|
|
|
| |
| |
Life Onboard |
LAST UPDATE
July 19, 2005
|
|
| site design imagesparkle.com |
| September 21, 2004 |
The Struggle for Social Justice, Human Rights and Fair Trade in Guatemala – Interview with Mario Gordinez |
|
| |
 |
| Guatemalan Guest Educator Mario Gordinez |
Mario Gordinez is a founding member of the non-governmental organization CEIBA Association. He first became involved with the Guatemala revolutionary movement in 1985 as a student leader fighting for the protection of human rights. In 1989, the Guatemalan government enacted a campaign of violent repression. Four of Gordinez’s coworkers were assassinated and 14 were forcibly disappeared. For a short time it was impossible for Gordinez to continue to work as a human rights defender, owing to personal safety concerns. But in 1993, he accompanied the returning Guatemalan refugees from Mexico and co-founded CIEBA to work closely with indigenous communities. Traveling onboard Peace Boat from Colombia to Guatemala, Gordinez sat down with Peace Boat web writer J.T. Boehm to discuss the state of Guatemala today. |
|
|
 |
| Mario Gordinez talking with other Central American guests onboard |
Peace Boat:
Today CIEBA is active in many areas of reform, what is the primary focus of the organization?
Mario Gordinez:
Actually, we work with nearly 100,000 members of Guatemala’s indigenous communities in four main areas:
- Agricultural production and forestry
- Community health
- Strengthening of social movements and civil society organizations
- Support for women, especially in rural areas
Our principal work is training local communities about defending their human rights, supporting productive alternatives, and improving participation in political processes. This is the work that we do at the community level, but Guatemala’s economic and political crises have compelled us to seek to contribute at a national level as well.
Peace Boat:
What sort of educational support for indigenous communities is CEIBA committed to?
Mario Gordinez:
Our work with indigenous villages started in 1993 when we starting working to defend their basic human rights and denounced the repressive actions of the government’s paramilitary forces. Actually, we have learnt so much from the indigenous villages, about their culture, their ancestral wisdom, their ways of seeing the world, which is why we believe that another world really is possible.
Our personnel are in about 80 percent of the indigenous areas, which permits us to become much closer with the communities. In indigenous communities, illiteracy exists in more than 70 percent of the population, essentially among women, so we must come up with innovative ways to work with education. We actually work in the indigenous Mayan communities of the Quiches, Kaqchiquel, Ixil, Mam, Kanjobal, Chuj, and with the poor mestizo (mixed) population. We have taken advantage of the fact that in the Mayan communities there exists a lot of oral tradition; this has allowed us to, in their own languages, give training, exchanges, and learn from the people to promote actions of change. |
| |
 |
| Mario Gordinez is co-founder of NGO CEIBA Association |
Peace Boat:
What in your opinion is the impact of Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) in Guatemala?
Mario Gordinez:
Central America is critical to the United States’ free trade strategy, because we are the belt of the continent. Trade can pass quickly to the Asian continent with which the United States has increased its trade volume over the last five years. Also the United States is changing its strategy from a geo-political one into a hydro-political [and oil-driven] one. The wars that the United States government has been pushing forward in recent years have been fundamental to guaranteeing its control over world trade, and to guarantee the lasting [supply] of petrol and energy. However, the petrol and energy that the United States has is disappearing, and because of this they need to control other branches of energy generating like water, which will permit them to continue subsisting for the next 20 years.
The intention of the United States to launch free trade is now, precisely, to take control of the biodiversity of the country – the natural gas, petrol, other minerals, and the water of the population. The FTAA is a project in the United States, which will consolidate a commercial and military bloc to side with the European Union and Japan. It covers 34 countries in Latin America, not including Cuba, and tries to liberate trade between these countries. At the same time it conforms to the rules of the United States, that is to say, it obligates our countries to open our economies. By contrast, the United States doesn’t want to open its economy to the Latin American market, because its producers have subsidies that protect their businesses whereas those in our countries do not. |
| |
 |
| Human rights defender and social justice advocate Mario Gordinez |
Peace Boat:
How does the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) fit in?
Mario Gordinez:
In 1994, Canada, the United States, and Mexico signed NAFTA. For Mexico, the poorest country of the three, this treaty has brought more problems than benefits. Between 1994 and 2004 Mexico has lost one million jobs per year, and the countryside has been destroyed because of the admission of imported grains from the United States. The natural environment has less estimated state value than before. Mexico imports many of its products, so business is really made up of the transactions of US businesses in Mexico. The experience of NAFTA is about to be repeated with the signing of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), a Free Trade Agreement between the United States and the Central American countries of El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras and Costa Rica. The Dominican Republic may also be added to the group. CAFTA will bring economic losses for Central America, and threaten at least three million agricultural producers for which Guatemala’s national economy depends on for at least 45 percent of its overall income.
Peace Boat:
How would you describe the current political situation in Guatemala?
Mario Gordinez:
Guatemala continues to have a high deficit in democracy. The economic democracy doesn’t reach its inhabitants. That is to say that we have clean presidential elections, but these elections really don’t bring any benefit to the people. The social movement is strong, but the agenda of free trade is a driving strategy of development which will negatively impact the poorest people.
Guatemala’s land continues to be in the power of only 20 percent of the population. The farmers’ fight for land is also strong, but the government continues to stand in defense of the landowners who finance the electoral campaigns. Another problem is that the poor are the most highly taxed, whereas the richest 10 percent of the population almost never contribute, or evade paying taxes. So the maintenance of the state falls on the poorest part of the population. Also, as mentioned earlier, Guatemala’s possibly entry to the Free Trade Area of the United States will compromise the future of Guatemala’s land resources and natural materials. These terms of these treaties have been negotiated behind the backs of the villagers. |
| |
Peace Boat:
What steps need to be taken to solve these problems?
Mario Gordinez:
One step is agriculture reforms, which will allow Guatemala to distribute the goods in a better way. For the tax problem, we are proposing a progressive fiscal reform, that is to say, people who earn more pay more taxes, and not the inverse. For the theme of the Free Trade Treaty, we propose that Guatemala should not sign this treaty with the United States, and that the [Guatemalan] government waits at least two years to see if during this time we can have a serious national discussion, about what kind of country we want to construct. After this, we want to discuss with other countries about the kind of trade we want to have. Before these steps are taken, we cannot compromise the lives of millions of people. |
| |
|
|
|
