{"id":5749,"date":"2019-07-22T21:34:26","date_gmt":"2019-07-23T05:34:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/?p=5749&lang=en"},"modified":"2019-07-22T21:54:43","modified_gmt":"2019-07-23T05:54:43","slug":"ellos-aun-son-protagonistas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/politics\/community-action-en-2\/ellos-aun-son-protagonistas\/?lang=en","title":{"rendered":"They are still Protagonists"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Luc\u00eda Mu\u00f1oz Argueta<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cToday, people of old age are isolated from the performance of tasks that they are perfectly capable of carrying out, despite the fact that reality and public opinion seem to not share the idea that seniors are useless. We know that the problem of old age is not a strictly biological, medical, or physical problem, but that it is, mainly, a social and cultural problem. That is, the meaning of old age is a social construction.\u201d -Miranda J.-<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

From the point of view of Miranda J, old age, more than a physical state, is a social construction that can be interpreted as a generational change between existing social groups. Childhood, youth, maturity and old age correspond with a virtuous life cycle. Therefore, I want to critique the meaning of modern ages, which beyond being social constructions are also anchored to conceptions about work and usefulness. To begin, it is not the same thing to speak of the meaning of a given age from the perspective of a developed country and from the perspective of a country in development like Guatemala, as in a developed country \u201cthe third age\u201d can be a synonym of retirement, pensions, social security, and a list of things to do; while in Guatemala, old age is a synonym of another level of exclusion, consumption of savings, absence of social programs and very likely, uncertain job prospects.<\/p>\n

Don Oscarito is someone who knows well the conditions that exist for older adults in Guatemala. He is a person who, together with his diabetic wife, makes wallets out of recycled bags, walking the streets of Xela\u2019s Zona Viva during the night to offer his wares. Left adrift, the couple has had to get ahead using their creativity and the materials that they are able to find. Like don Oscarito, there are thousands of old Mayan, mestizo, Garifuna and Xinca faces, exposed to danger and lacking permanent sources of income for lack of job opportunities. The current economic system that regulates us squeezes work out of us during our youth and then casts us aside sometimes even before we have moved on to the \u201cthird age\u201d as it is the market that determines when a person is useful or not and able to contribute to society.<\/p>\n

Conditions of inequality, exclusion and violence in Guatemala, create a terrible formula that places seniors and children in precarious, vulnerable and unprotected situations and as a society we have accepted this\u2014and even normalized it\u2014becoming insensible in front of the situation of thousands of unemployed seniors without even social guarantees and recreation opportunities. Although a legal regime for the protection of older adults and programs created for them exists in the country, the reality is much more complex, for as has already been mentioned previously: \u201cusefulness comes from the economic system and production, which transcends the legal and welfare capacities of the government.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Old lady on fieldfrom the highlands. Foto: Kathleen Hertle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To confirm the previous, we can take a look at the work requirements that the market of today demands: from our 20s to our 30s, we should already have various academic degrees, but then we must rush, because after our 40s it becomes difficult to find someone who will hire us. And if the situation is hard for those who have studied, just imagine those who never had the opportunity to do so. There will be some who say: \u201cStudies? No problem if you\u2019re entrepreneurial!\u201d Of course, as long as you know how to protect yourself from the organized crime that stalks the city with more and more force through extorsion of large, medium and small businesses. The size does not matter as there are extortionists for all sizes of businesses.<\/p>\n

It would seem as if not only older adults but also children are corralled into a dead end, unable to\u2014let\u2019s not say \u201covercome,\u201d but rather survive and move ahead. Nevertheless, not everything can be bad. Facing this situation, there are those who in previous years have with courage contributed much to our society, knowing how to overcome the difficulties of life. But it was not enough for them to have the desire to continue living. It is important that all of us become sensitive to that which this age involves, and begin to debate about the structural changes needed not only to give the seniors of today a better quality of life but also for ourselves, those who will be seniors in the future. Therefore, I will pose a number of guiding questions to call the reader\u2019s attention to the recognition of the value of and the role that those of the \u201cthird age\u201d have.<\/p>\n

What does it mean to be a person in the \u201cthird age\u201d in our society?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Are we conscious of the situation of third age individuals?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Do we recognize the role that they play today?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Under what conditions do we arrive at our third age in Guatemala?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

All of this can be analyzed from different points of view: sociologic, anthropologic, psychologic, physical, political, economic and others, but what I want to point out here is how indispensable it is that we begin to see old age from a social, humanitarian and collective perspective, as it is by beginning to think in this way that we will be able to achieve change in the most immediate manner.<\/p>\n

Based on the comments that I have received from those in the third age, some have manifested that being an older adult is synonymous with happiness and having conquered personal, familial, academic or work-related goals. For others, it means greater efforts, an absence of energy and health, and a lack of opportunities. Finally, there are those for whom life is difficult and even say that \u201cit\u2019s a torture being old.\u201d I know that responses to the question of the meaning of being an older adult in Guatemala will be peppered with a certain dose of subjectivity based on what each person has experienced. But\u2026 what do we know about the majority? I have seen that often, being a senior means receiving derogatory, intolerant and impatient treatment, which brings me to think that our society ought to reconfigure its attitude and actions towards people of the third age and consider them as people with experience, knowledge and virtue.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Elder’s hands.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The UN assures that older people \u201cwill play an increasingly important role as volunteers, by sharing their experience, or as caretakers for their families. In the labor sphere, their knowledge is also very valuable\u201d and far from considering them as disposable or social burdens, we should reconsider maturity and age as active instead of sedentary. That is to say, considering older adults as people who contribute to society in an enriching way. The seniors in Guatemala, those wo continue to be economically active because they do not live in conditions that allow them to retire from employed life, deserve respect, recognition, support, and the momentum of new agendas that allow them to enjoy life with dignity.<\/p>\n

Luc\u00eda Mu\u00f1oz Argueta Internationalist, Social Anthropologist, and founder of ACD Guatemala.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Luc\u00eda Mu\u00f1oz Argueta \u201cToday, people of old age are isolated from the performance of tasks that they are perfectly capable of carrying out, despite the fact that reality and public opinion seem to not share the idea that seniors are useless. We know that the problem of old age is not a strictly biological, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5633,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[425,453,1806],"tags":[1810,1807,1808,1809,1811],"class_list":["post-5749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-action-en-2","category-frontpage-en","category-social-situation","tag-being-old-in-guatemala","tag-elderly-people","tag-elders-in-guatemala","tag-elders-social-situation","tag-lifestyle"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/ball-2585603_960_720-1.jpg?fit=960%2C540&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7ljt7-1uJ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5801,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/politics\/community-action-en-2\/being-an-elder-in-guatemala\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":5749,"position":0},"title":"Being an Elder in Guatemala","author":"EntreMundos","date":"2 agosto, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"By: Izela de Le\u00f3n Everyone at some point in time has had some type of relationship with an elderly person. Sometimes these people are our grandmothers and grandfathers and other times, they are someone else's grandparents. Whether they are family or not, we always learn from their experience and they\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCommunity Action\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Community Action","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/politics\/community-action-en-2\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/people-741431_960_720.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/people-741431_960_720.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/people-741431_960_720.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/people-741431_960_720.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8088,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/environment\/climate-change\/hurricanes-and-climate-change-disasters-waiting-to-happen\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":5749,"position":1},"title":"HURRICANES AND CLIMATE CHANGE: Disasters waiting to happen?","author":"EntreMundos","date":"11 enero, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"By Fabio Cresta Ale\u00edna The wounds opened by hurricanes Eta and Iota are still heavily felt in Guatemala and in whole Central America. This year, during a record-breaking hurricane season, 30 Atlantic storms have been named, meaning that 30 tropical cyclones intensified to the point that their winds were faster\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abClimate Change\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Climate Change","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/environment\/climate-change\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/cambio-climatico-2-autor-reuters-https___www.excelsior.com_.mx_.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/cambio-climatico-2-autor-reuters-https___www.excelsior.com_.mx_.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/cambio-climatico-2-autor-reuters-https___www.excelsior.com_.mx_.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/cambio-climatico-2-autor-reuters-https___www.excelsior.com_.mx_.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/cambio-climatico-2-autor-reuters-https___www.excelsior.com_.mx_.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12756,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/uncategorized\/obligadas-a-renunciar-a-sus-suenos-violencia-sexual-contra-ninas-en-guatemala\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":5749,"position":2},"title":"Forced to Give Up on Their Dreams: Sexual Violence against Girls in Guatemala","author":"EntreMundos","date":"24 marzo, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"BY HUMAN RIGHTS WATC \/ TRANSLATED BY THOMAS LANG Over the years, the government of Guatemala has not met its obligation to girls who face early and forced pregnancies due to sexual violence. Human Rights Watch made this claim in a report entitled Forced to Give Up on Their Dreams:\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCommunity Action\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Community Action","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/politics\/community-action-en-2\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/14-17-doris-miranda-para-human-rights-watch-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/14-17-doris-miranda-para-human-rights-watch-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/14-17-doris-miranda-para-human-rights-watch-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/14-17-doris-miranda-para-human-rights-watch-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/14-17-doris-miranda-para-human-rights-watch-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5798,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/politics\/community-action-en-2\/fighting-for-the-dignity-of-older-adults\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":5749,"position":3},"title":"Fighting for the Dignity of Older Adults","author":"EntreMundos","date":"1 agosto, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"By: Candy Cotero The MAAN Association is an organization that dedicates itself to the support of women, adolescents, older adults and children. We are a self-sustainable organization, as we do not rely on any type of donor and operate through the work of volunteers. Throughout time, we have supported older\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCommunity Action\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Community Action","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/politics\/community-action-en-2\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/7466963468_cd5b4b582a_o.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/7466963468_cd5b4b582a_o.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/7466963468_cd5b4b582a_o.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/7466963468_cd5b4b582a_o.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/7466963468_cd5b4b582a_o.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3239,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/women\/the-shocking-statistics-of-guatemalas-teen-mothers\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":5749,"position":4},"title":"Guatemala’s teen mothers: behind the shocking statistics","author":"EntreMundos","date":"8 agosto, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"In 2014, 71,000 pregnancies were registered in girls 10-19 years old. Photo: Girl at the kite festival of Sumpango, Sacatep\u00e9quez. Photo by Patricia Mac\u00edas. By Patricia Schwartz The annual \u201cOSAR\u201d (Observation of Sexual and Reproductive Health) study reveals the history of the precarious situation of underage mothers in Guatemala, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abFrontPage\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"FrontPage","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/frontpage-en\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/madresmenoresimg2.jpg?fit=1200%2C833&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/madresmenoresimg2.jpg?fit=1200%2C833&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/madresmenoresimg2.jpg?fit=1200%2C833&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/madresmenoresimg2.jpg?fit=1200%2C833&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/madresmenoresimg2.jpg?fit=1200%2C833&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7919,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/health\/being-an-older-person-with-a-disability-without-help-from-the-government-and-suffering-the-consequences-of-covid-19\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":5749,"position":5},"title":"Being an older person with a disability: without help from the government and suffering the consequences of COVID-19","author":"EntreMundos","date":"2 diciembre, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"By EntreMundos Today, 3 December marks the International Day of Persons with Disabilities according to the United Nations (UN), with the aim of promoting the rights and wellbeing of people with disability socially, and the search for equal opportunities.\u00a0 On March 13, 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic was declared in Guatemala,\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abHealth\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/health\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/adulto-mayor.jpeg?fit=771%2C586&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/adulto-mayor.jpeg?fit=771%2C586&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/adulto-mayor.jpeg?fit=771%2C586&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/adulto-mayor.jpeg?fit=771%2C586&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5749"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5749\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5758,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5749\/revisions\/5758"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}