Indigenous Guatemalans relive centuries of persecution in land dispute

Over 43 percent of Guatemalans identify as indigenous, and reports suggest the real percentage could be much higher. However, for this large share of the Central American nation’s population, life is not straightforward for people descended from traditional communities. Data from the country’s 2018 census shows that 75 percent of Guatemala’s indigenous population lives under the poverty line, compared to 36 percent among the rest of the country.

Besides challenges related to self-identification, citizens belonging to Guatemala’s 24 indigenous ethnicities feel they have been left to their own devices by the state. While the government in Guatemala City is a signatory of the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, it has done little to address issues affecting the native population, regarding political participation, health (especially during the pandemic), employment, income, housing, and education. But, above this horror story of structural barriers, the biggest issue facing Guatemala’s indigenous population concerns land rights — with struggles dating back to colonial times.

This week, members of the Maya Q’eqchi indigenous community in Agua Caliente, 300 kilometers from the capital, sued...