La (re)construcción de la autonomía de un pueblo: identidad maya ch’orti’ y defensa del territorio

This article gives an account of the efforts, challenges and achievements of the Mayan Ch’orti’ people in defending and promoting their autonomy, identity and territory. The project arises from the need of the Ch’orti’ communities, located in four departments in Guatemala and Honduras, to overcome the boundaries imposed to defend against the effects of climate change, extractive projects, racism and exclusion. In decolonial terms, the Ch’orti’ people are building their autonomy to regain an institutionality from which to systemize and promote their traditional ecological knowledge. A reunion of their own organizational, productive, spiritual and justice practices, upset for centuries by the colonial and extractive project.