The Birth of “the Forgotten” Society: The Emergence of Indigenous Organisation in Formal Politics following the 2015 “La Linea” Corruption Scandal in Guatemala

In April of 2015 Guatemala was hit by a severe political crisis. The discovery of a network of illicit payments made to government officials in exchange for reduced customs duties on imported goods led to massive social uprising in the country. The event has been referred to as the“La Línea scandal” (The Line), the name of the custom fraud ring. This scandal became the final straw in a country that has always struggled with social unrest and corruption. Citizens began to rise up. Protests, marches and strikes broke out on the streets of Guatemala City and several other provincial capitals. Universities, schools, shops and companies joined the protests.1 The social uprising following the scandal can be described as the largest social movement since the civil war.2 Some authors view the social uprising as “the emergence of civil society”, since protestors largely belonged to the country’s professionals and among those who influence public opinion.3 Four years later, in 2019,...Show moreIn April of 2015 Guatemala was hit by a severe political crisis. The discovery of a network of illicit payments made to government officials in exchange for reduced customs duties on imported goods led to massive social uprising in the country. The event has been referred to as the“La Línea scandal” (The Line), the name of the custom fraud ring. This scandal became the final straw in a country that has always struggled with social unrest and corruption. Citizens began to rise up. Protests, marches and strikes broke out on the streets of Guatemala City and several other provincial capitals. Universities, schools, shops and companies joined the protests.1 The social uprising following the scandal can be described as the largest social movement since the civil war.2 Some authors view the social uprising as “the emergence of civil society”, since protestors largely belonged to the country’s professionals and among those who influence public opinion.3 Four years later, in 2019, indigenous activist Thelma Cabrera of the newly established party “Movimiento para la Liberación de los Pueblos” (MLP) became the most successful indigenous presidential candidate in Guatemalan history. Attaining 10% of the votes, Cabrera tripled the amount of second most successful indigenous candidate. In a country where roughly half its citizens identify as indigenous, indigenous representation within formal politics has been minimal. This thesis explores the relationship between the 2015 La Línea scandal and sudden rise of indigenous politics in Guatemala, as proven by the success of the MLP in 2019. The question that this thesis seeks to answer is: What explains the relative success of indigenous politics in Guatemala after the 2015 la línea corruption scandal? In Chapter 1, I will provide a literature review that examines the two schools of thought in indigenous politics that explain the success of indigenous party formation: the institutionalist approach and the ethno-populist approach. The work of multiple academics will be discussed and compared, to contextualise the diverging ideas that are present in pre-existing literature surrounding the topics in this thesis. I argue that neither of these two schools are applicable in the Guatemalan case. Contrastingly, I provide literature on the theory of “triggering” events, which I will prove to be relevant in indigenous politics in Guatemala. Chapter 2 provides a framework of the historical context that led up to the La Línea scandal in 2015. It starts with a description of the 36-year civil war that lasted between 1960-1996, and the period of democratic return and the peace process. Then, it examines expansion of indigenous rights that were implemented as part of the peace agreements. Contrastingly, I argue that the formal implementation of these documents did not lead to substantial change for indigenous peoples in Guatemala, by demonstrating that violence and corruption scandals result in the continued marginalisation of indigenous groups. Furthermore, I examine the two previously established indigenous political parties URNG and Winaq and their failure of becoming an integrated part of the political landscape. In Chapter 3, I highlight the continuous corruption scandals and impunity of the Guatemalan state and state officials. Furthermore, I focus on the establishment of the CICIG and its involvement in the uncovering of the 2015 La Línea corruption scandal. It continues with a broad summary of the 2015 La Línea corruption scandal, after which I will elaborate on the CODECA, MLP and Thelma Cabrera. Then, the chapter looks at the 2019 elections. In conclusion, I argue that the 2015 La Línea corruption scandal and the sequential success of indigenous political party formation in Guatemala can be explained through a lens of “triggering events” theory.Show less

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The Birth of “the Forgotten” Society: The Emergence of Indigenous Organisation in Formal Politics following the 2015 “La Linea” Corruption Scandal in Guatemala