{"code":"25922","sect":"Central America","sect_slug":"central-america","hits":"1377","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/en\/202201\/centroamerica\/25922","link_edit":"","name":"\u201cBecoming president of Guatemala requires resources that I don\u2019t have\u201d","slug":"-ldquo-becoming-president-of-guatemala-requires-resources-that-i-don-rsquo-t-have-rdquo-","info":"","mtag":"Politics","noun":{"html":"\u003Cspan class='tint-text--dark' data_href='\/user\/profile\/rgressier'\u003E Roman Gressier\u003C\/span\u003E","data":{"roman-gressier":{"sort":"rgressier","slug":"roman-gressier","path":"roman_gressier","name":"Roman Gressier","edge":"0","init":"0"}}},"view":"1377","pict":{"cms-image-000036872-jpg":{"feat":"1","sort":"36872","name":"cms-image-000036872.JPG","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000036872.JPG","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000036872.JPG","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000036872-jpg","text":"<p>Mart\u00edn Toc was elected president of the 48 Cantons at 36 years old. The national strike thrust him into the mix of public debates over who could bear the standard of a political alternative to those in power in Guatemala. Photo: Simone Dalmasso\/El Faro<\/p>","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EMart\u00edn Toc was elected president of the 48 Cantons at 36 years old. The national strike thrust him into the mix of public debates over who could bear the standard of a political alternative to those in power in Guatemala. Photo: Simone Dalmasso\/El Faro\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000036870-jpg":{"feat":"0","sort":"36870","name":"cms-image-000036870.JPG","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000036870.JPG","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000036870.JPG","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000036870-jpg","text":"<p>Toc walks through his property in the aldea of Paxtoc\u00e1, Totonicap\u00e1n on Saturday, October 23. Photo: Simone Dalmasso\/El Faro<\/p>","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EToc walks through his property in the aldea of Paxtoc\u00e1, Totonicap\u00e1n on Saturday, October 23. Photo: Simone Dalmasso\/El Faro\u003C\/p\u003E"}},"pict_main__sort":36872,"date":{"live":"2022\/01\/05"},"data_post_dateLive_YY":"2022","data_post_dateLive_MM":"01","data_post_dateLive_DD":"05","text":"\u003Cp id=\"docs-internal-guid-bbd3b1b4-7fff-5e53-4388-1e78e9bb7413\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"\/es\/202201\/centroamerica\/25923\/Mart%C3%ADn-Toc-%E2%80%9CLlegar-a-la-presidencia-de-Guatemala-requiere-recursos-que-yo-no-tengo%E2%80%9D.htm\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003ELeer en espa\u00f1ol\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EFew organizations can paralyze Guatemala without setting foot in the capital. The 48 Cantons of Totonicap\u00e1n, a Maya K\u2019iche\u2019 Indigenous authority and one of the oldest governing structures in the country, is among them. After the 48 Cantons called for a national strike last July to demand the resignation of President Alejandro Giammattei and Attorney General Consuelo Porras, a coalition of Indigenous authorities, rural development collectives, university student associations, and small opposition parties followed suit, \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202108\/centroamerica\/25638\/Guatemala-Tries-to-Repeat-the-2015-Uprising-against-Corruption.htm\"\u003Erallying thousands of protestors across the Guatemalan \u003C\/a\u003Emap to shut down public plazas and highways in the biggest manifestations since the 2015 Guatemalan Spring.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EMart\u00edn Toc, the 48 Cantons\u2019 charismatic and ambitious young president, was at the epicenter of it all. At just 36, he rose to national prominence after offering a rousing speech to kick off the strike. An environmental project manager who traveled to Japan in 2011 for a rural development exchange with Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Toc is also finishing a degree in marketing.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ESince the strike, Toc walked a fine line as both a public figure in his own right and the head of an organization that expects its elected leaders to avoid seeking the limelight. The day after the strike began, the 48 Cantons even \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/48cantones\/photos\/bc.AbpC4hwHRiUApJkq2qJheS_Wh3EI_TKoa7GvpCMIQ1ggrT1R0F8l9qgbv29zjxWs6pvTFNGFreaJqRsKLZRKysiZe86TueX6eJHlCwFiaBUkkUoIdhv9DkohnovbMV8V_W_BG-zPkxIPFPKMjV-n7ZX_\/1369202556795369\/?opaqueCursor=AbodMukhCPuJxy3mbsNk4ngTl_XOw4vm0TN6RiPYSXiRwKN1mEkDyWDqf8G2fqf-0I-vtB2s9LQDCyr-CN4NeyxJBA9Gay9wfUdZUK4uD_9xC2HR9OMnJDvZOB4yb25lvYshMXGk-MT83sueHOn0fBYjBQZH-KvNKOAgKQr4J2jDDoYJHBue_41CXccFj5jCKjyoOjEn2gmjlZT_uQ8tvXz7dLIdTw3FN2SezUX3QPgQwf6kbqAwXO08DsRV3mP_e6nARXuznN6Egvc_O9RuD3etAdXpJRiXQPsv-2-aP8aroQXWcFHPcYW3Q0oQLDs-ptmALQ9FSLazRuHWhWl4YA_8TYZNp8Q8cea08OZjYIk4CFNnKntX1vlt0qzQd2DhEl3D6gEWw5CO59o9o4fJJJGWOAG3OjrPnmUN1m03wLEBdTfLN2tMcVQWiGL9E1hMR6to84AK_TKTREXnaAWisGd7GrPCMjBM8TXiSBzVs_3eJaCtf0N4PNqToIwqyy0OHUdmRSnVg9cN5p59J1QbHdDbkX3V7BO6ufR74v9Y1uhX9FeLNDZPSA0gqG01jr0OFUKA3DT5-WU5Uphe892FlMsJRtHdVfu8C5gCSN1d6QLaKz14PibaBHQSbWO_GVrUcZhm85eiE-imEGV05y9T3zoYre8RkNad9V3HvnaBxzcS7wqUTNyA9m66vLhdClfaYZWIztBb-SdNkRpABWsYiulSGEASkcp4QJNZ21hdW_4WD-SsfCNXDtu5NlFgk5eCT9o\"\u003Epublished a message\u003C\/a\u003E allegedly debunking claims that under Toc\u2019s leadership they had formed a political alliance with the left-wing CODECA, a campesino organization vilified by business elites whose figurehead, Thelma Cabrera, came in fourth place in the 2019 presidential elections.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIn an interview with El Faro in his office alongside his family\u2019s construction equipment shop and restaurant in the rural canton of Paxtoc\u00e1, Totonicap\u00e1n, some 115 miles from Guatemala City, Toc acknowledges that he is thinking about his future career in national politics and doesn\u2019t rule out the possibility of competing in the 2027 presidential race, when he\u2019s over the minimum age of 40 years old.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E \u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=3500&ImageHeight=2333&ImageId=36872 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"Mart\u00edn Toc was elected president of the 48 Cantons at 36 years old. The national strike thrust him into the mix of public debates over who could bear the standard of a political alternative to those in power in Guatemala. Photo: Simone Dalmasso\/El Faro\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003E Mart\u00edn Toc was elected president of the 48 Cantons at 36 years old. The national strike thrust him into the mix of public debates over who could bear the standard of a political alternative to those in power in Guatemala. Photo: Simone Dalmasso\/El Faro \u003Cdiv class=\"photographer text_italic rule--ss_l tint-text--idle\"\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/figcaption\u003E \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EFive months have passed since the strike, and Giammattei and Porras have weathered the political storm. Toc dismisses the notion that the strike was a failure, arguing that the 48 Cantons are playing a long game of national alliances. He says coordination between Guatemala\u2019s Indigenous communities, representing half the population and composed of 22 Mayan peoples, as well as the Xinka and Garifuna peoples, is at a turning point. \u201cThe people are rising up. There\u2019s a cohesion,\u201d he claims, adding that, in his view, Guatemalan civil society should focus on propelling political change through the 2023 elections.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ETheir strategy of prioritizing local interests comes from hundreds of years of experience. The 48 Cantons have existed for over three centuries outside of the framework of Guatemalan law, and with minimal presence of the state. Totonicap\u00e1n, home to just over 100 thousand people, is the highland seat of the small but most population-dense department outside of the capital. The Indigenous authority administers the municipality of the same name, including sacred communal forest, rivers, hotsprings, and roads spanning 100 square miles, as well as the municipal public works, records, and courts.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EWhen the 48 Cantons blocked off the Inter-American Highway in October of 2012 to protest a hike in the price of electricity, the Army killed six protestors. Eight soldiers and one colonel \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.cicig.org\/casos\/caso-alaska-se-mantiene-el-delito-de-ejecucion-extrajudicial\/\"\u003Ewere indicted for the extrajudicial killings\u003C\/a\u003E, but the case \u2014 nicknamed after the Alaska Summit, where the massacre occurred \u2014 remains open. \u201cWe don\u2019t want them to favor us, but to enforce the law,\u201d Toc said. \u201cThey\u2019re teaching many to disrespect the rule of law, and that you can evade justice.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EBy tradition the leadership, elected to one-year unpaid terms, eschews partisan politics and mainstream left-right ideology, and seldom wades into national conflicts not affecting local interests. When the time comes to defend their interests, the organization carries considerable political clout; for decades they helped kill successive proposals for a national Water Law, arguing that the central government would wrest control of water supply from local authorities. It\u2019s no coincidence that Totonicap\u00e1n is the only municipality in the country to not pay property tax.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EOn New Year\u2019s Day, Toc transferred the presidency to his successor, radio host Geovany Rosales. It\u2019s early to say whether the transfer is for Toc a loss of clout or a liberation. In a country lacking new leadership, there are those who see in him a presidential candidate capable of binding together the votes of Indigenous communities, urban youth, and middle-class progressives, and he knows it.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EMultiple sources affirm that Toc also attended private meetings in the second half of 2021 with the Coordinating Committee of Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial, and Financial Associations (CACIF), Guatemala\u2019s largest and most powerful business association that has publicly backed Giammattei and Porras, to discuss the country\u2019s political situation. Toc declined to comment on the talks.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EHe says he\u2019ll write a book about his year at the helm and doesn\u2019t shy away from mentioning the allure and challenges of leading a polarized country. \u201cWanting to be president of a country won\u2019t be a matter of, \u2018great, now I\u2019m president and I have absolute power,\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019d be lying to myself.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFor the 48 Cantons, what does it mean to exercise power?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe Communal Assembly [of Totonicap\u00e1n] holds the true authority, and the people are superior to the law. The Communal Assembly decides to abolish or remove any norm for our communal living. We can install a norm today but tomorrow the Assembly can revoke it. As the word says, the power is with the people.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIn the Guatemala you seek, how should a local government interact with national institutions?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThere has been respect where even the Public Prosecutor\u2019s Office of the Judicial Branch has taken a stance of not interfering much in our decisions because the decisions made here come from the Communal Assemblies. Now the challenge is more to consolidate ourselves as communal authorities. If the government and state institutions want to support us, then they can do so, but without pre-conditions. The good thing is that in the community we have our own resources. In the Mayor\u2019s Office of my community we have accomplishments, but thanks to the community\u2019s resources.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat are some of those projects?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EWe bought a well, a new water pump, repairs of water lines are underway, some improvements to paths, and machinery used to clean the roads. Some sectors are contributing 300 quetzales [about $40 USD] per person or family. We don\u2019t depend on the support of any external entity, but we\u2019re also not a legalized institution. We audit and organize ourselves in our own community. The community makes sure that we work in their interests, and that makes us sometimes less active in national and political activism. When we achieve consensus is when we attend protests and mobilizations. But that makes us a little bit slower because we\u2019re a big machine.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWithin that consensus, what are some local issues that also have national reach?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EHigh costs of electricity and mandatory transportation insurance pressure us a lot. Or, for example, the famous Water Law that hasn\u2019t passed. While some aspects of the law would be beneficial, not for Toto. I was elected to look out for my community\u2019s development. If you don\u2019t take care of that part, then you run the risk of the community refusing to validate your service. And that\u2019s where my family would say, \u2018We\u2019ve gone a year without you earning any money for them to annul your service.\u2019 Sometimes I wonder what to do so that things will be in the national interest. Sometimes the problem is that the burnout is so great that you get tired and focus on your community work. We haven\u2019t been very radical. I think if we were more radical we may have national achievements.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERadical in what sense?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EWe\u2019re not leaving until you give us what we want. For example, lowering the price of electricity, or the constitutional reform a few years ago. Now the idea is to influence the national budget. We\u2019re not experts in fiscal policy but we need to find allies who are experts and who we trust. That\u2019s where I begin to understand the importance of real national cohesion where we get together and whoever is the expert in a given topic leads the process. But meanwhile, let\u2019s continue consolidating our peoples. By going to the Public Prosecutor\u2019s Office or to Congress, we are still believing. I tell the [Indigenous] authorities that if we didn\u2019t believe in those institutions, we wouldn\u2019t even pay attention to them in our territories. We\u2019re still showing up to knock on the door of the Public Prosecutor\u2019s Office, but what if one day we see it isn't necessary?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat changes would you make to the national budget?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EFirst, the point that interests us is the mandatory school insurance. They should eliminate it. They should focus the budget on the vaccine, the pandemic as an axis of investment. Also, the debt. How is it that the internal debt is more expensive than the external? There are loans that haven\u2019t been spent but that we\u2019re paying the interest on. Why is it mandatory for the budget to increase? It\u2019s not responding to a national strategy. It doesn\u2019t tell me that the country is preparing to export mangoes, for example. It doesn\u2019t tell me that they\u2019re going to reinvent education in line with global demand. I don\u2019t see where in the budget is the strategy for the country\u2019s infrastructure.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow far would the 48 Cantons go for the foundation of a plurinational state?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EWe already are a plurinational state. I know we\u2019ll debate with the brothers and sisters who are fighting for the concept, and maybe they\u2019re using it more as a political banner. I think the message is for us all to connect with their roots and feel comfortable in our communities. If we all strengthen our communities, then we already have a plurinational state. And when we come together, then we come together as peoples. There\u2019s no other way. When you ask someone for your rights, you\u2019re handing them your freedom.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat does development mean to you?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EWe see it from the perspective of collective benefit. It makes us all live in order and help each other to get ahead, but within the collective the individual is respected. The structure of the community offers security for the entrepreneur. For example, if you walk through here you see no police. The communal authority provides security to the community. For us, that\u2019s the concept of development: a space where you feel part of a system. The next step of development is for the communities themselves to start generating their own resources: energy, food. That\u2019s the future.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow do you perceive partisan politics? Do you identify with any current movements?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAs a rule, we don\u2019t identify with political parties. In Paxtoc\u00e1 we live in two systems: our own system and the individual freedom for an individual to make a political party. There has been an effort to reconsider the possibility for 48 to enter into politics but people think that it\u2019s not healthy for us. What will I do in 2022? That depends on Mart\u00edn Toc. I won\u2019t be 48 Cantons anymore. If I decide to emerge into politics, that\u2019s my decision. The representation is very conservative, and the ancestors have kept it that way for a reason.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDo you identify with other Indigenous movements in the hemisphere?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe only thing we have is a line of coordination with Indigenous authorities that teach us how they improved their community development. Maybe there will be reform in the near future. There are mayors who have asked why 48 doesn\u2019t promote a political party. That\u2019s step by step. If we\u2019re not consolidated, we run the risk of having things go poorly for us. The system is powerful in disappearing things that worry it.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIn what sense?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe system absorbs or destroys leaders who seize the moment to position themselves. When we enter the system, we fall into the practices of the system. Many now fall into the trap of campaigning like conventional politics, where we only live a fa\u00e7ade. If despite getting to know me for who I am, people still want to vote for me, then that\u2019s fine by me.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E \u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=3500&ImageHeight=2333&ImageId=36870 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"Toc walks through his property in the aldea of Paxtoc\u00e1, Totonicap\u00e1n on Saturday, October 23. Photo: Simone Dalmasso\/El Faro\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003E Toc walks through his property in the aldea of Paxtoc\u00e1, Totonicap\u00e1n on Saturday, October 23. Photo: Simone Dalmasso\/El Faro \u003Cdiv class=\"photographer text_italic rule--ss_l tint-text--idle\"\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/figcaption\u003E \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIf we Indigenous people were to take the presidency, I\u2019m worried we would generate a false conception [of power] and fail at the helm. That\u2019s why when they talk about me as president, when we go to the territories with the Indigenous authorities, they\u2019re in resistance. You arrive as president and the other sector here is talking about economic development, and about needing a competitive country that fosters foreign investment. But it just so happens that here we don\u2019t want that. How will I manage these opposite poles? That\u2019s where you think, this whole deal of wanting to be president of a country won\u2019t be a matter of, \u2018great, now I\u2019m president and I have absolute power.\u2019 I\u2019d be lying to myself.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDo you want to be president of Guatemala?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIn 2021, I focused on my community service. As for politics, I\u2019m still thinking about whether it\u2019s the path I should take. I understand that current events and the media positioned me, and that people have generated expectations about me, but I have to really think about it because it is a sacrifice and requires resources that I don\u2019t have. After serving ad honorem for a year, you are left without resources, and you have a family. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to make a real decision. If at some point I were to decide to participate, the challenge would be forming a team around me of people open to the possibility. These days, at the start of 2022, are the time to meditate and think about what comes next for me.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDo you have an early idea of potential allies?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EFor now I\u2019m in the phase of researching and getting to know the current movements. The most important thing is to see how to bring in not only political parties, but also journalists, businesspeople, and Indigenous people. In building a country, the political aspect is an important component, but it\u2019s also important to pull in all sectors \u2014 to also think of scientists, mathematicians, engineers, environmentalists \u2014 in order to design a governing platform that responds to the needs of the current climate crisis and globalization. In terms of economic development, we\u2019re very far behind, but we also need to go to the root issues: malnutrition and the strengthening of Indigenous people\u2019s identities. We have a historic opportunity to feel free to sit down at the table adhering to our own identities, but with the understanding that we\u2019re part of a country.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow do you see the fight against corruption and impunity?\u00a0\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAs the 48, one of our rules is to always lift our voice and insist on what is right. In our communities they demand accountability and don\u2019t pay us. So if they audit me so much, what\u2019s happening with the country? If in the community we manage to make do with our own resources, what more could we do with the country\u2019s resources? Today, we see what\u2019s happening with the Q\u2019eqchi\u2019 people [in El Estor]. It\u2019s sad to see them send the Army and riot squads. We have to raise our heads and give it our all for this country we all love. As much as 48 might have the goal of not getting involved, the power of the population forces you to continue being that body. The people are rising up. There\u2019s a cohesion and nothing left to do but keep insisting.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat should we expect from the Alaska Case?\u00a0\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EOur stance is for them to close the chapter. We don\u2019t want them to favor us, but to enforce the law. I worry that they\u2019re teaching us that the state\u2019s institutions are less relevant every day. They\u2019re teaching many to disrespect the rule of law, and that you can evade justice. If the most conservative sector of the country hasn\u2019t noticed, I can only tell them that things are going very poorly for governability. If governability is lost, things won\u2019t go well for anyone.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIn terms of governability, has the Biden administration played a positive role?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EWe\u2019ve become dependent on turning to the United States. And if they don\u2019t do anything, then we get scared and feel quite violated. We\u2019ll thank the United States for whatever they do, but it\u2019s Guatemalans\u2019 responsibility to move this country forward. Remember that there\u2019s no such thing as a free vaccine. They revoked their visas, sure. It\u2019s all diplomacy. You\u2019d have to ask them why they support this government. I\u2019m also not going to get into it with a superpower, and you won\u2019t hear me as an anti-imperialist. It would be good for the United States government to tell us exactly what they want in return: \u2018We\u2019re protecting the investments of people from the United States.\u2019 My great desire is for this country to no longer depend on external help. I told the ambassador [Popp]: God willing, one day we\u2019ll be able to help your country. As Martin Luther King said, that would be my dream.\u003C\/p\u003E"}