Abstract

This article is about the changes affecting the leadership system of the indigenous communities of Guatemala in the wake of the peace process. My purpose is to show the transformations of the logics of authority and prestige, along with the idea of community, as a consequence of the development politics of neoliberal democracy. The analysis draws on two ethnographic cases addressing the political life of Todos Santos Cuchumatán, a Maya-Mam municipality. In first place, I show the complex process of election of a major candidate. It emerges from distinct levels of patronage negotiations: from the domain of national politics to the logics of power of the rural communities in the municipal territory. In second place, I refer to an alternative path to leadership: the foundation of a community radio by a young returned migrant. These cases bring to surface the difficult task of indigenous leaders. They are committed to the maintenance of the fragile balance between change and conservation, giving a dynamic shape to the communal order of the community.