in the aforementioned 36-year civil war, which had devastating results for the population, particular the indigenous peoples. The crimes of genocide described in the 1999 report “Guatemala: Memory of Silence” by the Commission for Historical Clarification (CEH in Spanish) reveal the dimensions of the discrimination and racism in Guatemala. 4 Members of the high command of the Guatemalan military during the late 1970s and early 1980s have been charged with these crimes in Guatemalan and Spanish courts (under the principle of Universal Jurisdiction). Most of the obligations assumed by the state under the 1996 Peace Accords have not been fulfilled. Many of these obligations concern measures to be taken to change the structure of the state and alleviate persistent poverty. In addition to this failure to address the problems of the poor, transnational companies are being allowed to start up these mega-projects, and state institutions are not disclosing information or consulting the indigenous communities affected by plans to exploit natural resources which are vital to their physical and cultural existence at every level. Several of the women we interviewed expressed their fear that the consequences of these projects could be similar to those of the armed conflict, such as the tearing apart of their social fabric, the division and weakening of the community organization, and the forced displacement of the population. These fears are what drive their opposition. 5 In one of its reports to the Inter-American Human Rights Commission, the state itself acknowledged the problem: “Social inequality in Guatemala is rooted in history and basically affects vulnerable sectors such as the rural population, ethnic groups, women, the elderly and children. In this context, women are most affected by discrimination, exclusion and oppression, and this situation has had repercussions on social development in Guatemala. 6 2. Machismo, Feminism and Violence 2.1. Patriarchy, Machismo and Racism A number of organizations and official bodies have used the terms racism and/or machismo to characterize the Guatemalan state. 7 Regarding racism, the Commission for Historical Clarification concluded the following: “The proclamation of independence in 1821, an event prompted by the country’s elite, saw the creation of an authoritarian State which excluded the majority of the population, was racist in its precepts and practices, and served to protect the economic interests of the privileged minority. The evidence for this, throughout Guatemala’s history, but particularly so during the armed confrontation, lies in the fact that the violence was fundamentally directed by the State against the excluded, the poor and above all, the Mayan people, as well as against those who fought for justice and greater social equality”. 8 In addition, the Mutual Support Group (GAM) notes the existence of an “enormous gap” between the rights of men and woman. “This inequality is reinforced by habits, customs, 4 CEH, “Guatemala: Memory of Silence,” Volume V, Guatemala, 1999: “In consequence, the CEH concludes that the State of Guatemala, within the framework of counterinsurgency operations carried out between 1981 and 1983, committed acts of genocide against groups of Mayan people who lived in the four regions analysed.” 5 Idem. 6 IHCR – OAS, Fifth Report on the Human Rights Situation in Guatemala. Chapter XIII. The Rights of the Woman, 2003. 7 CEH, Op. Cit. ; GAM, “Guatemala 1999-2006: Origen, manifestación y tendencias del feminicidio.” Guatemala, 2007. 8 CEH, Op. Cit. See also: Martínez Peláez, S., “La Patria del Criollo”, Editorial Universitaria. Guatemala, 1970 (1st edition); and Casaus Arzú, M., “Guatemala: Linaje y Racismo”, F&G Editores, 2007 (3rd edition, revised and expanded). 15
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