Indigenous Populations of Guatemala: An Evolution of Identity and the Question of Assimilation

Ellie Barker Latin America and Caribbean History Fall 2011

The indigenous populations of Guatemala are suffering from unequal treatment

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due to their economic and social status, and historians wonder if they should maintain their true identity or assimilate in urban society. More than half of Guatemalas rural Mayan population is found densely inhabiting upland basins and plateaus of the central highlands. Ladinos, the countrys most significant non-indigenous cultural group, live apart from the Mayans in urban areas. In general, ladinos are considered socially superior to Indians. They control all significant economic activities, and on average they are all very well educated. Indians feel discriminated against society because they do not have equal rights. Relations between ladinos and Indians have always been highly variable. There can be hostility and violence between them, or there can be relative peace and cooperation. Ladinos believe Indians are unsophisticated, uneducated, and poor. They believe their continued poverty is a result of their segregation from ladino society. In order for an Indian to be seen as a ladino, they need to leave their villages, learn Spanish, and adopt different dress and customs. The discrimination Indians feel gives them a good incentive to become ladino, but if they remove themselves from their native land, then their culture will be lost.1 Indians take pride in their way of life in the rural areas of Guatemala. They feel comfortable staying in their homes in the mountains because they fit in with those around them. When Indians go down to the cities of Guatemala, they feel out of place. Ladinos expect Indians to use titles of respect when speaking to them. They demand to be served before Indians in stores, and Indians are expected to move off the sidewalk to let ladinos pass. Indians normally fear and avoid contact with ladinos. They want to be
1 Nyrop, Richard F. Guatemala: a Country Study. Washington, D.C.: American University, Foreign Area Studies,
1983. Print. Pg. 53-54.

treated equally, but they are hesitant to assimilate and live in a culture of which they do not want to be a part.2 Despite the discrimination and repression, indigenous communities have been fairly successful in maintaining a separate distinct identity. The Mayan identity movement, which started in the 1970s, was in response to the extreme pressure put upon indigenous cultures throughout history. The Mayan people say this movement is a cultural movement of self-understanding and validation of Mayan heritage.3 Megan Beckett and Anne Pebley, who researched the education and well being of rural Guatemala, have their own opinions on the Mayan movement. Megan Beckett is a behavioral and social scientist at the RAND Corporation. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a Ph.D in sociology and a M.H.S.A. in health services. Anne Pebley is a professor in the Department of Sociology at UCLA. She graduated from Cornell with a M.P.S. in international development and with a Ph.D in Sociology. They both state the movement led to public identification, ethnic pride, and the development of Mayan cultural and educational institutions.4 The success of the Mayan movement makes it seem as though the indigenous populations are proud of their heritage, and the public is becoming more aware of their customs. The non-indigenous population is gaining respect for the indigenous populations beliefs. Beckett and Pebley say there are ethnic differences in socioeconomics including less educational opportunities, less access to land, and a language barrier. Indigenous populations are poor, which means they cannot provide an education for themselves.

2 Nyrop, pg 57-58. 3 "The Pan-Mayan Movement: Mayans at the Doorway of the New Millennium." Cultural Survival, Partnering
with Indigenous Peoples to Defend Their Lands, Languages and Cultures. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. 4 Beckett, Megan, and Anne R. Pebley. "Ethnicity, Language, and Economic Well-being in Rural Guatemala." Rural Sociology 68.3 Sept. (2003): 434-59. Web. 16 Nov. 2011. Pg. 437.

They have smaller plots of land, so they can only provide enough food for themselves and they can never make a profit. There is also a language barrier for children trying to attend school and adults trying to get jobs. Spanish is the dominant language in the Guatemalan economy, so employers can immediately identify indigenous applicants because they have a different and distinct dialect.5 This is a problem because ladinos do not want indigenous people working with them, so Indians can never have the opportunity to get a successful job. This is proof that ladinos are not making an effort to include indigenous populations in their lifestyle. Beckett and Pebley make it seem as though the only way ladinos would accept indigenous populations is if they changed their identity. The exploitation of the indigenous people has been a part of Guatemalas history since colonial times. It has led to divided land ownership and an unequal agricultural economic system. Although the country became independent in 1825, there was an internal form of colonization between the ladinos and the indigenous populations.6 It is hard for these change customs to change because they have been around for such a long time. The citizens seem to have grown to accept them. The indigenous way of accepting the divide was to seclude themselves and live on their own, so they did not have to be second class citizens to anyone. Rebuilding Guatemala after sorting through the civil conflict is the main concern citizens face today. Peter Hakim, who is the president and senior fellow of the InterAmerican Dialogue and a writer on global issues, states that Government in the past has never been able to negotiate an end to hostilities and begin the process of
5 Beckett, Pebley, pg. 447-448. 6 Poppema, Margriet. "Guatemala, the Peace Accords and Education: A Post-Conflict Struggle for Equal
Opportunities, Cultural Recognition and Participation in Education." Globalisation, Societies and Education Nov. (2009). Web. 9 Nov. 2011. Pg. 385.

reconstruction.7 However, he also said that President Alvaro Arzu, who was in office in Guatemala from 1996 to 2000, wanted to make significant social and infrastructure investments in the neglected rural areas of the country.8 The end of this civil conflict gives the government an opportunity to build an integrated society that is not split by ethnicity or class. According to Hakim, the per capita income in Guatemala is one of the smallest in Latin America. It is distributed unevenly, which leaves the indigenous populations dirt poor. Hakim believes the main problem in Guatemala is how to make the indigenous people into full citizens. Foreign governments have tried to help fund this issue, but it is clear that the Guatemalan citizens are the ones who need to come up with the money. The problem with this is that the middle and upper classes are hesitant to help the this cause. Hakin infers that the government is trying to take some action, but both the government and the people need to be doing more. The indigenous populations will always be segregated unless the entire population works together. Education has been a main concern for both the ladino and indigenous populations. According to Margriet Poppema, who specializes in education and international development studies, states that The military dictatorships saw education for the indigenous population mainly as a threat and the school as a place where wrong ideas could be transmitted.9 Therefore, since the 1950s, education remained restricted to the rural populations which gave all the privileges to the ladinos. Literacy among the indigenous population barely reaches 28%, and their level of schooling is very low.10
7 Hakim, Peter. "Rebuilding Guatemala After Negotiating Peace." The Christian Science Monitor 27 Dec. 1996.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers. Web. 7 Nov. 2011. Pg. 22. 8 Hakim, pg. 22. 9 Poppema, pg. 386. 10 Poppema, pg. 387.

Less than 50% of the poor and rural indigenous population will reach fifth grade, and their quality of education is terrible. This is illustrated by the large achievement gap between the rural and urban populations. This will not help future generations reach bigger and better things. The indigenous parents are also spending a large portion of their money on an education that wont even benefit their children.11 This is a shame because they do not have any opportunities to better the lives of future generations. Beckett and Pebley believe a reduction in inequality needs to be a focus of the government and the citizens of Guatemala. Unless these inequalities are reduced, the crime that is driven by poverty will jeopardize the peace in the Guatemalan democracy.12 According to Poppema, there have been seven years of peace negotiations in the Assembly of Civil Society which resulted in thirteen different agreements, which contained more than three hundred commitments and recommendations. Poppema says, The accords as a whole can be considered as an ambitious program for development, cultural pluralism, human rights, participation and the commitment to fully democratize the Guatemalan state, and as an important step in the construction of a multiethnic, pluri-cultural and multilingual nation.13 The most important accords in education and of indigenous rights are the Agreement on Identity and Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Agreement on Social and Economic Aspects and Agrarian Situation.14 These accords focus on The ways of redressing discrimination, exploitation and injustice suffered by the indigenous peoples because of their origin, culture and language, and for the recognition of indigenous culture and linguistic rights.15
11 Ibid, pg. 401. 12 Beckett, Pebley, pg. 455. 13 Poppema, pg. 387. 14 Ibid, pg. 388. 15 Poppema, pg. 388. 6

They are proof that the government and people are trying to take action; however, they do not solve the issue whether indigenous populations should assimilate or not because they address both sides of the argument. They give indigenous people more rights, but they also make the Guatemalan people respect their culture. These accords also address the discrimination of the indigenous people involving civil society participation.16 They state that indigenous populations deserve a voice in the government even though they are considered second class citizens to the ladino population. Action has been taken in creating schools for indigenous populations. According to Poppema, the most successful program has been the PRONADE program. Their objectives are to increase access for at least three grades of primary education in rural areas inhabited by indigenous groups. These schools are decentralized and selfmanaged. Commitments were made to create an education that would avoid all forms of discrimination and would maintain the cultural identity of the indigenous people. This was achieved by incorporating the Mayan culture into the curriculum, using indigenous languages, and expanding the language use beyond Spanish.17 The PRONADE goals were to increase the educational opportunities for indigenous children to perform at the same level as ladinos without sacrificing their way of life. The indigenous children would learn all about Mayan language and culture, their daily life and art, and Mayan history.18 These schools promote the indigenous people maintaining their identity. They are not going to schools in Guatemalan cities with other ladino children, instead they are staying in the rural parts of Guatemala and learning about their own history and culture. Poppema says,
16 Ibid, pg. 388. 17 Poppema, pg. 396. 18 Ibid, pg. 396. 7

The PRONADE system contributes to the expansion of education, it does not comply with the challenge of improving the quality of education nor the equality of opportunities. It offers merely a differential educational system for a different population.19 Many of these schools have failed due to financial problems. People cannot afford to go to them and they have no governmental support.20 Poppema states that the past governments have not expanded intercultural bilingual education or introduced Maya cultures to education. They also have not created political opportunities for the indigenous people.21 This lack of governmental support makes it seem as though the government does not want the Mayan groups to participate. Even though the government says they are pushing for equal rights, it seems as if they are delaying the process on purpose. The ladinos will always feel superior, and feel as though the indigenous people would not run the country as well as them. Some organizations are trying to decentralize the educational systems to overcome the divide between the urban and rural populations as well as the social and political divisions. They believe if these two problems are fixed then it will transform society and achieve social justice. They want the government to guarantee participation for indigenous people in all levels of society. All the indigenous organizations are expressing their dissatisfaction with their current opportunities to participate in the democratic government, so they are getting some better jobs like teaching in the PRONADE schools. However, they still do not get to make important decisions in society. This is not fair considering they make up half the countrys population. Poppema and Hakim imply that actions are being taken to improve indigenous life in Guatemala; however, they are still considered second class citizens. They believe
19 Ibid, pg. 399. 20 Ibid, pg. 396. 21 Ibid, pg. 397. 8

that the opportunities for the future look brighter because there has been more public awareness of this issue in recent years, and the government is taking some action. Beckett and Pebley believe that it is very hard for indigenous people to even try to assimilate to society because the ladinos do not give them many chances. Indigenous populations should be granted equal rights, but they should be allowed to maintain their culture. Guatemala would not be the same country without the indigenous populations, and it would be a shame if their life was lost. Beckett, Pebley, Poppema, and Hakim all give valid statements and arguments whether it makes sense for indigenous populations to assimilate to society; however, it is questionable whether Guatemala will ever come up with an answer. Bibliography Books Dendinger, Roger E. Guatemala. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2004. Print. Nyrop, Richard F. Guatemala: a Country Study. Washington, D.C.: American University, Foreign Area Studies, 1983. Print. Articles Beckett, Megan, and Anne R. Pebley. "Ethnicity, Language, and Economic Well-being in Rural Guatemala." Rural Sociology 68.3 Sept. (2003): 434-59. Web. 16 Nov. 2011 Hakim, Peter. "Rebuilding Guatemala After Negotiating Peace." The Christian Science Monitor 27 Dec. 1996. ProQuest Historical Newspapers. Web. 7 Nov. 2011. Poppema, Margriet. "Guatemala, the Peace Accords and Education: A Post-Conflict Struggle for Equal Opportunities, Cultural Recognition and Participation in Education." Globalisation, Societies and Education Nov. (2009). Web. 9 Nov. 2011. Websites

"Anne R. Pebley." UCLA People of CHS. Web. 06 Dec. 2011. <http://www.ph.ucla.edu/chs/pebley/pebley.htm>. "Megan K. Beckett Profile." RAND Corporation. Web. 06 Dec. 2011. <http://www.rand.org/about/people/b/beckett_megan_k.html>. "Margriet Poppema." Education and Development. Web. 06 Dec. 2011. <http://educationanddevelopment.wordpress.com/members/margrietpoppema/>. "Peter Hakim." Partners for Democratic Change. Web. 06 Dec. 2011. <http://www.partnersglobal.org/who/board/peter-hakim>. "The Pan-Mayan Movement: Mayans at the Doorway of the New Millennium." Cultural Survival, Partnering with Indigenous Peoples to Defend Their Lands, Languages and Cultures. Web. 27 Nov. 2011.

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