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In Guatemala, the holiday was celebrated with a Mayan ceremony in the Plaza de la Constitución. In addition, an indigenous flag was raised in the National Palace, with the four colors representing the cardinal points in the Mayan worldview (white, black, red, and yellow), and an image of Noj, the god of wisdom, at the top center. This is not the first time this has happened.
The flag of the indigenous peoples was already flying in official buildings during the administration of Álvaro Colom. Then, one of the first decisions of the dictatorial and corrupt government of General Otto Pérez Molina was to remove it from official buildings, a shameful act that delighted people with a retrograde and colonialist mentality who could not tolerate that the symbol of the indigenous peoples of Guatemala would be flying next to the Creole flag. In a country that denies the most basic rights and services to a large part of its citizens, the flag was imposed along with other so-called national symbols in a long (and rather unsuccessful) attempt to establish something that could be considered a national identity.
As part of last Friday’s celebrations, President Bernardo Arevalo attended the Mayan ceremony, not only as a representative of national unity, but also because his government owes a great deal to Guatemala’s indigenous peoples. It should never be forgotten that immediately after Semilla unexpectedly came in second place in the first round of last year’s elections, the country’s darkest forces began to hatch a plot to prevent the electoral cycle from being completed and the democratic transition from taking place. They used a variety of tools to achieve this goal, most notably the judicial persecution carried out by the Public Ministry led by Consuelo Porras.
What enabled Arévalo to challenge Sandra Torres for the presidency was the resistance organized throughout the country by the different indigenous peoples of Guatemala. In addition, they allowed the second round of elections to take place and, in fact, allowed Arévalo, his elected vice-president, Karin Herrera, and all the elected deputies to the Congress of the Republic to take office on January 14, a day that was delayed for more than 12 days. It was all due to the final grinding and temper tantrums of a corrupt pact that they refused to accept defeat and hand over power to a government that they did not fully control until the dawn of the 15th.
In this context, one day after the celebrations, on Saturday, August 10, the documentary “Las Varas de la Dignidad”, produced by the Comunicarte Association and screened in the Flag Hall of the National Palace of Culture, was screened for the first time. Then, the photography exhibition “106 Days of Democracy, 500 Years of Resistance” was opened in the La Paz courtyard of this monumental building. All this with the support of the Otra Guatemala Ya collective and other civil society institutions.
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Both the documentary and the exhibition present images and live interviews with well-known actors of last year’s Day of Civil Resistance, such as Luis Pacheco, then-president of the 48 states of Totonicapán, Santa Lucía Utatlán, Emilia Uluario, the indigenous mayors of Sololá and Luz, Quiché, Miguel Pajarito, the indigenous mayors of Sacapulas, and many others, bearing witness to the intensity and hope of those months. All of them bear witness to the way they organized to defend the referendum and the fragile democracy of the country, even though they knew that these mechanisms belonged to democratic institutions that historically have marginalized them and condemned them to abandonment and oblivion. This makes their resistance even more heroic and striking.
In general, the Maya, Garifuna and Xinca peoples, as well as broad sectors of Ladino/Mestizo society, engaged in blockades, strikes and demonstrations, not only in anger and rebellion, but also with a broad spirit of festivity and civic joy. This is documented in a valuable audio-visual document prepared by the Comunicarte Association.
It is therefore logical that the government led by Bernardo Arevalo gives special importance to Guatemala’s indigenous peoples and their authorities, making him a grateful leader with a memory. However, recognition of indigenous peoples must go beyond exhibitions and ceremonies. According to the report of the International Working Group on Indigenous Affairs (IGWIA), in addition to access to employment and decent wages, Guatemala’s indigenous peoples still lag seriously behind in priority issues such as basic social services such as health and education. Report here). Of course, this unresolved issue in the State of Guatemala is a disgrace and should not be allowed to rest in peace for the citizens of this country.
Therefore, the Government must continue to fight corruption and support good budget spending to guarantee basic services, employment and a decent income for all Guatemalans, but with special attention to the original inhabitants of these lands, among whom this year marks the 500th anniversary since the violent European invasion that subjected them for centuries to a position of people’s serfdom, socio-economic backwardness and poverty compared to the rest of the population. Efforts to improve their living conditions must be made not from a paternalistic perspective, but by listening to them and focusing on their priorities, since they themselves know very well what they need. Addressing the inequalities suffered by the indigenous peoples of Guatemala and respecting the knowledge and wisdom of their ancestors is the best way to celebrate their presence, which has deeply enriched this young country with its organizational forms, customs and wisdom. Let us hope that this is indeed the case and that it will happen soon.
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