Lorenzo Muelas
Lorenzo Muelas Hurtado (born July 9, 1938) is a Guambiano activist and politician in Colombia. Muelas was one of the indigenous leaders who participated in the Constituent Assembly of Colombia in 1991. He was a member of the Senate of Colombia from 1994 to 1998.[1][2]
Biography[edit]
Muelas was born on July 9, 1938, in Silvia, Cauca, Colombia.[3] Muelas was elected to the Constituent Assembly of Colombia in 1991 and was a co-founder of the Consejo Regional Indígena del Cauca organization. He also co-founded the Indigenous Authorities of Colombia (AICO) political party.[4] According to a report by The New York Times, Muelas "escaped three assassination attempts since he left a local landowner's debt peonage system 35 years ago".[5]
In 1994, Muelas was elected to the Senate of Colombia with 270,000 votes in his favor, and served in the body until 1998.[6] In 2006, Muelas was elected Governor of Guambia, the highest position in his community.[7] Muelas is the author of La fuerza de la gente: juntado recuerdos sobre la terrajería en Guambía, Colombia, which chronicled his experience as an indigenous activist.[8] In a 2007 interview with Indian Country Today, Muelas criticized the United States over the Plan Colombia doctrine.[9]
References[edit]
- ^ Chavarro, Ángela Santamaría (March 30, 2012). "Lorenzo Muelas and Indigenous Constitutionalism "From Below": A Critical Perspective on the Constitutional Process of 1991" (PDF). Del Rosario University.
- ^ Semana (July 2, 2016). "Lorenzo Muelas regresó a la tierra". Semana.com Últimas Noticias de Colombia y el Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved June 27, 2022.
- ^ Tiempo, Casa Editorial El (November 5, 1990). "LORENZO MUELAS ARADO POLÍTICO". El Tiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved June 27, 2022.
- ^ "LA CONSTITUCIÓN DE 1991 Y LOS INDÍGENAS". Revista Credencial (in Spanish). October 24, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
- ^ Brooke, James (May 2, 1991). "Door Opens a Crack for Colombia's Indians". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
- ^ "Entrevista al dirigente indígena colombiano Lorenzo Muelas Hurtado". grain.org (in French). Retrieved June 27, 2022.
- ^ "El constituyente Lorenzo Muelas". Semana.com Últimas Noticias de Colombia y el Mundo (in Spanish). April 4, 2009. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
- ^ "La fuerza de la gente: juntando recuerdos sobre la terrajería en Guambía-Colombia". babel.banrepcultural.org. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
- ^ "'They are bombing us'". Indian Country Today. March 26, 2007. Retrieved June 27, 2022.