Resistance Groups

Reading "There is life before and after wage labor: The resistance communities of Guatemala” in The Subsistence Perspective: Beyond the Globalised Economy" reaffirmed some of my personal images of Guatemala that I have gathered from class discussions. This is the image of a very divided Guatemala country that does not really have a place for the Maya people. Initially, these resistance groups that were formed in attempt to unify its members and strengthen them against the harms of discrimination that they have faced appears to be a positive thing for the Maya people. These resistance groups give them something to rely on where they can exercise their power in fighting for the rights that they do not have due to their classification of Maya people in Guatemala.

On the other hand, although these resistance groups initially appear positive, I wonder if the presence of these resistance groups only serves to perpetuate that which they are trying to overcome. The indigenous people lost their pride and self-esteem during the colonial period when they were driven into forced labor by the Spanish colonists as the article indicates. These resistance groups serve the purpose of restoring these essential elements that were damaged; however, the indigenous people still remain a second class group that has been excluded in its own country. Do these resistance groups really help to overcome this? From the article, it does not appear so.

Overall, the reistance groups are just the next best result for the indigenous people. The article elaborates on how the indigenous people exercise power within the resistance groups, but I could not fail to realize how futile their efforts may be. Although they have support within the resistance groups, the lack of support for the indigenous people on a national scale overrides this. The resistance groups provide support for the indigenous people, but I believe it further establishes them as a separate group that has been excluded in Guatemala, and thus further perpetuates the situation that the resistance groups hoped to overcome.