On June 23, 2014, 7 Toj in the Mayan calendar, Indigenous groups from all over Guatemala took part in national protests and roadblocks to bring attention to the continued discrimination and injustice faced by the Indigenous Peoples of Guatemala. Among the main priorities on the list of grievances were the discriminatory telecommunications laws and the mining and hydroelectric companies exploiting Indigenous territories. Our team took part in the march in the city of Quetzaltenango (Xela), in the department of Quetzaltenango.
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The march in Xela began at 8 am from three different entry points into the city center. The three groups would all meet for a larger demonstration in the Central Park of the city later that morning. Our team met with friends from Radio La Doble Vía and Asociación Mujb’ ab’l yol close to the terminal at the north west side of the city. Arriving there, it was shocking to imagine that this crowd represented only a third of the number of people that would be in the Central Park for the demonstration later on. An enormous crowd of mostly Maya Mam and Maya Kiche Indigenous groups were standing in front of Minerva Temple, with signs in hand, cheering along to chants like “Un pueblo unido jamás será vencido!” or in English, “United, we will never be defeated!”
The sun shone down on the hundreds of demonstrators as we began our march towards the park. Leading the march was a large pickup truck with speakers, filled with community leaders and community radio volunteers speaking out about the important reasons that we were protesting on this day. From the loud speakers rang the important messages:
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“The government must stop imposing laws that repress our Mayan communities, especially the telecommunications laws that silence our voices.”
“Water is life. We cannot silent while these mining companies took over our lands and drained our waters?”
“We say no to the international corporations that come to our countries to become rich off of our resources, leaving us with nothing.”
“Enough with the persecution of the community radios that were born in our communities and are working in service of those very communities
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The energy of the crowds emanated passion and unity, while those Indigenous leaders speaking to the crowds educated on the various injustices faced by Indigenous groups in Guatemala today (like la Puya, San Juan Sacatepéquez and Barillas), and the need for the diverse Indigenous communities to stand together in brotherhood and sisterhood to overcome these difficult times.
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Arriving in Central Park from three different directions, the crowd tripled in size, and the energy was even more contagious. Leaders from Kiche, Mam, Kaqchikel and Tzutujil read out the demands of the protests on this day, pleading with the government to respect the Mayan communities’ right to their lands, to their cultures and to have their own mediums of communication. As rain overtook the park, the energy of the crowd did not die out.
Indigenous communities in Guatemala continue to face injustices that are unimaginable to most people, but the energy and unity of these groups is never defeated. They continue to stand up, not only for their rights, but for the rights of those who have no voice: mother earth and the future generations.
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A protester holds a sign that reads: "When the government robs, it is business. When the Indingeous reclaim, it is violence."
