International Master’s Program in International Studies National Chengchi University 治 A Comparative study of政 Indigenous大 Human Rights in 立 Belize, Guatemala and Mexico學 國 ‧ ‧ N a y t t i i s o r n e a v l i Ch Un engchi By: Aurel Peter Lewis Advisor: Hsueh, Chien-Wu (), Ph. D. January, 2021 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202100255 Abstract Indigenous human rights that are political, civil and cultural have all attracted much attention in the political arena. The Mesoamerican countries provides a suitable study as the vast majority of indigenous Mayas are situated in a central geographic bloc which are Belize, Mexico and Guatemala. While the country of Guatemala has the highest indigenous population amongst its neighboring countries, it seems that the indigenous people do not enjoy much human rights. There are difference in the degree of indigenous human rights among these three countries, and the goal of this thesis is to find out which explanations治 (which are democratization, 政 大 modernization and mobilization) in立 the literature better account for this variation. The research question proposed seems to have a clear puzzle as Belize and Mexico學 respects human right. A 國 deeper look into the question shows that Guatemala lacks cohesion and organizational unity that ‧ prevent the vast majority of indigenous‧ people from improving their human rights. I present here N a y three case studies, including two cases of successful mobilization (The t case of the Maya Leaders t i io s Alliance in Belize, The Case of then Zapotecas in Mexico) and one caser of unsuccessful political a e l i v mobilization (The case of Guatemala National C Revolutionary Unit)n in hope of shedding light to hengchi U the indigenous human rights situation in each country and making it clear which theory has a greater influence on human rights amongst the three countries. Key words: Political Mobilization, Human Rights, Latin America, Indigenous People i DOI:10.6814/NCCU202100255 ( - ( :( (),- -治 政 大 (立 - 學 國 ‧ ‧ N a y t t i i s o r n e a i v l C n hengchi U ii DOI:10.6814/NCCU202100255 Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................................. i List of Acronyms ............................................................................................................................ iv List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. vi List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ vii Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Research Motivation .............................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Belize, Mexico and Guatemala Comparison ......................................................................... 9 1.3 United Nations Declaration on human rights of indigenous people. ................................... 14 1.4 Human Right Protection Scores of Belize, Mexico and Guatemala .................................... 24 1.5 Research Question and My Argument ................................治 ................................................. 33 1.6 Research Method ................................政................................大 ................................................. 35 1.7 Organizations of Chapters ................................立 ................................................................... 36 Chapter 2: Literature Review ................................................................學 ........................................ 39 2.1 Explanations in literature國 and why they are not satisfying in explaining the variation in these three countries ................................................................................................................... 39 ‧ 2.2 Main Argument: Political Mobilization has a more immediate effect on indigenous human ‧ and political rights ................................N ..................................................................................... 45 a y 2.3 What is Human Rights and how can political mobilization improvet it? ............................. 48 t i i s 2.4 Conclusion ................................o ................................................................r ........................... 55 n e Chapter 3: Case Studies of Successfula Political Mobilization ................................i v ...................... 56 l C n 3.1.1 The Case of Mexico ................................heng................................chi U ...................................... 56 3.1.2 Zapatistas Uprising and Integration of NAFTA in Mexico, 1994-2010 ....................... 64 3.1.3 Rival Explanations: Democratization of Mexico .......................................................... 70 3.2.1 The Case of Belize ........................................................................................................ 74 3.2.2 Maya Leaders Alliance and the judiciary system, 1996-2015 ...................................... 77 3.2.3 Rival Explanations: Democratization of Belize ............................................................ 83 3.3.1 Rival Explanations: Modernization of Mexico and Belize ........................................... 87 3.3.2 Rival Explanations: Conclusion of Modernization in Belize and Mexico .................... 91 Chapter 4: Case Studies of Unsuccessful Political Mobilization .................................................. 94 4.1 The case of Guatemala ..................................................................................................... 94 4.2 Civil War Impact on Indigenous People and the URNG, 1960-1996 .............................. 97 4.3 The Legacy of the Civil War in Modern Day Guatemala, 1996-2008 ........................... 100 iii DOI:10.6814/NCCU202100255 4.4 Understanding the 1999 Referendum of Guatemala ...................................................... 104 4.5 Rival Explanations: Democratization of Guatemala ...................................................... 108 4.6 Rival Explanations: Conclusion of Modernization Guatemala ...................................... 112 Chapter 5: Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 115 5.1 Comparison of Case Studies and Regime Types ........................................................... 115 5.2 Policy Implications ......................................................................................................... 123 5.3 Concluding with Mobilization ....................................................................................... 124 References ................................................................................................................................... 129 List of Acronyms 治 政 大 APPO Popular Assembly of立 the Peoples of Oaxaca ASC The Civil Society Assembly 學 CACIF Chamber of Agricultural,國 Commercial, Industrial, and Financial Associations CIA Central Intelligence Agency ‧ ‧ CP Consulta PopularN a y t CEH Guatemalaʼs Commissiont on Historical Clarification i io s EZLN Zapatista Army of National Liberation r n e a i v FLN Fuerzas de Liberaciónl NacionalC n he i U GOB Government of Belize ngch IACHR Inter-American Commission on Human Rights IAHRS Inter-American Human Rights System ICCPR Committee of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights IPU Inter-Parliamentary Union MLA Maya Leader Alliance NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement OAS Organization of American States PUP Peoples United Party iv DOI:10.6814/NCCU202100255 PRD Democratic Revolutionary Party PRI Institutional Revolutionary Party PAN National Action Party PLM The Partido Liberal Mexicano TAA Toledo Alcaldeʼs Association TMCC The Toledo Maya Cultural Council TMWC Toledo Maya Women’s Council UPR Universal Periodic Report UNDRIP United Nations Declaration on the Rights治 of Indigenous Peoples 政 大 UNDP United Nation Development立 Programme UNDP United Nations Development Fund 學 UDP United Democratic國 Party UFCO United Fruit Company ‧ URNG Guatemala National‧ Revolutionary Unit N a y t t i i s o r n e a i v l C n hengchi U v DOI:10.6814/NCCU202100255 List of Figures Figure 1.1 Degree of Human Rights in Mesoamerican Countries Figure 1.2 Degree of Human Right Violations in Mesoamerican Countries Figure 3.1 Degree of HDI in Mesoamerican Countries Figure 3.2 Degree of GDP in Mesoamerican Countries Figure 3.3 Degree of FIW in Mesoamerican Countries 治 政 大 立 學 國 ‧ ‧ N a y t t i i s o r n e a i v l C n hengchi U vi DOI:10.6814/NCCU202100255 List of Tables Table 1 Comparison of Indigenous land, political and civil rights Table 2 Comparison of Indigenous Population Table 3 Similarities of the three Countries Table 4 Comparison of Case Studies and Regime Type 治 政 大 立 學 國 ‧ ‧ N a y t t i i s o r n e a i v l C n hengchi U vii DOI:10.6814/NCCU202100255 Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Research Motivation In Latin America, indigenous people are considered weak compared to other ethnic groups, such as the dominant “White Hispanics.” Paredes (2008) states that by looking at the situation in Peru and Ecuador, indigenous people perceives to be secluded from political inclusiveness, in addition to continuous and profound inequalities amongst indigenous and non- indigenous