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Politics | 10 August, 2006 [ 09:12 ]

2 Congresswomen insist on speaking Quechua in Parliament

Two nationalistic congresswomen representing the department of Cusco, Maria Sumire and Hilaria Supa, announced in a press conference yesterday to speak only in their indigenous Quechua language during plenary sessions of Peru's Congress.  They requested a certified interpreter present at all sessions and sufficient installation of technical equipment.
Sumire and Supa, members of the oppositional 'Union por el Peru' alliance, caused problems while taking their congressional oath on July 26 after deciding to do it in native Quechua.

For a moment the situation at the press conference became somewhat embarrassing. Both delivered their message in their indigenous language while attending journalists understood nothing. After looking at the confused faces of his colleagues one journalist got up and said "Don't worry, I will translate for you”.

"We do not want to be excluded. This is an ongoing abuse, marginalization and discrimination of our people”, Sumire alleged.

Sumire and Supa base their request on Article 48 of Peru's Constitution which states: “Peru's official language is Castellano. In areas predominantly inhabited by indigenous citizens they are Quechua, native Aymaran and other languages, according to the law”.

“We are going to defend our cultural identity and the rights of our communities”, Sumire stated.

Supa added that “they think that Lima is the only city. The rest of the country also needs quality investment”.


tags : Peru politics Congress Quechua Cusco language

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8 Comments

# Christina Jaquez says :
10 August, 2006 [ 15:32 ]

Wonderful! This brought tears to my eyes, I am so proud of these two proud people for defending their right to express who they are. I am an indigenous woman from California, where we struggle to maintain our identity under a government which tried to eradicate us. I applaud these women. They are incredible role models for all indigenous people. I will be sharing this article with my students. Thank you!

# Wolfy says :
10 August, 2006 [ 17:42 ]

Canada's parliament is bilingual, so is Belgium, Switzerland (I think), and there are probably more I can't think of right now.
Peru's congress will soon look like the UN's General Assembly :)

# Luis Andrade says :
11 August, 2006 [ 14:17 ]

I am proud of this peruvian women, but at the same time worried for the lack of certification Quechua translators have to face here in Peru. With no official support for the development and education in indigenous languages, who would be responsible of certifying Quechua proficiency?

# Americo says :
15 August, 2006 [ 23:48 ]

Thank you to Dr.Maria Sumire. One of the Congresswomen defending the Inca's language (known as the indigenous language) which is the language of the majority of people in Peru. It's not just a matter of the language, but it's the culture above all that they are defending from a Congress that pretends to ignore them.
She speaks fluent Quechua and Spanish among others. She's a well known lawyer in Cusco and on behalf of her (She's my mom), I'd like to thank you for your comments above. aconde25@yahoo.com

# Dava says :
5 September, 2006 [ 15:12 ]

When I heard this, the spirit in me JUMPED!. I am a woman of African descent but I recognize and identify with were these two brave and self-loving women are coming from. Too long have the worlds' majority native/people of color been psychologically abused and politically castrated. ENOUGH!

I pray for the continued strength and support of these remarkable women. I send you my sisters all the love and hope that is in me.

# Wolfy says :
28 September, 2006 [ 17:27 ]

not to shatter anyone's hopes but....

I just saw Maria Sumire speaking in Peru's Congress. In perfect Spanish.

# Americo says :
30 September, 2006 [ 05:56 ]

Yes, of course Dr. Maria Sumire speaks fluent Spanish, Quechua, Aymara and some English. However, the fact that Peruvian Congress and the entire world realized that the Quechua language represents the culture of a large majority in the
country site and even in several areas of Lima, people who were ignored and under-represented in Peru's political life, is still a great accomplishment.

# Dale Hemme says :
15 December, 2006 [ 00:06 ]

With 30% of all households in Peru recieving money from family members outside Peru and the much of the contributing nations to Peru using International English as a base and bridge (including many Oriental countries) perhaps it is time to abandon both for English as these ladies say they want international investment. If that is what you want then speak the language of that business and let your emotions at home........Be a hero on someone elses dime.........Your people are starving and you were elected to represent them. For the love of God speak Chinese it that moves you closer to your goal. This is called leadership in English. That may be a good place to start...........

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