VZCZCXRO7675
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DE RUEHTG #0662/01 1971933
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R 151933Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY TEGUCIGALPA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8434
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RUMIAAA/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL//CINC/POLAD//
RUEAHND/CDRJTFB SOTO CANO HO
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP WASHINGTON DC 0766

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 000662 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
WHA/PPC FOR J BEN-YAHUDA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREL KDEM SOCI HO
SUBJECT: HONDURAS' CHORTI INDIANS TAKE OVER COPAN 
ARCHEOLOGICAL SITE 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: June 22 at 2:00 a.m., 3,000 Indians from the 
Maya Chorti tribe took over the archeological ruins of Copan 
demanding that promises made to the tribe by previous 
governments, including lands and bilingual education, be 
fulfilled.  After two days of negotiations with both local 
and national officials, the Chortis left the tourist 
attraction on June 24, with the promise of future meetings 
with the Minister of Education and the head of the National 
Agrarian Institute.  This problem has been festering since 
1997, when then-President Carlos Roberto Reina made extensive 
promises to the tribe that have never been kept.  Rising food 
prices and cost of living have exacerbated the Chortis' dire 
living situation to the point of desperation, and compelled 
them to decide to take the drastic step of forcefully taking 
over the archeological site. End summary. 
 
Background 
---------- 
¶2. (U) The Maya Chorti Indian tribe is the closest living 
descendent of the Mayans who built Copan, Tikal and other 
famous archeological sites.  The Chortis have their own 
written and spoken language and the majority of this tribe 
lives in Guatemala.  There are 52 Chorti communities in the 
Department of Copan and 32 communities in the Department of 
Ocotepeque, for an estimated total of 60,000 members.  The 
Chortis live in extreme poverty, with a 60 per cent 
illiteracy rate.  Title to the land is held as community 
property, but most Chortis in Copan have very little acreage 
and most live on private lands they work for the landowners. 
In 1997, after large public protests, then-President Carlos 
Roberto Reina promised the Chortis that the government would 
purchase 14,700 hectares for them.  In 2005, during the 
administration of President Ricardo Maduro, the Chortis took 
over the archeological site for the first time.  Maduro 
promised 45 million lempiras (approximately USD 2.4 million) 
for the purchase of about 3,000 hectares, which was 
eventually completed.  Maduro fulfilled his promise, but it 
fell far short of the original pledge by Reina. 
 
Problem with Lands 
------------------ 
¶3. (SBU) PolCouns met with Chorti leaders, including those 
who orchestrated the takeover of Copan, to learn about the 
current realities facing this tribe.  The leaders took 
PolCouns to the community of Aldea Nueva Estanzuela, where 
ten families comprised of 52 individuals currently live.  In 
1991, these Indians were invited to live and work on this 
land, and when the owner decided to sell, they began 
negotiations with the government to purchase 3.75 hectares 
for the ten families.  The negotiations fell through and the 
owner sold (for a higher price) to an individual who wants 
the Chortis evicted.  This example is representative of what 
has occurred in other communities -- even if the Chortis have 
funds and the government is willing to buy the lands for 
them, the owner is often not willing to sell. 
 
Bilingual Education 
------------------- 
¶4.  (U) In the late 1990's, Chorti leaders were seeing that 
the Chorti language was being lost -- only the older Indians 
spoke the language, and no one could read or write the 
language.  So a concerted effort was made to recuperate this 
part of the Chorti culture, and instructors were brought from 
Guatemala to train a core group of volunteers.  The first 
group of eight began its studies in 1999, and they have now 
taught an additional 24 individuals to read and write this 
almost-extinct language.  The leadership would now like to 
send these teachers to the 84 communities to teach the young 
people the Chorti language, but the government has no funding 
available.  The teachers now volunteer their time at night 
and on weekends, but this resource is not being utilized. 
The schools in the Chorti communities are all staffed with 
non-Chorti employees who do not understand the language or 
the culture of the tribe.  For these reasons the leadership 
is demanding not only a regular literacy campaign, but also 
funding to support bilingual education.  They also want to 
have a say in teacher assignments and transfers, and are 
requesting scholarships for gifted Chorti students. 
 
Other demands 
------------- 
¶5.  (SBU) In addition to lands and education, the Chorti 
tribe is also demanding improved health and sanitation, and 
 
TEGUCIGALP 00000662  002 OF 002 
 
 
water and electricity to be brought to all of the 
communities.  Per Copan Ruinas Mayor Lizandro Mauricio Arias 
Aquino, all of the poor in the area want these same things. 
Arias said that many of these requests have been met and the 
municipality will continue to keep the Chorti requests under 
consideration.  The Chortis also asked for a percentage of 
the daily income from the Copan archeological site, although 
this seems to be more of a bargaining chip than a solid 
demand. 
 
Taking over the Archeological Site, Again 
------------------------ 
¶6. (U) As the cost of living rises and jobs get harder to 
find, the problems in these poor communities began to come to 
a head.  This, coupled with the evictions that are being 
threatened in two Copan Chorti Communities (Aldea Nueva 
Estanzuela and Rio Amarillo) made the leadership decide to 
take drastic action.  At 2:00 a.m. on June 22, almost 3,000 
Chorti Indians took over the road and the parking lot for the 
Copan Archeological site, blocking access to the 
approximately 400 tourists a day, who each spend an average 
of USD15.  They held negotiations with local officials (Arias 
and business representatives form the Chamber of Commerce) 
and also with national figures.  On June 24th, they agreed to 
leave the site peacefully, with the promise of a meeting with 
the National Agrarian Institute (INA) and the Minister of 
Education. 
 
¶7. (U) On July 1, the Chorti leaders met with the INA 
Director Francisco Funes, who promised to give them 10 
million lempiras (approximately USD 600,000) within 30 days 
and another 10 million lempiras in 90 days.  (Note: We 
believe they are at least trying to make good on this promise 
as during the visit to Aldea Nueva Estanzuela, PolCouns 
greeted an INA rep who was at the community to evaluate the 
value of the disputed lands and try to assist in the 
negotiations with the land owner. End note.) 
 
¶8. (U) On July 7, the Chorti leaders met with a commission 
set up by the Minister of Education, although the Minister 
did not participate.  The commission signed a pledge to 
provide teaching positions to Chorti teachers, give 30 
scholarships to gifted Chorti students, train Chortis to work 
at the Copan archeological site, and consult with the 
community on issues of hiring and transfers of teachers. 
 
Comment 
------- 
¶9. (SBU) As the fourth poorest country in the hemisphere, the 
problems facing the Chorti Indians are the same problems 
faced by much of the general population.  Unfortunately, big 
promises have been made during political campaigns or in 
response to previous protests, which have not been kept.  The 
Chortis are an interesting group because they have learned 
how to organize their community and make their demands known. 
 There are nine tribes in Honduras, with the Garifuna being 
the most organized, and the Chortis arguably the second most 
organized.  The Chortis even complained that the nine tribes 
used to go to the government together to advocate for their 
issues, but when the Garifunas learned how to use the 
international court system for their own benefit, they left 
the other eight tribes behind.  With the help and advice of 
international NGO's the Chortis have organized the National 
Council of Indigenous Maya Chorti of Honduras (CONIMICHH), 
which is headquartered in Copan Ruinas town.  It houses an 
advocacy office, a computer learning center, and offers 
office and meeting spaces for the community.  As the 
descendants of the Maya who built Copan, the Chortis have 
been smart to play on this link and lend legitimacy to their 
takeovers of the archeological site.  Each time the site is 
taken over, the area suffers financial hardship, and the 
reputation of Honduras is tarnished, so the GOH knows it has 
to work with this group and keep them happy.  But as the 
promises made are often unreasonable, and the economic 
situation of the whole country continues to decline, we can 
expect to see more Chorti protests in the future. End 
comment. 
FORD