Educational Background:
University of San Carlos of Guatemala.
Bachelor Degree in International Relations.
Thesis Work: “The impact of Globalization on the construction of Mayan Identity” (2002)
Master"s of Indigenous Studies Thesis Title:
The Unfinished Mission: The History of the ILO Convention 169 Concerning Indigenous Peoples in Guatemala”
Thesis Topic/Question:
How important is it for indigenous peoples to obtain representation channels towards the State during this period of globalization?
How can the tribunals offered by the International Labor Organization’s Monitoring System work as a channel of representation for the indigenous peoples of Guatemala?
The thesis is co-funded by the research project entitled “The Challenge of Indigenousness: Politics of Rights, Resources and Knowledge” at the Centre for Sámi Studies, University of Tromsø, financed by the Norwegian Research Council
Motivations for applying to the MIS program:
The feasibility of finding studies related to indigenous peoples from a multidisciplinary perspective are limited in Latin America and are often confused with anthropological research. My field of studies is international relations and the Sámi people in Norway have extensive experience in the field of international relations.
In addition, the University of Tromsø has an agreement with my home university; the relationships I have with researchers from Tromsø started before the Masters program began.
Personally, I chose issues relevant to indigenous peoples because in my country half of the population is indigenous. Unfortunately, the State still acts as a mono-ethnic institution where indigenous issues are slowly moving from the political margin to the center.
I hope I can promote the interests and issues relevant to the indigenous peoples of Guatemala and make the non-indigenous peoples realize how important it is, as citizens of a young democracy, to promote tolerance and consensus among the entire population.
