Guatemala appoints Mayan ambassador to indigenous people
From http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096417958
In the midst of increasing conflict between Guatemala's indigenous people and transnational corporations, Mayan elder Don Alejandro Cirilo Perez Oxlaj was appointed Aug. 9 as Indigenous Peoples Ambassador for Guatemala by President Alvaro Colom.
''We don't want any more war, any more death,'' he said. '''We will contribute for the good of the country, because we are all hungry, we are all sick and needy, there is a lot of inequality. The great wealth that we have in Guatemala is the indigenous people.''
Perez Oxlaj was appointed to his new post as part of the celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day in Guatemala, where 60 percent of the inhabitants are indigenous, primarily Mayan.
''The Mayan cosmovision is not how many folkloric acts the government does,'' said Colom, who has been a student of Perez Oxlaj since 1994. ''The Mayan cosmovision lives in every second, in every day, with 20 life principles and a respect that is lived under a system of profound consensus.''
Perez Oxlaj, 80, is a 13th generation Quiche high priest and president of the Mayan Council of Elders, a body of 440 men and women who represent Guatemala's 23 different ethnic groups.
In the midst of increasing conflict between Guatemala's indigenous people and transnational corporations, Mayan elder Don Alejandro Cirilo Perez Oxlaj was appointed Aug. 9 as Indigenous Peoples Ambassador for Guatemala by President Alvaro Colom.
''We don't want any more war, any more death,'' he said. '''We will contribute for the good of the country, because we are all hungry, we are all sick and needy, there is a lot of inequality. The great wealth that we have in Guatemala is the indigenous people.''
Perez Oxlaj was appointed to his new post as part of the celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day in Guatemala, where 60 percent of the inhabitants are indigenous, primarily Mayan.
''The Mayan cosmovision is not how many folkloric acts the government does,'' said Colom, who has been a student of Perez Oxlaj since 1994. ''The Mayan cosmovision lives in every second, in every day, with 20 life principles and a respect that is lived under a system of profound consensus.''
Perez Oxlaj, 80, is a 13th generation Quiche high priest and president of the Mayan Council of Elders, a body of 440 men and women who represent Guatemala's 23 different ethnic groups.