US embassy cable - 03GUATEMALA1015

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 001015 
 
SIPDIS 
 
HARARE FOR BRUCE WHARTON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, PREL, EAID, GT 
SUBJECT: LOS CIMIENTOS: A PORTILLO PRESS SPECTACLE AND NEW 
CHALLENGES 
 
REF: 02 GUATEMALA 2785 
 
1. (U) Summary: On April 8, HROff and EconOff attended 
President Portillo's inauguration of a primary school at the 
new site of the Los Cimientos Community in San Vincente, 
Siquinala, Escuintla.  After the flashy Presidential press 
opportunity, HROff and EconOff visited the community's 
temporary settlement and learned about the efforts of NGOs 
and community members to rebuild the lives of the 233 Los 
Cimientos families relocated after the bloody land conflict 
in the Quiche (Reftel).  End Summary. 
 
2. (U) On April 8, HROff and EconOff visited Escuintla 
province to witness Portillo's inauguration of a primary 
school for the recently relocated group of Quiche families 
from the Los Cimientos land dispute in the Ixil triangle. 
The school, which is a half hour's drive away from where the 
Los Cimientos community is living, is a four-room concrete 
block structure complete with a small library of Latin 
American literature classics in Spanish.  Unfortunately, only 
a small fraction of the children (or adults) of the community 
actually speak Spanish and even fewer are able to read. 
 
3. (U) Before the President's arrival, EmbOffs toured the 
school and congratulated community leaders and government 
representatives on both their new land and new school.  The 
Director of the President's Commission on Human Rights 
(COPREDEH), Dr. Juan Fuentes Soria, thanked us for coming and 
said that he hoped this event would be included in our 2003 
Human Rights Report, having recently been disappointed by the 
lukewarm coverage his institution received in the 2002 report. 
 
4. (U) The ribbon cutting ceremony was attended both by 
members of the Los Cimientos community and double their 
number of patriotic schoolchildren bussed in from neighboring 
towns in Escuintla.  These clean, well-kempt children in 
matching white shirts and royal blue shorts, waving 
Guatemalan flags and performing FRG chants, presented a 
glaring contrast to the malnourished, unwashed Los Cimientos 
children dressed in indigenous Mayan clothing, who appeared 
more amused than interested in the event at hand. 
 
5. (U) During Portillo's speech, he thanked AmCit Francia Ala 
for her dedication to resolving the Los Cimientos case, as 
well as the Embassy for our support of land conflict 
settlement.  Portillo mentioned that this school would 
represent a pilot program for what he called "decentralized 
schools," in which communities will be responsible for their 
own teachers and curriculum.  Portillo also thanked the press 
for attending such a milestone event, and pledged to come 
back to San Vicente in one month to break ground on a housing 
project. 
 
6. (U) After the ceremony, Ala took EmbOffs to see the 
abandoned sugar plantation servants' quarters that the Los 
Cimientos community is currently using for housing on their 
newly-acquired land, as well as the first crops that the 
community is beginning to cultivate.  Ala showed us the many 
children who were suffering from various diseases due to the 
new pests and climate to which they must grow accustomed. 
Ala also spoke of bright spots, such as the involvement of 
many volunteers from the US and Europe, who were trying to 
help organize horticulture and medical projects.  Community 
members all agreed that they will be much better off once the 
GOG complies with the rest of their agreement, which is to 
provide housing on the land near the newly-built school. 
 
7. (U) COMMENT: While it is encouraging to see the GOG 
provide some semblance of a resolution to a century-old land 
conflict, the new challenges which the Los Cimientos 
community faces are great.  Whether the Portillo 
administration will come through on its promise to provide 
housing to the impoverished community or whether this was 
just another chance for Portillo to appear out in the country 
doing public works during an election year remains to be 
seen.  We will continue to follow the case with interest and 
help to remind the GOG of their public promises to the Los 
Cimientos community.  End Comment. 
HAMILTON