And while we'll wait to see what happens in Big Falls on Sunday, Marshalleck pointed out that there is also internal
politics among the villages that are also causing delays. One such internal struggle is in Indian Creek.
On Tuesday, we told you about a protest in Indian Creek where the villagers rallied against the alcalde. According to the
chairman, the alcalde was voted out, but refuses to demit office.
Today the minister spoke more about it.
Dolores Balderamos Garcia, Minister of Indigenous Peoples Affairs
"In early November, a sizable amount of the village got together and said, we don't want you anymore, Mr Alcalde, because
you are not representing our interests, you are trying to take decisions without consulting us, and they dumped him and de
facto, they dumped, it was like an ouster, they dumped him, brought in a new alcalde, and now we have a situation where the
legal counsel for the MLA grouping, Ms Mendez, has written to the attorney general saying, well, if this isn't reversed,
we're going to take court action and actually I can tell you that I spoke with the attorney general and he was saying that
perhaps a legal challenge might be welcomed because it really has to do with roles, with responsibilities, whether those
have been defined, and whether the role of the alcalde is something that we can define in law and it would be good to have
a court pronouncement on it. But really de facto what happened, they ousted the ex alcalde, now the ex alcalde, and they
have a new one and there's some stuff going on there in terms of the roles."
Andrew Marshalleck, Lead Government Attorney
"The rub is that there is a disconnect between the formal system and the customary one and that divide will have to be
bridged because when the attorney general is asked to give legal advice, he gives legal advice on the law that exists and
the alcalde jurisdiction is formally appointed by the attorney general and has the powers of a magistrate. There is such a
person and there is such a formal designation. Now, historically and customarily, there's also an alcalde in the village and
there was an attempt to merge the two, but as you see, they don't neatly overlap, and then you have problems, and these
kinds of problems also have to be addressed as part of the Maya Land Policy because the village is going to hold title to
these lands and the village has to be able to make certain decisions in relation to the land and how its used."
According to spokesperson for MLA, Cristina Coc, the matter is now before the court and a judicial review will determine
if the AG has the authority to remove and appoint alcaldes.
Email
Print