An Agency All Their Own:
Is it Possible to Help Those Who Have Already Helped Themselves?
“Yo quería probarme a mi mismo que si yo
tuviera los recursos económicos, yo podría entrar a esta universidad”. The entire Impuslo al Talento
Académico program run by UFM was initiated by one student, Miguel[1], who one day decided to
travel to the City and prove to himself that he could pass the notoriously hard
admissions exam needed for acceptance at the university. His score was so
exceptionally high, UFM’s Dean and admissions department hastened to raise the
funds necessary to ensure Miguel would attend the university. The program’s
history is filled with inspirational stories of bright, underprivileged and
highly motivated students taking matters into their own hands and establishing
their place within the ITA program. Working with a group of individuals whose
agency was all their own, and who had managed to changed their lives based on
their own talents and hard work made the question of what my role was among them
hard to define. Was I merely there as an observant social scientist? Or did I
have a larger obligation towards these students who had shared so much with me?
In
Pedagogy of the Opressed (2005) Freire urges change and revolution should come
from those who are oppressed themselves; in bottom-up approach where “the
oppressed must be their own example in the struggle for their redemption” (p.
54). In a way, the stories of these students reflect just that: a group of
disadvantaged youth who have, through their own means, been the catalyst for
their success. However, despite the students incredible success and agency, in
the end they are dependent on donors for this change to happen. The fact that
the scholarships are comprehensive (tuition, housing, stipend, books and
insurance) makes them very costly, thus making the amount of scholarships
available each year depend on how much funds the program was able to raise. The
question that arises now is: does this reliance on wealthy donors and
corporations looking to provide humanitarian aid lessen the agency of the
students? Is it not the “animated...authentic, human (not humanitarian)
generosity” Freire speaks of?
Taking into account that the donors choose the major that the recipient of their scholarship must study[2], most people would argue that yes, this reliance detracts from the students agency. Could this, however, just be another obstacle the students must face and overcome? In the case of one undergraduate, Maria José[3], the fact that there was no funding for humanities majors did not impede her from receiving a scholarship. As I interviewed her, she passionately described how she had written an essay to the university leaders on the importance of Political Science and on her own potential as a future student in the field. Smiling, she recounts how her perseverance and initiative had convinced the university to fund her. It is the stories like these that return the capability and control to the students and remind me that I was lucky to even be a spectator in this events: the students were doing me a favor by sharing their life stories and I had nothing that tangible to return to them. In many instances I was asked to promote the programs, to help others recognize the accomplishments of ITA and JBG, yet as a student conducting research among them, I was also inclined to analyze both program critically. Though not scathing critiques, my work is certainly not a promotional pamphlet convincing donors to sponsor students...
Throughout most of my work I critically analyzed the programs by focusing on how the struggle to understand what it means to be indigenous in Guatemala affects the experience of this group of students as they entered institutions which not only uphold, but also instill neoliberal values on their students. As I interviewed program directors, undergraduates and graduates of the program one word was repeatedly used to describe what the students were accomplishing for themselves: superación. The reason this term is troublesome is that people—both ladinos and indigenous—would use it express the low expectations originally had for the indigenous youth. It is related to what Hale (2006) argues when he analyzes an informant’s desire to be “más que un Indio”. Since being “indigenous” is associated with poverty, backwardness and inferiority, the notion that these students can have such neoliberal accomplishments—that is, attending prestigious, private universities; having good positions in major companies in Guatemala City; and just the fact of having escaped the cycle of poverty—signifies that they have exceeded the expectations for being indigenous. In one case, Victor, a graduate of the program narrated the following story:
“La beca le pide 80 de promedio a nivel de universidad y yo llegué a 75, y cuando yo llegué a decirle a la universidad a una- gran amiga ahora—la vice-rectora—eh yo [le dije] ‘miré yo creo que los defraudé porque no llegué a la nota’
‘¿Cuanto sacaste?’
‘75 de promedio’
‘Victor! Ganaste los cursos! Yo pensé que no ibas a ganar ninguno!’”
Rather than being extremely offended at her lack of confidence (he was bit bothered by it, but laughed it away), he used this as motivation to work harder and overcome those stereotypes. Thus, despite being a bit insulting, it also means that people recognize that the odds are stacked against being indigenous, underprivileged and from el interior and as such they are aware of what a great accomplishment it is for this small group to have such neoliberal achievements.
Although Victor, and possibly the rest of the students do not view this loaded concept of superación as problematic, from an anthropological perspective, there are issues with it. Unlike the last problem I was faced with, increasing awareness of the programs to raise funds, this one is neither expressed by the students, nor can be solved in any tangible, concrete way. Furthermore, do I even have an obligation to help redress this erroneous idea that being indigenous is equivalent to being inferior? As a Guatemalan, I do hope to contribute to the development of policies by providing insight into quotidian inter-ethnic relations and cultural identities[1] . I am intrigued by the paradox presented by the notion of neoliberal multiculturalism and am concerned that it has not received enough attention within the country, especially outside of academia. I am troubled by this disregard for deeper dialogue regarding ethnic issues because, combined with the growing social inequality in Guatemala, the country is in a state that is socially and economically unsustainable in the long run. I am very eager to see a change and so ensure that we do not return to the conditions that brought about our bloody, 36-year civil war. I hope that the use of ethnographic methods in anthropology can help me in this process, but the question of how much impact we can have as academics still remains unanswered.
[1] pseudonym
[2] As it is large corporations who make the most donations, the most heavily funded majors are economics, management, entrepreneurship and law.
[3] pseudonym
Taking into account that the donors choose the major that the recipient of their scholarship must study[2], most people would argue that yes, this reliance detracts from the students agency. Could this, however, just be another obstacle the students must face and overcome? In the case of one undergraduate, Maria José[3], the fact that there was no funding for humanities majors did not impede her from receiving a scholarship. As I interviewed her, she passionately described how she had written an essay to the university leaders on the importance of Political Science and on her own potential as a future student in the field. Smiling, she recounts how her perseverance and initiative had convinced the university to fund her. It is the stories like these that return the capability and control to the students and remind me that I was lucky to even be a spectator in this events: the students were doing me a favor by sharing their life stories and I had nothing that tangible to return to them. In many instances I was asked to promote the programs, to help others recognize the accomplishments of ITA and JBG, yet as a student conducting research among them, I was also inclined to analyze both program critically. Though not scathing critiques, my work is certainly not a promotional pamphlet convincing donors to sponsor students...
Throughout most of my work I critically analyzed the programs by focusing on how the struggle to understand what it means to be indigenous in Guatemala affects the experience of this group of students as they entered institutions which not only uphold, but also instill neoliberal values on their students. As I interviewed program directors, undergraduates and graduates of the program one word was repeatedly used to describe what the students were accomplishing for themselves: superación. The reason this term is troublesome is that people—both ladinos and indigenous—would use it express the low expectations originally had for the indigenous youth. It is related to what Hale (2006) argues when he analyzes an informant’s desire to be “más que un Indio”. Since being “indigenous” is associated with poverty, backwardness and inferiority, the notion that these students can have such neoliberal accomplishments—that is, attending prestigious, private universities; having good positions in major companies in Guatemala City; and just the fact of having escaped the cycle of poverty—signifies that they have exceeded the expectations for being indigenous. In one case, Victor, a graduate of the program narrated the following story:
“La beca le pide 80 de promedio a nivel de universidad y yo llegué a 75, y cuando yo llegué a decirle a la universidad a una- gran amiga ahora—la vice-rectora—eh yo [le dije] ‘miré yo creo que los defraudé porque no llegué a la nota’
‘¿Cuanto sacaste?’
‘75 de promedio’
‘Victor! Ganaste los cursos! Yo pensé que no ibas a ganar ninguno!’”
Rather than being extremely offended at her lack of confidence (he was bit bothered by it, but laughed it away), he used this as motivation to work harder and overcome those stereotypes. Thus, despite being a bit insulting, it also means that people recognize that the odds are stacked against being indigenous, underprivileged and from el interior and as such they are aware of what a great accomplishment it is for this small group to have such neoliberal achievements.
Although Victor, and possibly the rest of the students do not view this loaded concept of superación as problematic, from an anthropological perspective, there are issues with it. Unlike the last problem I was faced with, increasing awareness of the programs to raise funds, this one is neither expressed by the students, nor can be solved in any tangible, concrete way. Furthermore, do I even have an obligation to help redress this erroneous idea that being indigenous is equivalent to being inferior? As a Guatemalan, I do hope to contribute to the development of policies by providing insight into quotidian inter-ethnic relations and cultural identities[1] . I am intrigued by the paradox presented by the notion of neoliberal multiculturalism and am concerned that it has not received enough attention within the country, especially outside of academia. I am troubled by this disregard for deeper dialogue regarding ethnic issues because, combined with the growing social inequality in Guatemala, the country is in a state that is socially and economically unsustainable in the long run. I am very eager to see a change and so ensure that we do not return to the conditions that brought about our bloody, 36-year civil war. I hope that the use of ethnographic methods in anthropology can help me in this process, but the question of how much impact we can have as academics still remains unanswered.
[1] pseudonym
[2] As it is large corporations who make the most donations, the most heavily funded majors are economics, management, entrepreneurship and law.
[3] pseudonym