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]

Lorenzo Muelas in 2011

Biography

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
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Tiempo, Casa Editorial El (November 5, 1990). "LORENZO MUELAS ARADO POLÍTICO". El Tiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  4. "LA CONSTITUCIÓN DE 1991 Y LOS INDÍGENAS". Revista Credencial (in Spanish). October 24, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  5. Brooke, James (May 2, 1991). "Door Opens a Crack for Colombia's Indians". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  6. "Entrevista al dirigente indígena colombiano Lorenzo Muelas Hurtado". grain.org (in French). Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  7. "El constituyente Lorenzo Muelas". Semana.com Últimas Noticias de Colombia y el Mundo (in Spanish). April 4, 2009. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  8. "La fuerza de la gente: juntando recuerdos sobre la terrajería en Guambía-Colombia". babel.banrepcultural.org. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  9. "'They are bombing us'". Indian Country Today. March 26, 2007. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
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