Active and Capable?

Immediately in the Tepan, Guatemala reading an interesting point of view jumped out at me onpage 124. It describes the transformation of the town every Wednesay afternoon with the growth of the large regional market at the center of town. "It is a massive mobilization, all the more incredilbe for its weekly regulariy. THe municipal governmnet collects a modest fee from each vendor..., and an aarmy of buses brings bendors and buyers from outlying aldeas and towns throughout the region (123)." This phenomenon calls into question the way the rest of the world see the Mayan people. Thus far in the semester, I personally have become so bogged down with all of the terror and discrimination that is apart of their lives and indigenous people that I handicapped myself from seeing them objectively as a people. Along with the general concensus, when I see, think, or meet a Mayan person I immediately think about "...long-suffering victims of the world market, from the injustices of the Conqust and colonial rule, to the institutionalization of discrimination in various forms, to the enduring inequality of landownership, to the violence of the 1980s, and to the current vagaries of the world market." This is a contribution that is too often overlooked by people who come from more "developed countries." This mind-set labels Mayans as victims and denies the active ways inwhich they control their own lives and culture. Global market forces provide major agency to how poeple live their lives in the Kaqchikel region. Some prosper and some are not so fortunate, however, this is evidence of the way Mayan people actively participate, pursue, and control their means of economic production and thus their lives.