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News :: Elections & Legislation |
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Consider Helping URNG In Guatemalan Elections |
Current rating: 8 |
by Meridith Kruse
(No verified email address) |
15 Jun 2003
Modified: 01:52:32 PM |
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The 1996 Peace Accords in Guatemala ended 36 years of civil war but few of the conditions of the accords, regarding more equal land distribution, health care, and education, have been fulfilled by the current conservative government. The URNG, formerly a guerilla movement now political party, has prioritzed the fultillment of the 1996 peace accords in their political platform. However, the URNG is "un partido de los pobres" and thus has requested the assistance of the international community to help promote a peace with justice in the war torn Guatemala of 2003... |
Friday June 6th
Queztaltenango, Guatemala
In my time here at Proyecto Linguistico I have gotten
to know an incredible man by the name of Renaldo. Renaldo
works for the school as a guide for various trips and often
gives talks about his experiences as a member of the URNG
guerilla movement in Guatemala. Nowadays Renaldo is super busy with work for the URNG political party as they organize for the nationwide November 9th elections. This afternoon I had a chance to sit down with Renaldo and learn more about the URNG and their struggle in Guatemala. As Renaldo spoke I translated his words into english. After we were done talking I promised I would send a summary of his words to my friends and family in the US and see
if anyone was able to help by making a donation to the local URNG party. If you are able to contribute (even small donations are a really BIG help!) you can send your check (made out to URNG) to:
Meridith Kruse
Proyecto Linguistico Quetzalteco de Espanol
5 Calle 2-40 Zona 1
Queztaltenango, Guatemala
Central America
Thank you! Meridith
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M: Can you tell me a little about the history of the URNG?
R: In 1960 there was an internal war in Guatemala between
the military state and a group of campesino guerillas. The
guerillas began fighting because of economic inequality,
lack of work, lack of education, discrimination against
indigenous people, the exploitation of workers on fincas and
in factories, very low salaries, and a great concentration of wealth. Also, the government would not allow space for
protests or political opposition and so people were very frustrated...
The most difficult years of the internal war in Guatemala were between 1979 and 1984 when complete communities were assassinated by the army. People were torutured and kidnapped, their families houses were burned, and the army dropped bombs over the population from planes. In all over 200,000 people died in the internal war in Guatemala that lasted 36 years. Both Nunca Mas and MINUSGA's Historical Clarification Report stated that 93% of the violence was the responsibility of the state, 3% the responsibility of the guerillas, and 4% due to unkown sources.
1986 was the first meeting for negotiations between the military government and the guerillas. These meetings were held in secret clandestine locations in the capital, but not alot of advances were made. In 1991 the first formal negotiations were initiated with an agenda to sign peace accords. In 1996 offical peace accords were finally signed.
M: Can you tell me about your personal experience in the war?
R: I was in the mountains for 6 years. I entered with a revolutionary consciousness, I participated for social, economic, political, and cultural change in Guatemala. Our struggle grew, and we focused on our ideals of creating equality for all. We wanted work, health care, education, and we wanted the military to respect human rights. We
wanted campesinos to have land, and we wanted the government to respect the rights of indigenous people and know that Guatemala is a country of many cultures and languages. Principally, we wanted to change the total system in Guatemala. We also wanted to make changes in the
consitution so that state would have the responsibility to provide health care for all people, that Indigenous languages would be recognized by law, and that children have legal rights. In addition we promoted women's
rights.
I lived in the mountains, walking all of the time, carrying 70 to 100 pounds of gear.
M: How much did you weigh at that time?
R: Around 100 pounds, so this was about equal to my body weight. And we had to fight in combat against the army. At times we ate, at other times we did not. Eight days is the most I went without any food, only water. We had to walk in the rain and continue for many days with our clothes still wet. At nights we walked in darkness, it was very very hard, we fell, we had to keep walking. There was
alot of tiredness, time without sleeping. Sometimes we would walk from 7pm at night until 3am in the morning, sleep for 2 hours and then get up at 5am. We had to keep changing places in the mountains. We climbed volcanoes of 3,000 meters with lots of weight in our backpacks. Women did this too, they did the same as men during the war.
M: What would happen if there was an accident or someone was hurt?
R: Some of the companeros were medics, people who could come and cure people in the mountains. But when this wasn't possible people would go to other countries for help, some went to Mexico to recuperate. It was very difficult when someone would die because we were so close, we shared the same spirit, we shared the same thoughts. When someome died we had to bury them in the mountains. Now there is a program to find these bodies. And so today it is this same spirit, same force that pushes us to continue the revolution, but today it is in the form of a political party.
M: So tell me about your work with the URNG political party...
R: IN 1996 peace accords were signed. It was at this time that the URNG was converted into a political party. Our objective was to continue the revolution and struggle in Guatemala. We wanted to have a president who had the majority of people in mind, and principally work for the completion of the peace accords.
In 1999 after many years of war, the URNG participated for the first time as the only left party in the elections. We were the 3rd political force in these elections, we had 9 deputadoes (in congress) and 18 in the municipalities (local offices).
But we had many difficulties, the main one being lack of economic resources because the URNG is a party of poor people. Our political campaign was very difficult because we could afford little propaganda. Often we had little to eat during the day so we could save money to visit communities to create consciousness about the URNG and why people should vote for URNG.
The mediums of communication in Guatemala are of the right, of the military and are owned by a monopoly. The URNG did not have the space or access because it costs alot of money, but for the right it was easy.
On November 9th 2003 there will be another round of elections in Guatemala. This will be the 2nd participation of the URNG. There are good prospects, lots of people in communities think that the alternative for a solution in Guatemala is the left. Principally because the last two governments, the PAN and FRG, have not worked to fulfill the peace accords...and these governments utilized the
money of the international community for their own benefit and manipulated the peace accords. This is a grave reversal of the political process, democracy is threatened.
This is why the URNG's objective is to work for the completion of the peace accords.
M: What are some elements of the peace accords?
R: Some, but not all, elements include: The democratization of the state, the fortalization of human rights, health care for all, creation of sources of employment, reduction in armed forces, respect for rights of indigenous people.
M: What are some of the problems facing the URNG?
R: Our principle problem today is lack of economic resources. Many members of our party must work to survive, and at the same time to volunteer work for the party. Many of our members do not have work because after the war the government did not truly fulfil the projects to help the ex-combatants become integrated into society. Today we need alot of economic resources to carry out our campaign. We are doing activities to earn funds like holding raffles, dinners with students, conferences, selling t-shirts. These are some ways of earning funds but this is not the solution for all our necessities.
We have plans for handing out sheets with symbols of our party and the names of canditates to vote for, and passing out stickers, painting houses and signs along the highways. We also want to create spots to play on local community radio and we need to buy microphones and bullhorns. These things will cost around 6,000 Quetzales.
We also have plans for the day of the election. We will need to transport people in pickups and on buses to the voting places at the center of Esperanza because people to not have their own transportation. We also need to feed the fiscales, or election observers. We are thinking all this will cost around 4,000 Quetzales.
So in all we need around 10,000 Quetzales or around $1,315 US dollars for the local URNG electoral campaign in the municipality of Esperanza.
Right now we are having weekly meetings every Wednesady night at 6pm to continue planning our activities. Any donations of support that you can help give would be very much appreciated.
M: One last questions, what is the URNG's position on economic issues, for example their position on privatization?
R: The URNG is against privatization, ALCA, and Plan Puebla Panama. This is another form of violence, economic violence. With privatization of health care and education these services are no longer a right and become too expensive for people to afford. Friends and family of mine near the mountain school in Colomba are suffering, starving...they are trying to sell lemons for fifteen centavoes, how can you live on these wages?
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Comments
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Re: Consider Helping URNG In Guatemalan Elections |
by J. J. Rodríguez S.
onechapin (nospam) msn.com (unverified) |
Current rating: -2
11 Nov 2003
Modified: 12:46:07 PM |
Ms. Kruse,
"economic inequality, lack of work, lack of education, discrimination against indigenous people (blacks, chicanos, arabs, etc.), the exploitation of workers on fincas (California farms plus most other states) and in factories, very low salaries, and a great concentration of wealth (particularly of certain ethnic groups:B. GATES)". It sounds like the U.S., doesn't it?
En todos lados se cuecen habas, señorita, but we cannot resort to violence if the streght of our political position does not carry enough weight to enable political change. As you well know, the great majority of the guerrillas, after their "political struggle" ended, continued their life of crime, pillage, murder, etc., only now not sheltered under their umbrela of "political change and equality". One must go to work, secure gainful enployment, involvement in the political process . . . you know what I mean . . . (No verified e-mail address? mmm) |
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