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The Mayan Peoples:

a look at migration and development
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Mesoamerican Voices and the Central American Institute for Social
Studies and Development INCEDES-, as organizations that work in
Mayan communities of origin located in southern Mexico and
Guatemala we make known to international public opinion our
concerns regarding the systematic abuse and human rights violations
that Nation States, transnational capital and organized crime inflict
upon the Mayan peoples. These violations have provokedsignificant
changes in the daily life of these populations, their communities, and
the fate of their own development.

Mayan peoples have historically been subject to discrimination and
inequality, and these peoples and their communities have been
marginalized from access to land, basic services such as healthcare,
education, and economic and social development programs.
Consequently,these populations are characterized by high illiteracy
rates, chronic malnutrition, and conditions of extreme poverty. Their
strength as laborers is the primary tool that allows them to survive
through work on family farms, plantations, and/or insertion in the
informal economy. However, in these sectors, neither access to labor
rights nor actions that guarantee compliance with these rights have
been prioritized. In the context of such exclusion, these populations
have decided to migrate to the United States and Mexico in search of
jobs that offer better compensation. This migration generally occurs
irregularly, which places migrants at greater risk both during transit as
well as in their destinations.

International migration has enabled indigenous peoples, their
communities, and their families to obtain resources which allow them
to gain access to services as well asattain basic living conditions that
their States historically have not provided them. Migration has also
allowed these populations to preserve their familys
safetyandassets.At the same time, however, the Mayan peoples also
face serious and substantial risks to the continuation of life cycles in
places of origin and destination as well as during transit and return
processes.

The risks that these migrations provoke include family separation and
community segmentation, which results from divides that arise
between those community members who have family members
abroad and those who do not. These risks generate situations which
reproduce exclusion and lead to social differentiation and
stratification; often times it is members of the communities
themselves who antagonize these processes. It is also possible that
the absence of parental involvement in traditional activities will
impede their children from learningabout their culture and,
consequently, these children and youthmay be ostracized by their
communities because they lack these references. As a result of this
separation, children and youth may sense a desire or need for family
reunification and undertake migrations thatplace them in situations
that representhigh risks for minors. From a cultural perspective, the
risk of losing identity is also systematically associated with migration.

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This document offers insights regarding the topics to be discussed in for the
of the AGP and FMMD meetings to be held in Stockholm, Sweden in May 2014.
Indigenous peoples land tenure systems systems often depend on
community members continued involvement in local activities that
depend on collective action to access and generate of economic
wealth. For example, in southern Mexico property owners in these
communal systems can be fined or even lose their land if they fail to
meet production obligations as a result of being away from their
communities.

In indigenous communities, conflicts overland access and the use of
indigenous owned territories and natural resourcesare also growing.
These disputes have arisen in conjunction with the insertion of an
extractive economic modelin these territories. This model is
associated with national and transnational capital that promotes
megaprojects such as mining, and hydroelectric monoculture. The
social conflictsthat this model prompts between communities,
transnational capital and States has endangered the very existence of
these communities and their culture as well as thesustainability of
development processes. Despite the community consultations that
have been organizedregarding the presence of such megaprojects in
indigenous territories, the results of the consultations have not been
heard. The disregardfor their decisions violates the process of free,
prior, and informed consent (FPIC), which is the groundwork for the
civil pact between Indigenous Peoples and the State system
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.Under
current international law, governments are obligated to consult
indigenous communities before authorizing the exploration and
exploitation of natural resources; decisions that directly affect
indigenous peoples and their self-determination require consultation
and consent.

The emigration of women has demonstrated a steadily rising trend,
and this emigration has contributed to the marginalization they face
in their communities. This marginalization is particularly evident in
terms of their traditional family roles, including those related
toreproduction. Women whose husbands emigrate frequently assume
the role of head of household in addition to other non-traditional
roles; however, these changes do not necessarily place these
womenin situations that guarantee equality of rights and control in
decision-making in familial o communal contexts.

When migrating internationally, these populations use smugglers
commonly referred to as coyotesto guide them despite being
infamous for taking advantage of the needs of the Mayan peoples. In
the face of migrants lack of information and their inability to comply
with visarequirements these populations trust in the coyotes voice"
given that s/he is generally a member of the community itself.
However, coyotes andthe excessive prices they charge generate
additional risks which threaten migrant familiesassets. These assets
are commonly used as a "means of ensuring payment for services
received" in exchange for guiding the migrant "safely" to the United
States. This guarantee is not always fulfilled now that organized crime
groups haveidentified migrants in transit (especially those with
irregular immigration status) as easy prey that can also be obligated to
join these crime networks.

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The correct application of the FPIC:
http://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/free-
prior-and-informed-consent-protecting-indigenous#sthash.T2owjUgj.dpuf


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The areas in southern Mexico and much of Guatemalathat
demonstrate high migration rates are also theareas historically settled
by the Mayan peoples. These populations have also historically been
responsible forovercoming the systemic challenges that impede their
efforts to improve the difficult conditions in their communities. The
impact of migrants absence on everyday community life as well as
the processes by which they reinsert themselves into their
communitiesare especiallyvexingfor these communities. For example,
ones presence and participation in religious and civicdutiesas well as
his/herrole in caring for natural resources are ways of life for Mayan
peoples. Even though the financial resources that migration generates
contribute to family survival, the way in which migration occurs today
puts local economic and political systems in jeopardy because it forces
these populations to leave their communities due to the lack of
opportunities for survival and development.

It is important to indicate that one of the major limitations
inhibitingthe enforcement of human rights during migration
processesis related to the ability to understand Mayan languages.In
order to adequately meet the demands of the Mayan migrant
population, it is essential to ensure that interpreters are available and
that migration authorities are trained to address and respect language
difference

While migrations conditions, characteristics and effects on the Mayan
peoples are diverse, extensive and complex, one cannot ignore that
despite their vicissitudes Mayan migrants are porters of knowledge
and wisdom that is reflected in their work. Through their work,labor
force, and knowledge these peopleshave contributed and continue to
contribute dailyto the growth of corporate capital in their
destinations.We do not believe that access to fair wages goes far
enough. Just as with other Mexican and Guatemalan migrant
populations, it is necessary to guaranteeequal access to labor rights.

We exhort that policy makers in the fields of migration, labor rights,
and indigenous affairs strengthen the way in which they carry out
their State duties by means of promoting and ensuring compliance
with the Environmental, Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights -EESCR-.
These actions must also counteract misguided or illegitimate patterns
that today are responsible for placing indigenous populations at risk
and excluding them as subjects with rights who also have the
opportunity to fully exercise these rights.

Among other priority actions, it is urgent to promote and guarantee
that the decisions that Mayan peoples propose for their own
development are respected. The process of carrying out community
consultations cannot be discarded. Proposals that simply rework the
same colonial patterns that are responsible for the new social
conflicts taking place in Mayan territories cannot continue to
implement. For these reasons it is critical to generate consultation
processes linked to decision-making and, above all, these practices
must be incorporated into processes related to concessions granted
for implementing megaprojects.

We also exhort that governments create programs that take into
account the voices of the peoples in their territories and address the
migration processes in a way that links them to the development of
these populations. For this to be achieved, it is necessary to
strengthen State co-responsibility related to the economic, social,
political and cultural interdependencies between countries and
regions. Likewise, ensuringfull compliance with Mayan migrants
human, economic, social, political, cultural, and environmental rights,
as well as guaranteeing that these rights can be fully exercised is
contingent on designing policies, plans, programs and projectsthat
take into account the particularities of what being a Mayan migrant
implies andrecognizing that Mexico and Guatemala are countries of
origin, transit, destination and return.

Mexico and Guatemala, May 9, 2014.


Mesoamerican Voices, Action with Migrante Communities, A.C.
(Voces Mesoamericanas, Accin con Pueblos Migrantes, A.C.) is an
Mexican civil society organization based in San Cristobal de las Casas,
Chiapas that promotes good governance and development in Mayan
communities through the active participation of migrants outside
those communities or in processes related to their return and
reintegration into their communities.
Web site: www.vocesmesoamericanas.org
Contact: enlace@vocesmesoamericanas.org

INCEDES, Central American Institute for Social Sciences and
Development (Instituto Centroamericano de Estudios Sociales y
Desarrollo) is a non-profit institute based in Guatemala, whose
mission is to promote the integration of critical thinking networks as
well as encourage exchange, discussion, dissemination and action that
is oriented at changing the conditions in which migrations to and from
Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean occur. It also seeks to
strengthen civil societys capacity to formulate and advocate in favor
of public policies related to migration, development, and human
rights that stem from a perspective of regional integration and
guarantee compliance with the rights of migrants and their families.
Website: www.incedes.org.gt
Contact: informacion@incedes.org.gt