GUATEMALAN POLITICS FROM AN INDIGENOUS

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 001413

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV EAID KDEM PHUM GT
SUBJECT: GUATEMALAN POLITICS FROM AN INDIGENOUS
PERSPECTIVE: MEETING WITH ALVARO POP

Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect accordingly.


1. (SBU) Summary. During a meeting with Embassy, Alvaro Pop,
indigenous leader and director of local indigenous NGO NALEB,
discussed his research on the indigenous population in
Guatemala, the country's socioeconomic development and
expectations of indigenous involvement in future elections.
Pop conceded that Rigoberta Menchu will not be Guatemala's
next president, but asserted that indigenous participation in
the political process will only continue to grow and
strengthen as a result of Menchu's experience. End summary.


2. (U) Poloffs met with Alvaro Pop, an indigenous leader and
director of local indigenous NGO NALEB, on July 5 to discuss
the political participation of Guatemala's indigenous
population. He began by discussing his research for last
year's publication of "Porque Estamos Como Estamos," which
exposed racism within Guatemala between the ladino and
indigenous populations. As a result of his research, he
concluded that Guatemalans are radically polarized and said
that much of the indigenous population aspires to be "white"
in order to gain the socioeconomic benefits, as well as
social and cultural acceptance.


3. (SBU) Pop believed that the international community had
adversely impacted the grassroots movement of development by
providing "guilt money." He posited that the country's
development should come from within i.e., a "cultivated
attitude," and instill a sense of independence "without
strings from other countries or organizations." Although he
acknowledged that Guatemala had developed in large part due
to international assistance, he maintained that the resulting
dependence has been more harmful than the benefits.


4. (SBU) Pop viewed Rigoberta Menchu's candidacy in this
year's presidential race as a catalyst for political change
and development in Guatemala, although he acknowledged that
Menchu will not win the election. Among the many weaknesses
of her campaign, he complained that her party focused only on
bridging the "ethnic divide" without a wide platform or
national vision to unify the country. He stated that all
candidates new to the political process will make mistakes
and miscalculations in their campaign strategies, but
believed that Menchu was under greater public scrutiny than
other presidential candidates. He noted, however, that
politics will never be the same in Guatemala, stating that
Menchu's progressive pursuit of presidential leadership will
be a source of inspiration and hope for future indigenous
candidates to also pursue political office. He praised
Menchu for creating a new paradigm and making the political
process more relevant and more accessible to indigenous youth
and women. As a result of Menchu's leadership, he
anticipated an increase in political activism among the
indigenous and at least two indigenous candidates running for
presidential office in 2011.


5. (SBU) Finally, Pop contrasted Guatemala with Bolivia in
their indigenous participation, praising Bolivia for its
indigenous leadership while criticizing Guatemala for its
lack of vision or parameters to create a significant
political force with indigenous populations. He insisted
that it would be a long time before political participation
was the norm for the indigenous community in Guatemala
because the population had little to no concept of what it
means to be part of the political system. However, he said
that indigenous leaders were using Menchu's experience as a
learning experience and will continue to work with indigenous
youth to maintain the momentum after the elections in
September in an effort to build a stronger, more politically
astute population.


6. (SBU) Comment. Pop is a widely respected representative
of indigenous political views. His NGO has previously
participated in election monitoring and will do so again this
year with the help of USG funding. His comments regarding
Menchu's candidacy are confirmed by her continued weak
standing in the polls. Nonetheless, her presence in this
year's race will help set the stage for greater indigenous
participation in future elections.
Lindwall