VZCZCXYZ0013
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHGT #0740 1071902
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 171902Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY GUATEMALA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2444
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 4159
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHMFIUU/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 000740 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV ECON SOCI KDEM PHUM EAID SNAR GT
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE RIGOBERTA MENCHU BREAKING 
NEW GROUND FOR GUATEMALA'S INDIGENOUS 
 
REF: A. GUATEMALA 696 
 
     ¶B. GUATEMALA 653 
     ¶C. GUATEMALA 384 
 
This is sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect 
accordingly. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  The Ambassador met on April 16 with 
indigenous presidential candidate and Nobel Peace Prize 
winner Rigoberta Menchu.  Menchu stressed that her election 
campaign will address not only the concerns of indigenous 
organizations but will focus on the broader challenges 
confronting Guatemala -- public insecurity, corruption, and 
organized crime.  She reiterated several times that her 
candidacy in this year's elections was an important step for 
building a more "inclusive" Guatemala by drawing more women 
and indigenous into the political process.  End summary. 
 
 
¶2. (SBU) During the Ambassador's April 16 lunch at the home 
of Nobel laureate and Guatemala's first indigenous female 
presidential candidate Rigoberta Menchu, Menchu spoke 
candidly about her candidacy, its significance, and prospects 
for the future of her country and the indigenous population. 
Also attending the lunch were her husband, Angel Canil, and 
Mario Polanco, director of human rights NGO Grupo Apoyo Mutuo 
(GAM), who is supporting the Menchu campaign and its alliance 
with his wife, Congresswoman Nineth Montenegro, and her new 
party, "Encounter for Guatemala" (EG).  Like other 
candidates, Menchu highlighted public insecurity as one of 
her top concerns, noting the prevalence of gangs and crimes 
and urging international support to address the growing 
problem.  She agreed with the Ambassador that private 
security guards are not the answer to Guatemala's crime 
problem and advocated for the purging and reform of the 
police, including a highly selective mechanism to recruit new 
police officers, to improve security. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Menchu noted that candidates' security is a key 
concern in this year's elections but that none of the 
candidates in the first round are provided security by the 
State.  She expressed concern over the heavy influence of 
narcotrafficking in the elections (ref A) and emphasized the 
importance of transparency of campaign finance, especially 
for public figures.  Polanco noted that Menchu's movement, 
Winaq, was virtually penniless and relied almost exclusively 
on in-kind donations from campaign supporters. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Regarding her relationship with the current 
administration, she indicated she had parted with the Berger 
Administration on good terms, and praised Berger for naming 
her a goodwill ambassador and giving her the space to 
successfully represent the concerns of the indigenous people. 
 With regard to her relationship with the Guatemalan 
community in the U.S., Menchu noted that she has a very good 
relationship with the communities in Los Angeles and Florida 
and that she will be attending a meeting in New York City of 
Nobel Peace laureates in September. 
 
¶5. (SBU) When asked if she might run again in the 2011 
presidential elections, she claimed that she intended to win 
this year's election, in which case she would not be eligible 
to run in 2011.  She indicated that she was very content with 
her candidacy in this year's elections and that it was a 
"great honor" to have been asked to run as EG's candidate. 
She viewed her candidacy as breaking new ground for the 
indigenous, raising the level of respect and dignity, and 
promoting greater opportunities for women, with the aim of 
creating a more pluralistic, participatory society.  She 
acknowledged that while her priority has been addressing 
societal problems she needed to reach out to the private 
sector business community to also address economic 
development. 
Derham