Guatemala: Maya Governance Stands Up for Democracy

Title: Guatemala: Maya Governance Stands Up for Democracy

In 2023, independent, self-governing confederations of Maya and Xinka leadership councils led a six-month national campaign to ensure that president-elect Bernardo Arévalo, son of former president Juan José Arévalo (1945-51), would be inaugurated despite unceasing attempts to disqualify him and his party, Semilla. The organizational efficacy of the country's Indigenous majority acting outside the sphere of legally recognized political offices and parties was not surprising in historical perspective. Many of the most powerful confederations, such as the 48 Cantones de Totonicapán, map onto regional pre-Columbian winaq, while contemporary alcaldías indígenas have roots in colonial-era city and church councils through which the Maya and Xinka asserted their authority within the Spanish legal system. On the other hand, the acceptance by large swaths of non-Indigenous Guatemalans of Indigenous leadership in the mass movement to guarantee Arévalo’s assumption of office was unprecedented. Equally surprising, perhaps, was Indigenous organizing not (as they repeatedly insisted) on behalf of a particular candidate or political party, but for democracy itself. How are we to understand this call for democracy from traditionally excluded sectors of society who have historically maintained a degree of autonomy from both colonial and national governance?