Winaq

Winaq is a left-wing political party in Guatemala whose most notable member is Rigoberta Menchú, who is ethnically Kʼicheʼ. Its name comes from the Kʼicheʼean word for "people" or "humanity", "winaq". It is a party whose roots are in the indigenous communities of Guatemala.[4][1]

Winaq
People
FoundedFebruary 2007
Legalised2008[1]
Split fromNew Nation Alternative[2]
Headquarters10 calle 6-81 Zona 1, Ciudad de Guatemala
Ideology
Political positionLeft-wing[3]
Regional affiliationSão Paulo Forum
ColorsRed
Congress
4 / 160

Ideology

According to the party's website,

The "WINAQ Political Movement" party is constituted from the plurality and vision of Guatemalans. It takes up the philosophy of "power of the people" in order to transform the political regime into a democracy that corresponds to the reality of the individuals, communities and peoples that coexist in the country. The fundamental purpose of which is to transform the State and society to an ethical, inclusive, participatory and multicultural perspective, based on human rights and the rights of indigenous peoples.

WINAQ means integral human being; it is the complete human being. It defines women and men in the deepest and most integral dimension. The Person is part of the cosmos, of nature and of society, whose quality is to be the subject who feels, thinks, expresses and acts. It is the expression of Mayan men and women, Ladino-Mestizo, Garífuna and Xinka whose mission is to change an unjust, racist, lack of opportunities and perverse reality to an equitable situation, full of opportunities, without exclusion or marginalization.

WINAQ is evangelical, Catholic, charismatic, Mayan spirituality. Everyone has the right to practice his religion or belief and the respect due to the dignity of the hierarchy and the faithful of other faiths existing in Guatemala.[5]

In a working paper of a seminar organised by FLACSO Guatemala and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation written in 2007, it was concluded that Winaq had an ambiguous ideology, trying to combine adversarial interest.[6] Later, after committing to an alliance with other left-wing parties, the party developed a more pronounced left-wing perspective with eco-socialist leanings.[3][7]

History

Formation and early results

In the 2007 general elections, Winaq's pro-formation committee participated with the Encuentro por Guatemala party, nominating Rigoberta Menchú as presidential candidate. The alliance came in seventh place in the presidential elections. The alliance fared slightly better at the legislative elections gathering 6.18% of the national vote and 4 seats. In 2008 the party finally secured enough affiliates to register as a legal party, which was heralded by the Guatemala Times, as “one of the most important steps ever achieved by a Mayan political leader in Guatemala.” [1]

Entering the Broad Front of the Left coalition

In the 2011 general elections, the Guatemalan left created an alliance called Frente Amplio, made up of the political parties Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG-MAIZ), Alternativa Nueva Nación (ANN), Winaq and the pro-formation committee of the Movimiento Nueva República (MNR). Rigoberta Menchú was unanimously proclaimed as presidential candidate and Anibal García as vice presidential candidate. They obtained around 3% of the vote. The party sat in opposition to the Molina government and played a leading role in his eventual resignation, when Congressman Amilcar Pop brought up a lawsuit against Molina on 24 April 2015.[8] In return the Congressman received multiple death threats for his anti-corruption work in the legislature.[8]

The coalition was maintained for the elections in 2015 wherein the party ran with Miguel Ángel Sandoval and Mario Ellintong as president and vice-president respectively, receiving about 2% of the vote. In the congressional elections the alliance actually gained votes and gathered 4.36% of the national vote, yet lost 3 mandates in the Congress.

Coalition split

Ahead of the 2019 elections the alliance split up, forcing the party to run on its own. Even so the party was able to muster 3.51% of the vote, granting it 4 seats in the chamber. Its presidential ticket with Manuel Villacorta as head and Izabel Hernández as vice-president reached their best result in party history, coming sixth with 5.27% of the vote. During his presidential campaign Villacorta focused on corruption, the fight against poverty through wealth redistribution and infrastructure development.[9] After the elections the party largely opposed the government of Giammattei and supported the mining protests occurring in El Estor since October 2021.[7]

Restored left-wing alliance

On 7 June 2022 party leadership released a statement, concurring with Sandoval's appeal for a new coalition of left-wing forces that can challenge the current governing forces.[10] Since the current electoral law favours smaller parties, it has not yet been decided what form this new alliance will take.[11]

Election results

Congress of the Republic
Election Votes  % Seats +/– Status
2007 194,809 6.18 (#5) [lower-alpha 1]
4 / 158
 4 Opposition
2011 143,238 3.27 (#7) [lower-alpha 2]
4 / 158
 0 Opposition
2015 198,715 4.36 (#9) [lower-alpha 2]
1 / 158
 3 Opposition
2019 141,252 3.51 (#12)
4 / 160
 3 Opposition

President of the Republic of Guatemala
Election Candidates First round Second round Status
President Vice President Votes  % Votes  %
2007 Rigoberta Menchú Luis Fernando Montenegro 100,365 3.06 (#7) [lower-alpha 1] — — Lost
2011 Rigoberta Menchú Aníbal García 145,080 3.26 (#6) [lower-alpha 2] — — Lost
2015 Miguel Ángel Sandoval Mario Ellintong 101,347 2.11 (#11) [lower-alpha 2] — — Lost
2019 Manuel Villacorta Izabel Hernández 229,362 5.24 (#7) — — Lost

Notes
  1. In alliance with Encuentro por Guatemala.
  2. Part of the Broad Front of the Left.

References
  1. "Guatemala's Neglected Story: Continued Disregard for Indigenous Autonomy". Council on Hemispheric Affairs. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  2. "Las "izquierdas" en Guatemala: juntos pero no revueltos". 20 October 2022.
  3. "Guatemala | Elecciones 2011" (PDF). Rosa Luxemburg Foundation (in Spanish). 2011.
  4. ""Si Guatemala no está preparada para tener un presidente mujer e indígena tendrá que estarlo"". El País. May 10, 2009 – via elpais.com.
  5. http://www.winaqgt.org/?page_id=1902
  6. "Movimiento Winaq, la controversia: ni a la izquierda ni a la derecha" (PDF) (in Spanish). FLACSO Guatemala and Friedrich Ebert Foundation. June 2007. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  7. Austen, Thorben (26 October 2021). "Proteste gegen Nickelmine in Guatemala: Polizeigewalt und Ausnahmezustand in El Estor". amerika21 (in German). Mondial21 e. V. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  8. Lopez-Escobar, Lisa (18 June 2015). "COHA Expresses Grave Concern: Death Threats to Guatemalan Congressman Amílcar de Jesús Pop". Council on Hemispheric Affairs. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  9. "Manuel Villacorta ofrece "limpiar" el Ejército y combate a la pobreza". Prensa Libre (in Spanish). 29 March 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  10. "Partido Winaq llama a alianzas para elecciones 2023 en Guatemala". Prensa Latina (in Spanish). 7 June 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  11. "El tablero electoral se configura con impunidad y una clara ventaja para el oficialismo" (in Spanish). Prensa Comunitaria. 22 August 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.


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