Thelma Cabrera’s hands are wrinkled and rough, signs of her work in the fields, of washing on stones in a river, of planting the small garden at home with her hands. The indigenous peasant leader is 52 years old and wants to be president of Guatemala in the elections on June 25.
But he faces an uphill battle, after the electoral authority refused to register his candidacy and having lost, in the absence of a final ruling from the Supreme Court, all the appeals filed before the ordinary courts to reverse that situation.
His candidacy remains out of contention and on March 25 the registration period for candidates who will run for the presidency of a country whose government has been pointed out by human rights groups and by countries like the United States for undermining the fight against corruption and weakening democracy.
The representative of the Movement for the Liberation of the Peoples (MLP) says that her party is promoting the reformulation of the State towards a new plurinational one, where all indigenous peoples have a place.
“We are neither thieves, nor terrorists, nor communists,” cuts off the critics. «They are afraid of us, they are afraid of the Nation project. Nothing is going to be taken from anyone here, what is wanted is that we all fulfill the responsibility that corresponds to us, ”she defends.
Since 2019, at least 26 members of the group have been murdered, and in none of the cases has anyone been convicted, Cabrera denounces.
As a political figure, she has been constantly disqualified by her opponents and supporters with racist and classist terms for her condition as a woman, poor and indigenous, saying that she does not have the skills to lead the country. She replies that she only reached the sixth grade of primary school: “Enough for an indigenous woman in a community in Guatemala.”
The Guatemalan constitution establishes as the only requirements to run for the presidency being a Guatemalan of origin, a citizen in full exercise and being over 40 years of age.
The Registry of Citizens of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal denied the participation of his candidate for vice president, Jordán Rodas, arguing that he did not have a document that attests that he has no outstanding accounts with the state. By disqualifying Rodas, she was automatically out. And, although they appealed the decision, they are still out of contention.