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She told us that contrary to what the Maya have asserted to the press, not all the delays are the fault of the Government. She told us that there have been delays with the steps that the Maya need to take to move the implementation forward. Here's how she explained why these delays from the Maya has caused the process to stall in certain instances:

Lisel Alamilla - Chair, Maya Land Rights Commission
"There are steps that we have to take, and we're slowly and surely moving in protecting their Maya rights, and their lands. I keep saying every time that it's not something that happens overnight, but I think what is important is to recognize that in fact, we are going in the direction; we are engaging them, and they are part of the process."

Reporter
"Okay, so you have the appointment of the authority, and the alternative dispute resolution. What's the next step in the implementation that you see in the next coming weeks or months?"

Lisel Alamilla
"We have an agreement. We call it the December 2018 Agreement that outlines what each party is going to be doing, what each of our respective roles and responsibilities is. And one of the things that we are working on is the free prior and informed consent, which is something that is said over and over. Just for everyone to understand, there is not a recipe that is given globally to say this is how free prior and informed consent should look in each country. Each country develops its own free prior and inform consent-based one what the cultural norms are in those communities, what their traditions and governance structures are. And so, we have used the Maya's consultation framework as a resource document in helping us to develop our free, prior and informed consent as it relates to the Maya of Toledo."

"We have that draft, we gave it to the Maya, and we're still waiting for their feedback. They have explained to the court that their process is lengthy and slow. So, I think its both sides of the coin that when things are slow, it's not always that the Government is slow in responding. In many instances, because they're dealing with 40 villages, and because of the geographical area, it is costly and time-consuming to do the proper consultation that is required for them to do."

"The Maya say that Maya customary land rights exist in the Toledo District, that's what the consent order [says]. Where exactly do these lands exist? What lands are you talking about? You have to be specific because it is not only the Maya who live in Toledo. And the government has a responsibility to other ethnic groups, to ensure that in recognizing the rights of the Maya, they are not, in fact, infringing on the rights of other people who make Toledo home."