The newly elected President of Guatemala, Otto Perez Molina and the 158 members of the Guatemalan Congress took office in February of this year. Since then, conflicts between the major political parties have paralyzed the Congress. Six pieces of legislation, backed by a broad coalition of Indigenous and small farmer’s organizations, remain pending from the previous congress. These bills would protect sacred sites, promote community controlled rural development, and create broadcast licenses for community radio stations.
Frustrated by the lack of movement in the Congress, protesters marched over one hundred miles to Guatemala City. The leaders of eleven different parties signed a diplomatically worded promise to make the bills a priority. On April 19th, Cultural Survival staff Guatemala joined other leaders in a meeting with President Perez Molina.
Meanwhile, Cultural Survival, the Council of Guatemalan Maya Organizations, the Association of Maya Lawyers of Guatemala prepared a petition to the Constitutional Court of Guatemala claiming that the current telecommunications law is unconstitutional because it fails to provide licenses to Indigenous community radio stations. On April 12th, the court ruled against our petition. However, in the written decision, the Court implores the Congress to pass a law to granting licenses for community radio stations.
The process is slow and many obstacles remain, but progress is being made. If the leaders of Congress honor the spirit of their promise to act, and if they follow the advice of the Court, we will have made real progress. Holding them to their promises requires continued pressure. Mostly, pressure is generated by many bus rides and a lot time for meetings and phone calls with press, politicians, and partner organizations.
