Rigoberta Menchú's Verbal Testimony

Rigoberta Menchú became one of the most controversial Nobel Peace Prize winners when her testimony was put under a microscope and discrepancies were found by multiple people working in academia. This is given in the edited manuscript of her verbal testimony in the book I, Rigoberta Menchú, as it presents itself as a truth of her life, although that’s debatable. Blame could be put on her editor, Elizabeth Burgos, herself, or the Guatemalan people who knew her personally that gave their own testimonies on Menchú’s life from their perspectives. Her reasoning for putting it out was in question, along with what she narrated as her version of the truth. The complexity of this issue resolves itself by redefining the problem. The question at hand emphasizes …show more content…
Human rights issues in Guatemala and in Latin America are front and center today for a reason-- the atrocities committed in each country to its people in the late 20th century are absolutely dreadful. The government corruption plays too huge of a role in this, as it won’t get the justice the people deserve until much later because of fear. Chile is an example, as Pinochet, the leader of the coup d’état that overthrew Allende in 1973, was given the title as Senator for life once democracy was reinstated and died in his home. No one has been incarcerated for their work in the desaparecidos campaign. It’s only recently when movement for stating the human rights atrocities committed between 1973 and 1990 against the people has surged. No one was going to come in the rescue for those in Guatemala, as no one knows of Guatemala or would care …show more content…
It was exactly what was happening at it’s publication, and yes, she lied, but she did something. She was the only person who testified in Ríos Montt’s case. Today is when all of this is getting recognized, and the war started in 1954. As problematic as her testimony is, as noted she did not completely say the truth, does it even matter? She did more than just told her version of her story; she started conversations, research, movement, and court cases on an international scale of the problem in Guatemala. No one studied Guatemala in classrooms, now we do. No one would have known even where Guatemala is, and now she put it on the map. She achieved a goal that would have been unachievable otherwise. Discredit her all you want, fine. She told a truth, as there are multiple truths and hundreds of stories of similar nature to those who survived the Guatemalan Civil War, but she told a truth that gave a Mayan from Guatemala a Nobel Peace Prize and got recognized. No matter what you believe, Menchú did something incredible, and no one can deny