History - Guatemala - page 546

The Civil War Begins
Guatemalan industry developed fast, but the social fabric became increasingly stressed as
most profits flowed upwards. Labor unions organized, and migration to the cities, espe-
cially the capital, produced urban sprawl and slums. A cycle of violent repression and
protest took hold and by 1979 Amnesty International estimated that 50,000 to 60,000
people had been killed during the political violence of the 1970s alone.
A severe earthquake in 1976 killed about 22,000 people and left around a million home-
less. Most of the aid sent for those in need never reached them.
RIGOBERTA MENCHÚ TUM
Of all the unlikely candidates for the Nobel Prize throughout history, a rural indigenous Guatemalan woman would
have to be near the top of the list.
Rigoberta Menchú was born in 1959 near Uspantán in the highlands of Quiché department and lived the life of a
typical young Maya woman until the late 1970s, when the country's civil war affected her tragically and drove her
into the left-wing guerrilla camp. Her father, mother and brother were killed in the Guatemalan military's campaign
to eradicate communism in the countryside.
Menchú fled to exile in Mexico, where her story I, Rigoberta Menchú: An Indian Woman in Guatemala was
published and translated throughout the world, bringing the plight of Guatemala's indigenous population to interna-
tional attention. In 1992 Rigoberta Menchú was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace, which provided her and her
cause with international stature and support. The Rigoberta Menchú Tum Foundation ( www.frmt.org) , which she
founded with the US$1.2 million Nobel Prize money, works for conflict resolution, plurality, and human, indigen-
ous and women's rights in Guatemala and internationally.
Guatemalans, especially the Maya, were proud that one of their own had been recognized by the Nobel commit-
tee. In the circles of power, however, Menchú's renown was unwelcome, as she was seen as a troublemaker.
Anthropologist David Stoll's book Rigoberta Menchú and the Story of All Poor Guatemalans (1999) contested
the truth of many aspects of Menchú's book, including some central facts. The New York Times claimed that
Menchú had received a Nobel Prize for lying, and of course her detractors had a field day.
Menchú took the controversy in her stride, not addressing the specific allegations, and the Nobel Institute made
it clear that the prize was given for Menchú's work on behalf of the indigenous, not the content of her book. More
than anything, the scandal solidified support for Menchú and her cause while calling Stoll's motives into question.
In 1994 Menchú returned to Guatemala from exile. Since then her work with the Foundation has continued,
alongside efforts to promote greater access to low-cost, generic pharmaceuticals and a stint as a UN goodwill am-
bassador for the Peace Accords. In 2007 she decided to run for president. The problematic, often fragmented nature
of indigenous politics was highlighted when the World Indigenous Summit of that year chose not to support her.
Menchú's party won a little over 3% of the popular vote in the presidential elections.