Salvador Ravinal Cat\u00fa<\/p>\n
\u201cResistance ought to be our motto, for all of us, The Original Peoples of Central America.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Colonial history has provided many and devastating testimonies regarding the reality in Central America; among those, the struggle and resistance by indigenous people in countries with imperialistic models.\u00a0 Indigenous people have been covered in blood for being custodians of the environment, for defending their lands and for seeking their own development and happiness according to their world view.\u00a0\u00a0 In Guatemala the Constitution of the Republic did not recognize the Mayan Peoples until 1996 encouraging even greater marginalization of them.\u00a0 The Guatemalan oligarchy has tried, through various methods, to oppress and destroy the Mayan Peoples, imposing a Western ideology through state policies, leaving minimal opportunity for them to develop out of their own specific identities and differences.\u00a0 In spite of this, for many centuries, the construction of tightly knit social community has been our mechanism for survival as indigenous Mayan.<\/p>\n For Mayan communities, just as for other original peoples, there are many important elements to putting together this weaving, e.g. self-determination, identity, resistance.\u00a0 Each in its own way is a fundamental principle for growing our development.\u00a0 That said, one must ask the question:\u00a0 what is the collective vision in Guatemala regarding development and what does development mean for its original peoples.\u00a0 Remembering our ancestors, obliges us to think about this idea in relationship to advances in medicine, math, astronomy and architecture.\u00a0 However, the contemporary capitalist model has sold to countries like ours the idea that a community is developed only when it is economically developed \u2014 something that destroys the environment stripping indigenous people of their resources and appropriating their territory.<\/p>\n The current oligarchy completely rejects Mayan culture and its world view.\u00a0 Demtrio Cojt\u00ed notes in the book Mayan Cultural Activism,\u00a0 <\/em>\u00a0\u201cTo lay the foundation for assimilation, the mixed-race colonizer proposes, cultivates, and maintains projects in society as if development and modernization are what Guatemalans need.\u00a0 Such development and modernization demand, as a pre-requisite, the death of indigenous culture, because, according to the colonizer, it is the cause of under-development among the indigenous and the cause of backwardness in the country as a whole.\u201d\u00a0 Additionally, the colonizer labels the indigenous as incapable and ignorant, disregarding their right to be different and their right to a decent life through conservation of the sacred mother earth and vital natural resources such as water.\u00a0 Water is the fountain for survival of all human beings and over time numerous indigenous community leaders have shed blood to defend it so that it would not be spilled out like a product to be bought and sold.<\/p>\n For Mayan communities the struggle comes out of our world view and therefore has led us to protect water. We consider it, not only the fountain of life, but also a living entity, with its own rights, something intrinsic to our spirituality.\u00a0 Regrettably, the right to protect and defend our practices and ideas regarding water is being privatized by governmental policies and laws that benefit the elitist economy.\u00a0 Water is a resource utilized by mining companies through re-directing the flow of rivers for hydroelectrics. \u00a0And in other cases to promote \u201cfriendly\u201d projects in which the actual underlying purpose is privatization for the appropriation of water.\u00a0 This is a seriously worrisome issue for communities.<\/p>\n Living in the highlands of Solal\u00e1 Department are three recognized Mayan groups:\u00a0 the Kiche, the Kaqchikel and the Tz\u2019utujil.\u00a0 They live around the sacred lake, Atitl\u00e1n, one of the most beautiful places in the world and one of the most endangered and coveted by international, national and transnational businesses.\u00a0 This situation has created a huge conflict between the local indigenous peoples and said companies, who are depleting the resources in the south of the country.\u00a0 And they are looking for strategies and negotiating with the government via the Authority for a Sustainable Lake Atitl\u00e1n Basin and Its Surroundings (AMSCLAE).\u00a0 Their plan?\u00a0 To introduce a pipeline some 40 meters deep that surrounds the lake to collect contaminated water and to transport it to the south for commercial purposes.<\/p>\n After many studies done by national and international environmentalists, we indigenous peoples of this territory have concluded that this project has as its objective to privatize water and sanitation services.\u00a0 The project could manage and hold in reserve water for use by hydroelectrics, agri-industrial irrigation of single crop agriculture, i.e. sugar, bananas, rubber plantations, and palm oil, which would be exploiting this resource under rule of law.\u00a0 The Mayan communities around the lake are aware of the contamination problem, but they know that Megacolector is neither the only solution, nor would it be the best, especially because the solution ought to be one that is within the principles of Mayan world view.<\/p>\n Last year the previous Guatemalan administration approved the go-ahead for the project which allowed for application for loans from institutions such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration.\u00a0 The loan is profitable for the government which is backing it since it would not constitute a problem for the government.\u00a0 Nevertheless, it violates Agreement 169 of the International Workers\u2019 Organization which recognizes the self-determination of indigenous peoples, independent tribes to decide among themselves regarding their own economic development.\u00a0 Loan approval now rests with the Guatemalan Congress.\u00a0 San Pedro, Santiago Atitl\u00e1n, San Juan, Cerro de Oro and San Lucas Tolim\u00e1n have already organized to oppose it.\u00a0 Supported by social organizations and Mayan authorities they have educated themselves regarding the consequences of Megacolector, requesting that the government respect, not only Agreement 169 of the International Workers\u2019 Organization, but other international treatises as well.<\/p>\n I believe it is of utmost urgency that the government of Guatemala respect the law and that they support us as indigenous peoples, that they grant protection and liberty so that our indigenous leaders can, in a serious way, participate in discussions about the destiny of Lake Atitl\u00e1n, specifically in departmental (provincial\/state), regional and national planning for development, prioritizing the collective rights of indigenous peoples, the territory and the environment.\u00a0 The term \u201cdevelopment\u201d is in crisis because the contemporary concept is limited to benefiting certain powerful groups, but we demand that development thrive in our communities based on good faith in the legitimacy of indigenous peoples.\u00a0 We do not want any more governmental policies that benefit individuals\u2019 interests.\u00a0 We want the government to guarantee our right to our own well-being.<\/p>\n And so, I firmly believe that it is fundamental that the State take into consideration our world view, our way of life, the culture of our peoples, above all, in important topics such as decisions regarding the environment.\u00a0 We must be well-informed long in advance about the consequences of actions and decisions that are planned for implementation.\u00a0 That means based on the principle of free, informed and prior consent.\u00a0 Let\u2019s unite in support of this cause, in defense of our own development, so that the elitist economy does not continue business for their own benefit which causes conflict for our indigenous groups.\u00a0 I urge inhabitants to be aware and to unite in our will to make an agreement, as is our collective right, regarding water: \u00a0to conserve it, respect it and take care of it.<\/p>\n Salvador Ravinal Cat\u00fa was born in 1995 in the Cerro de Oro community of Santiago Atitl\u00e1n in the Department of Solol\u00e1, Guatemala.\u00a0 He is of the Mayan group Tz\u2019utujl.\u00a0 Currently he is studying for his undergraduate degree in Political Science and International Relations at the Rafael Land\u00edvar campus in Quetzaltenango.\u00a0 He is known for being an active and tenacious young man, author of the article \u201cStructural and Situational\/Historical Analysis of the Internal Armed Conflict in Santiago Atitl\u00e1n, Guatemala\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Salvador Ravinal Cat\u00fa \u201cResistance ought to be our motto, for all of us, The Original Peoples of Central America.\u201d Colonial history has provided many and devastating testimonies regarding the reality in Central America; among those, the struggle and resistance by indigenous people in countries with imperialistic models.\u00a0 Indigenous people have been covered in blood for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":6315,"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_post_was_ever_published":false,"_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":""},"categories":[418,425,415,453,420,1806],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate-change","category-community-action-en-2","category-environment","category-frontpage-en","category-megaprojects-en","category-social-situation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/entremundos2017-photographerswithoutborders-453.jpg?fit=2592%2C1730&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7ljt7-1DV","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10014,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/women\/resistance-by-indigenous-women-in-an-environment-of-colonialism\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":6319,"position":0},"title":"Resistance by Indigenous Women in an Environment of Colonialism","author":"EntreMundos","date":"11 julio, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Anny Ventura Puac In their day-to-day life, on their own lands and throughout their history, First Peoples live out the consequences of their displacement which began when colonialism was imposed upon them . . . and which has not ceased.\u00a0 To comprehend the concept of \"indigenous\" from the point\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\/2022\/07\/articulo-4-foto-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C793&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/articulo-4-foto-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C793&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/articulo-4-foto-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C793&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/articulo-4-foto-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C793&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/articulo-4-foto-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C793&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2647,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/world\/2641\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":6319,"position":1},"title":"COPINH: Defending Lenca Lands","author":"EntreMundos","date":"13 mayo, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Cover Photo: Berta C\u00e1ceres. Photo: Prachatai via Flickr By Nicole Tse In the wake of the recent tragedies in Honduras, most people have heard of COPINH either through the media or from other sources. The Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (Consejo C\u00edvico de Organizaciones Populares e\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\/2016\/05\/24860048504_063e8716cb_o-1.gif?fit=1174%2C658&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/24860048504_063e8716cb_o-1.gif?fit=1174%2C658&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/24860048504_063e8716cb_o-1.gif?fit=1174%2C658&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/24860048504_063e8716cb_o-1.gif?fit=1174%2C658&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/24860048504_063e8716cb_o-1.gif?fit=1174%2C658&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11204,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/economy\/promoting-the-construction-of-houses-with-cultural-relevance\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":6319,"position":2},"title":"Promoting the construction of houses with cultural relevance","author":"EntreMundos","date":"6 septiembre, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"TRANSLATED BY MARIE WUNDER With a shawl on their head, rubber boots, Mayan clothing, and a great desire to have their own home, dozens of women come together in the K\u2019loj qya Aq\u2019unal te K\u00f3jla (Fighting Women of Cajol\u00e1) project.Dignified, adequate, and healthy housing in rural areas is a human\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\/2023\/09\/297174493_5300713013351932_7157997562204098688_n.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\/2023\/09\/297174493_5300713013351932_7157997562204098688_n.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/297174493_5300713013351932_7157997562204098688_n.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/297174493_5300713013351932_7157997562204098688_n.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/297174493_5300713013351932_7157997562204098688_n.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7602,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/culture\/romanticizing-indigenous-peoples-resistance-is-another-form-of-discrimination\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":6319,"position":3},"title":"Romanticizing Indigenous Peoples’ Resistance Is Another Form Of Discrimination","author":"EntreMundos","date":"5 octubre, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"By Emiliano G\u00f3mez Izaguirre We, as members of an indigenous people in southern Mexico (The Mixteco People or \u00d1uu Savi) have years of experience as educators and community spokespersons in our region. One of the most common, yet barely discussed, difficulties that several of our colleagues have had to confront\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCulture\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/culture\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/mujer-radialista.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\/2020\/09\/mujer-radialista.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/mujer-radialista.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/mujer-radialista.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/mujer-radialista.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8829,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/environment\/climate-change-governance-and-the-role-of-indigenous-peoples\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":6319,"position":4},"title":"Climate change governance and the role of Indigenous Peoples","author":"Majo Recinos","date":"20 mayo, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"For: Fabio Cresto The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the Fund of the Development of the Indigenous Peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean (FILAC) recently released a fundamental report on forest governance by indigenous and tribal peoples. The main results of the document, that\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\/05\/socializacion-y-fortalecimiento-de-modelos-de-aplicacion-de-practicas-y-conocimientos-ancestrales-fuente-asocuch.png?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\/05\/socializacion-y-fortalecimiento-de-modelos-de-aplicacion-de-practicas-y-conocimientos-ancestrales-fuente-asocuch.png?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/socializacion-y-fortalecimiento-de-modelos-de-aplicacion-de-practicas-y-conocimientos-ancestrales-fuente-asocuch.png?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/socializacion-y-fortalecimiento-de-modelos-de-aplicacion-de-practicas-y-conocimientos-ancestrales-fuente-asocuch.png?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/socializacion-y-fortalecimiento-de-modelos-de-aplicacion-de-practicas-y-conocimientos-ancestrales-fuente-asocuch.png?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6995,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/culture\/young-people-to-be-being-definitively-indigenous\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":6319,"position":5},"title":"Young People: To Be, Being Definitively Indigenous","author":"EntreMundos","date":"2 julio, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"By Marlon Noe Sotz I was born indigenous, but I didn't recognize my identity, did not realize who I was until two decades later. From the time I was a boy, I or others, frequently marked the box for indigenous, while at the same time marking the space for ladino\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCulture\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/culture\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/4390881213_302e26b50d_o-scaled.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\/2020\/07\/4390881213_302e26b50d_o-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/4390881213_302e26b50d_o-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/4390881213_302e26b50d_o-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/4390881213_302e26b50d_o-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6319","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\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6319"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6327,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6319\/revisions\/6327"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}