Newsbriefs

LEFT ESTABLISHES
ITS PRESENCE IN
GUATEMALAN
ELECTIONS
DECEMBER 4, 1995
Held amidst continuing insta-
bility and an unresolved
civil war, the November 1995
general elections in Guatemala
did not bring sweeping changes
to the country. However, the
emergence of the left as a new
political force could pave the
way for future political openings.
The contradictory results of these
elections reflect the peculiar
combination of the old and the
new that characterizes Guatemala
today.
The strongest reminder that
Guatemala’s political system has
not yet achieved widespread
legitimacy was low voter turnout.
Only 46.7% of registered voters
cast ballots. If the 30% of eligible
voters who never registered are
taken into account, total voter
participation drops to 33%. The
electoral system is full of barri-
ers-such as a limited registra-
tion process, and the inaccessibil-
ity of polling places-that seem
designed to inhibit people from
voting. On election day, the gov-
ernment refused to provide free
transportation to the polls,
despite nearly $2 million in
international funds designated for
that purpose, giving a definite
edge to traditional parties with
resources. These systematic
problems, as well as the continu-
ing climate of army violence and
intimidation, were more preva-
lent than open fraud, although the
vote count was marred by an
“inexplicable” power outage at
the height of the counting.
At the presidential level, in a
field of 19 candidates, none won
an absolute majority. By
Guatemalan law, this requires a
January, 1996 runoff between the
two leading candidates: Alvaro
Arzdi of the conservative but
“modernizing” National Ad-
vancement Party (PAN), and
Alfonso Portillo, a stand-in for
ex-dictator Efrain Rios Montt
who was legally barred from run-
ning. Arzd led with a comfortable
margin of 36.6% over Portillo’s
22%. His victory in the second
round, however, is not assured,
given the possibilities for deals
between Rios Montt’s forces and
other traditional parties. Such
deal-making reflects business as
usual in the old, discredited way.
The major surprise was the
emergence, for the first time in 40
years, of a new left-of-center
opposition force, the New
Guatemala Democratic Front
(FDNG). The FDNG was found-
ed only four months prior to the
elections, and has been the object
of accusations of links to the
guerrilla movement and other
forms of intimidation. Despite its
lack of electoral experience and
resources, the FDNG won 7.7% of
the presidential vote. In addition,
it took six of the 80 Congress-
ional seats, becoming the third
strongest political party in Con-
gress. The presence of Maya lead-
ers and members within its ranks
distinguishes the FDNG from tra-
ditional political parties. The
party has also forged an alliance
with the indigenous civic com-
mittees, several of which won
important mayoralties, including
Xelajd (Quetzaltenango). Now
the FDNG faces the challenge of
participating in electoral politics
without becoming part of a dis-
credited political system or
neglecting its grassroots base.
The other novelty of the 1995
election was the appeal by the
Guatemalan National Revolu-
tionary Unity (URNG) urging
people to vote, in contrast to its
previous stance of boycotting
elections. In addition, in August,
the URNG guerrillas agreed to
suspend military actions during
the last two weeks of the electoral
campaign in exchange for a com-
mitment by the major political
parties to continue peace negotia-
tions under a new government and
honor the accords already signed.
The real test of the election and
the real key to democracy and
development in Guatemala will
be the willingness of the new
government and the traditional
centers of power-i.e., the army
and the private sector-to negoti-
ate substantive agreements to end
the 35-year civil war and demili-
tarize the country.
— Susanne Jonas
ALTERNATIVE
BROADCAST MEDIA
MEET IN ECUADOR
QUITO, DECEMBER 6, 1995
Over 500 community radio
and television producers,
journalists, activists, students and
scholars met at the International
Center for Communication
Studies of Latin America (CIES-
PAL) in Quito between Nov-
ember 20-24 to participate in the
Festival of Latin American
Community Radio and Television.
The conference sought to bring
together members of the alterna-
tive media to share their experi-
ences and to strategize about how
to meet current challenges. It was
organized by eight regional com-
munications networks, including
the Latin American Radio Edu-
cation Association (ALER) and
the World Association of Com-
munity Radio Broadcasters
(AMARC).
Participants brought a wide
range of media experience to the
gathering, from tiny rural stations
to hip urban broadcasters. They
shared, however, the belief that
community radio and television
should be participatory and
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reflect the needs and voices of
the communities they serve,
including women, youth, poor
urban and rural communities, and
indigenous peoples.
Participants discussed how
alternative media need to find
new forms of self-financing to
stay afloat in a free-market era
dominated by corporate media.
The conference also became a
forum for a broader discussion of
how to promote social justice and
grassroots empowerment. Some
favored confrontational tactics,
while others stressed the need for
dialogue and compromise.
Practical nuts-and-bolts issues
were prominent. Participants
talked about the need for legisla-
tion to protect low-power, non-
commercial community stations.
They debated whether to separate
out programming in indigenous
languages, or interweave it with
regular programming. The issue
of how to increase women’s pres-
ence in decision-making posi-
tions was also discussed. Finally,
they conferred about which new
technologies they should try to
use despite their high costs.
The radio and television festi-
val competition winners high-
lighted playful and innovative
approaches to exploring varied
social themes. For example, a
fast-paced video documentary
from Chile alternated dramatic
shots of comic-book characters
and stories, written by youth for a
local competition, with music and
short interviews of youth talking
about their visions, fears and
hopes for the future.
-Diana Agosta
HURDLES REMAIN IN
MEXICAN PEACE TALKS
SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, CHIAPAS,
NOVEMBER 30, 1995
The most recent rounds of
negotiations between the
Zapatista National Liberation
Army (EZLN) and the Mexican
government have zig-zagged
between moments of hope,
sparked by apparent progress,
and frustration, as the govern-
ment backtracked on its previous
commitments.
Rebel and government dele-
gates concluded the eighth round
of negotiations in mid-October in
Chiapas on an upbeat note. The
two sides-joined by over 300
members of indigenous and pop-
ular organizations across the
country who were invited to
attend-seemed to have ham-
mered out the basis for a lasting
accord on indigenous rights. The
resulting documents included
several Zapatista demands con-
cerning autonomy, land rights
and social justice.
The auspicious mood, howev-
er, was dampened just days later,
when the government captured
EZLN leader Fernando Yafiez.
The rebels agreed to reinitiate
talks only after the government
freed Yafiez under the March
amnesty-law provisions.
In this tense climate, talks were
reinitiated in mid-November. The
October proposals were supposed
to have been transformed into a
binding accord in this round of
negotiations. However, the talks
produced little in terms of con-
crete results. Zapatista rebels
accused the government of
attempting to minimize agree-
ments laid out in the previous
round of negotiations. Gov-
ernment officials reportedly tried
to withdraw the term “autonomy”
from the documents and to
reduce rebel demands to details
over social spending and minor
adjustments to Mexico’s political
system.
The gap between rhetoric and
reality was highlighted by events
surrounding the talks. A dozen peo-
ple died in violent clashes over
land disputes in November, and
Mexican army troops moved deep-
er into the jungle and closer to
Zapatista troops. In Nichtel, in
southeast Chiapas, security forces
detained 65 villagers, beating an
elderly man to death after he failed
to respond to the army’s orders.
The commands were issued in
Spanish, a language the man did
not understand.
Zapatista spokesperson Cecilia
Rodriguez, former director of the
New York-based Funding Ex-
change, denounced her rape and
robbery by three men, presumably
soldiers, at Montebello Lakes in
southern Chiapas on October 26. “I
am another victim of the brutal,
low-intensity warfare currently
being carried out in Chiapas,” she
said. Over 50 women have been
raped since the conflict began two
years ago.
Despite the ongoing tensions,
rebels have agreed to another
round of talks which is scheduled
to begin on January 10, 1996. In
the meantime, Zapatista leaders
continue to promote a national dia-
logue amongst opposition forces.
— Michael McCaughan
Sources
Susanne Jonas teaches Latin American and Latino studies at the University of California at Santa Cruz. Her most recent book is The Battle for Guatemala (Westview Press, 1991).
Diana Agosta is a doctoral candidate in anthropology at the City University of New York (CUNY), and works in commu- nity television.
Michael McCaughan is a NACLA corre- spondent based in Chiapas.