G.O.B. will Also Proceed with Maya Customary Land Tenure Policy

Next on G.O.B.’s agenda is the completion of a Maya Customary Land Tenure Policy.  Notwithstanding the controversy surrounding the Free, Prior and Informed Consent Protocol, the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs is on schedule to complete this task by the February twenty-eighth deadline.

Dolores Balderamos-Garcia

Dolores Balderamos-Garcia, Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs

“This government, I want to assure you, is serious about the implementation of the consent order in a respectful way, but absolutely in an inclusive way. We do not wish to deal with only certain leaders, we wish to deal with all the various communities.  The commissioner here is from the south, he is familiar with all, how many villages?  Forty-one. He is familiar with all forty-one Maya villages of Toledo. I, myself, within the past year have visited fourteen of those communities and held respectful consultations, hearing the views of the people. Now, you will know that everybody in the south and in the Maya villages are not speaking with one voice, there are various opinions and views but I want to assure you that at all times we have listened to the people.  We are also looking, ladies and gentlemen, at what we call the Maya Customary Land Tenure Policy, and that policy again we have to consult. We believe in consultation, and again, the court has given us until the end of February to file the Maya Customary Land Tenure Policy and we intend to comply. We’re not gonna kick the can down the road for five years, or six years or seven years. We are serious about implementation. It’s not going to be easy but I believe that with goodwill we canget it done.”