Electoral Committee for Mayor’s Office

San Miguel Ixtahuacan, San Marcos, Guatemala

As stipulated in Article no. 97 of the Electoral and Political Parties Law, the CCM (Comite Civico Miguelense) Electoral Committee, declares its intention to participate in the General Election on September 11, 2011 and to nominate candidates to sit on the Municipal Council of the Municipality of San Miguel Ixtahuacán, as per the call for candidates from the Supreme Electoral Court.

BACKGROUND

We duly declare the basic platform of the Committee as follows:

We adhere to our principles which we describe as civil, political, democratic, pluralistic and intercultural, with wide-spread citizen participation;

We maintain the struggle for respect for the Rule of Law and participation of those who are excluded from the general benefits of society;

We advocate for a social policy whose priorities are education, health, development, economic development and dignity for citizens, allowing the common good to become a reality;

We oppose alienating consumerism;

We stand for a more human society and the defense of autonomy and territory.

We have adopted the following principles: pluralism, equality, tolerance, inter-cultural unity, participatory democracy, solidarity, willingness to serve, honesty, integrity and transparency.

We will identify appropriate ways to ensure that these principles are upheld and that we comply with other activities stipulated by Article 109 of the Electoral and Political Parties Law.

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF OUR MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT PLAN

1. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

• Strengthen the participation of citizens in COCODES and COMUDE, throughout the municipality, to ensure their activities are transparent;

• Promote free consent in decision-making;

• Strengthen the role and responsibilities of community councils in their communities and their municipality;

• Establish a women’s network at the municipal level, to ensure equal participation and create opportunities for managing specific projects for women. This would include civil participation and involvement in integral development as dwell as the creation of a Municipal Women’s Office;

• Set up a youth network on the municipal level to support primary and secondary levels of education, including university studies, supported by the municipality (scholarships);

• Strengthen citizen security systems from within the communities providing them with institutional support from the municipality, in co-ordination with the justice system.

2. HEATH SYSTEM

• Support health services in communities — heath posts and basic units offering free medication;

• Train and equip volunteer health promoters and midwives;

• Support the operations of the permanent health care centre;

• Carry out studies of the health of people living near the mine;

• Oversee equipping of heath centres and provision of medications.

3. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

• Provide technical advice to community farmers on how to grow crops, such as coffee, fruit trees, vegetables, basic grains, etc, and how to raise domestic animals;

• Set up and repair irrigation systems for existing crops in high potential communities;

• Strongly encourage ecological agriculture, in the interest of protecting natural resources;

4. BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIRED

• Construction to provide: drinking water, classrooms, meeting halls, community municipal buildings, health centres, bridges, road maintenance, community kitchens, communal kitchens, sports fields, municipal allotments, latrines and new building lots. (Using funds provided by constitutional allowances, the Development Councils, State institutions, the municipality itself and international cooperation.)

5. CONSERVATION AND PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

• Provide organic and inorganic garbage collection in chosen sites to prevent pollution of water sources and the air by local inhabitants;

• Establish a reforestation programme for the river watersheds in the municipality, to protect the soil, water and oxygen for the local inhabitants;

• carry out scientific studies that demonstrate pollution of the air, soil and water by the mining industry in the municipality;

• Set up an environmental education programme to provide information to the community on climate change.

6. STRENGTHENING EDUCATION

• Co-ordinate with education officials to strengthen primary, secondary and post-secondary education at the municipal level;

• Set up an education programme for parents, teachers and students at the municipal level;

• De-politicize the administration of education at the municipal level;

• Equip classrooms at the different educational levels with desks, blackboards, filing systems, etc;

CCM SLATE OF CANDIDATES FOR MUNICIPAL COUNCIL, 2012-2016

Aniseto Herculano López Díaz: Alcalde Municipal (from the Aldea Subchal)

Osbelí Froilán González, 1st Concejal (Aldea Chilive)

Gilberto Cesario Bravo Mejía, 2nd Concejal (Aldea La Patria)

Gregoria Crisanta Pérez Bámaca, 3rd Concejal (Aldea Agel

Santos Rodemiro Hernández Mejía, 4th Concejal (Centro San Miguel)

Tomás Mauricio Domingo Domingo, 5th Concejal (Caserío El Pito)

Juan Pascual Mejía García, 1st Concejal suplente (Aldea La Florida)

Víctor Francisco Hernández Mejía, 2nd Concejal suplente (Caserío Shanshegual)

Miguel Ángel Bámaca Mejía, 1st Síndico (Aldea San José Ixcaniche)

Pedro Roberto Bámaca Ajpop, 2nd Sindico (Caserío Zatla)

Luciano Eladio Díaz Juárez, Sindico suplente (Aldea Las Escoba)

For: Truth, Transparency and Justice

Vote for the CCM – Comité Cívico Miguelense

MORE INFORMATION: Aniseto Herculano López Díaz, anisetolopezd [at] yahoo [dot] es

(Translated for Rights Action by Rosalind Gill)

Rights Action Commentary: This independent civic committee was founded by Mayan Mam people from a number of communities in and around Goldcorp’s harmful mine. They have come together to try and win municipal elections and then occupy the mayor’s office, putting them in a better position to deal with a range of issues in San Miguel Ixtahuacan, including the environmental and health harms and other human rights violations caused by Goldcorp’s mine. A number of members of the CCM have suffered repression, over the past few years, for speaking out and denouncing the multiple harms and violations caused by the gold mine.