URNG - Voice of the poor?

Temporarily stationed in the Guatemalan highlands and en route to Nicaragua to take up new challenges as long-term development worker, Erika Brenner spoke with URNG Executive Committee Member Amaro Cifuentes Lopez in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala’s second-biggest city, also known as Xela.

In the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG / Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional de Guatemala), there is strong optimism in regard to participating in the elections, but funds are short, very short. To off-set financial restraints, the party is down to selling T-shirts with the URNG logo, corn on the cob.

Amaro Cifuentes Lopez sells T-shirts to off-set the financial restraints of his party, URNG.

‘Every penny counts’, explains Amaro Cifuentes Lopez who apart from being a member of the URNG Executive Committee in Xela is also an official training officer within the Party. ‘We have gained a lot of ground since the last elections, today the party is better than ever before. It is the best option among the left-wing parties altogether, and given the internal strife affecting the major right-wing parties, we may just stand a chance,’ says Cifuentes Lopez.

URNG grew out of the guerrilla movement in Guatemala in 1982 and was legally registered as a political party in 1999. That same year, the party participated for the first time in national elections, pushing Alvaro Colom as presidential candidate for a coalition of political parties which came in third in the final results.

‘The URNG represents the poor, and, financially speaking, it is also a poor party. Many members of the party have no jobs, no homes, no rest. Members and activists work hard, harder than in the bigger political parties, because our voters live in far-flung rural communities,’ says Cifuentes Lopez and adds that ‘their fuel is their conscience’.

This time around, the URNG is pushing Rodrigo Asturias as presidential candidate, son of Guatemala’s Nobel laureate in literature, Miguel Angel Asturias. Rodrigo Asturias played a leading role both as commander in URNG during the armed conflict (1960-1996) as well as in negotiating the Peace Accords.

Cifuentes Lopez points out that due to financial restraints, URNG must apply alternative criteria in their campaign strategy. Essentially, it is based on training, and this is where he himself takes centre stage, being in charge of training activities.

‘We cannot afford glitzy communication campaigns so what we do instead is to seek out our voters where they live and give them training in the URNG history, rights and obligations, and the contents of the Peace Accords which constitute the ideological foundation of URNG. We also include important topics such as the effects of globalization and negotiations relating to CAFTA, the Central American Free Trade Agreement. Where possible, we also use community radio to get our messages across to the people.’

In talking about campaign activities, Cifuentes Lopez is very critical of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE / the Tribunal Supremo Electoral) to the extent of suggesting that the authority is prejudiced towards URNG while it lets the bigger parties get away with untimely and illicit campaigning. Also, he insinuates that the law regulating elections and political parties (Ley Electoral y de Partidos Politicos) is being violated by the big political parties.

Campaign started even before the call for general elections had been issued.

URNG is present in 280 of Guatemala’s 331 municipalities. Cifuentes Lopez explains that ‘the party is leveraging an all-out effort to gain the Presidency. Failing that, the party will work towards consolidating a strong-hold both in Congress and in municipal authorities. In either case, the party will push implementation of the Peace Accords as the number one national project’.

According to recent poll results, URNG only commands 1.7% of the votes. However, this must be considered against the high percentage of so far uncommitted voters (32.8%). In the 1999 elections, the coalition of which URNG formed part pulled about 13% of the votes.

Erika Brenner is Long-term Development Worker in Coordinadora Civil in Nicaragua