Apocalypse no: how almost everything we thought we knew about the Maya is wrong (www.theguardian.com)
from grimpy@lemmy.myserv.one to world@lemmy.world on 12 Feb 15:00
https://lemmy.myserv.one/post/25942277

“”I have three struggles,” she said. “I am a woman, I am Indigenous and I am on the democratic left. I am working against all of history for the vindication of our historic cause.” She spoke of the need for a “plurinational” state that recognised the rights of self-governance among diverse groups. (Something similar has been implemented, with complications and backlash, into the constitutions of Bolivia and Ecuador.)

“Sonia Gutiérrez is a lawyer of the Poqomam Maya people from the highlands south-west of the capital. As the only Indigenous woman among the 160 seats in the Guatemalan parliament, she is arguably the highest-ranking Maya in the country. “Our political system has never represented the reality of our nation,” she said to me in her office a few blocks south of the National Palace.

“Gutiérrez is the current leader of the Winaq party, founded by Rigoberta Menchú who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992 for her efforts to end Guatemala’s civil war and achieve post-conflict reconciliation. “Our telling of history needs to change, and our society needs to change,” said Gutiérrez. “Our vision goes back to the time before colonialism. We must be seen not as alien people, but as living in our country where our ancestors used to live.””

#world