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Rigoberta Menchú at the moment
of definition
BY NIDIA DIAZ —Granma International staff
writer—
EVEN though it has not been officially defined, the
Winaq political movement, which is aspiring to
become a political party, has given its consent to
promote the candidature of indigenous personality
Rigoberta Menchú for next September’s presidential
elections in Guatemala.
The 48-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner, on being
selected by Winaq – which in the Mayan language
means “balance and integrity” – recalled that during
the 200 years of the Republic, indigenous
Guatemalans have only ever voted and have never put
forward candidates, something necessary for a their
more active participation in political life.
The indigenous leader, whose decision opens up hopes
of change for the Central American country in a new
regional context favorable to viable alternatives to
the neoliberal model of which she has been a fierce
critic, affirmed that she would not be participating
on a personal level but at the head of a collective
of individuals who can contribute to a new
government and who would assume the responsibility
of carrying forward transformations for which the
people have been fighting for decades.
She disclosed that she and Winaq are holding talks
with various political organizations that have
always tried to promote her nomination, such as the
Encuentro Progresista, headed by deputy Nineth
Montenegro, and Unidad Revolucionaria Guatemalteca,
to make concrete her potential nomination.
The issue of the distribution of seats in Congress
and the mayoralties, with 50% in favor of Winaq, as
proposed by Menchú, is being resolved with those
organizations. She has insisted that it will not be
a party that is “exclusively indigenous but one with
a multicultural and multilingual expression,” that
would work in alliance with other forces.
This is a matter of discussion and supporting
candidates who represent fairness, making that a
reality for the benefit of indigenous people, who
are so disregarded, discriminated against and
excluded in Guatemala and other nations on the
continent.
In a statement to the Prensa Latina agency, Menchú
said: “I dream of a Guatemala for all, in which
nobody excludes anyone else on account of language,
dress or social position (¼) I would like to see
everyone taking part in a new dawn for this
country.”
That is the direction of the Winaq condition of
alliance with the other parties, to have its claim
at election time in the distribution of power quotas
in the presidency, the vice presidency, 158 seats in
the unicameral Parliament, 332 in local government
and 20 delegates to the Central American
Legislative.
As is usual, these demands must be approved by
Encuentro Progresista and the former guerrilla group
URNG. In the talks that have already been initiated
with the latter group, the likewise indigenous
leader and director of Winaq, Otilia Lux de Cotí,
told the press that the talks had so far
demonstrated agreement and maturity with respect to
the objectives of transforming the country.
That assessment that was also confirmed by Héctor
Nuila, URNG general secretary, who revealed that
during the meeting in the Nobel Prize winner’s home,
they tackled questions related to making the
political project more profound, potential
candidates and the possibility of broadening
alliances.
He specified that his party is not averse to the
suggestion of having a 50% share of power, given
that the preeminence of indigenous people is
inherent in the URNG’s project.
Even though she has been the pioneer and
standard-bearer for the presidential candidature of
Rigoberta Menchú for many years, Nineth Montenegro
from Encuentro Progresista warned that she did not
believe that her organization would be willing to
cede half of the seats to the Winaq movement,
although she committed herself to analyzing and
reflecting on the matter with the departmental
secretaries.
Of course, these would not be the only difficulties
that Menchú’s possible nomination would take her to
the presidency.
In the final analysis, with her nomination as a
candidate for a left-wing alliance, Menchú would
become the first woman in the history of Guatemala
to assume such a position that has always been the
exclusive reserve of men; none of them, of course,
indigenous.
She would also have to confront the hatred
accumulated against her by the military sectors and
the oligarchy who cannot forgive her for having
become an icon in the struggle for justice for the
massacres perpetrated by the Army against the
indigenous and campesino population, who were also
evacuated for the benefit of landowners.
She and her family were direct victims of those
massacres and of the racism and discrimination that
prevails in Guatemala, thus her candidature for the
presidency of the country is viewed with fear from
the logic of the established powers. Particularly
taking into account that another indigenous
individual like her, in this case Evo Morales in
Bolivia – against all predictions – has wisely
succeeded in leading the fortune of the Bolivian
people towards the goals of justice and equality for
which our peoples have fought for more than 500
years.
Another element that Rigoberta Menchú will have
against her will be campaigns orchestrated by
Washington and protected by the power of the media.
From the very moment that her nomination becomes
official, there will be no ceasefire. The last thing
that the Republican administration of George W. Bush
will be able to accept in the Central American fold
is that another sheep escapes, like the one in
Nicaragua.
In the coming weeks, there will be internal and
external definitions and confrontations. A proven
fighter such as Rigoberta Menchú will have withstand
them in her desire to create justice after the many
years of ignominy, exclusion and discrimination to
which Guatemalans have been subjected.
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