Nineth Montenegro
Encyclopedia
Nineth Varenca Montenegro Cottom (born 1958, San Marcos
)
is a Guatemala
n human rights activist and Congress
ional representative. Her first husband, union leader and activist Fernando García, was abducted by government security agents on 18 February 1984.
In September 1984 she joined with other family members of victims of state violence and founded GAM ("Mutual Support Group"; ), one of Guatemala's oldest and best-known human rights
organizations.
Montenegro was elected to Congress
in 1996, and again in 2007 for the 2008–12 legislative session, representing Encuentro por Guatemala
.
She is married to the current director of GAM, Mario Polanco
.
San Marcos (department)
San Marcos is a department in Guatemala. The capital is the city of San Marcos.-Departmental history:The department was created by a governmental decree on 8 May 1866, together with Huehuetenango, Izabal and Petén departments...
)
is a Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
n human rights activist and Congress
Congress of Guatemala
The Congress of the Republic is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Guatemala.It comprises 158 deputies, who are elected by direct universal suffrage to serve four-year terms . Twenty-nine of these are elected from nationwide lists, with the rest on a district list basis...
ional representative. Her first husband, union leader and activist Fernando García, was abducted by government security agents on 18 February 1984.
In September 1984 she joined with other family members of victims of state violence and founded GAM ("Mutual Support Group"; ), one of Guatemala's oldest and best-known human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
organizations.
Montenegro was elected to Congress
Congress of Guatemala
The Congress of the Republic is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Guatemala.It comprises 158 deputies, who are elected by direct universal suffrage to serve four-year terms . Twenty-nine of these are elected from nationwide lists, with the rest on a district list basis...
in 1996, and again in 2007 for the 2008–12 legislative session, representing Encuentro por Guatemala
Encuentro por Guatemala
Encuentro por Guatemala – a Spanish name variously translated as "Encounter for Guatemala" , or as "Together for Guatemala" –...
.
She is married to the current director of GAM, Mario Polanco
Mario Polanco
Mario Polanco is a Guatemalan human rights activist. He is a founding member and, currently the Director of, the Grupo de Apoyo Mutuo in Guatemala City, one of the country's oldest human rights organizations. He is married to Member of Congress Nineth Montenegro. Polanco has been the victim of...
.
External links
- Interview and article in Prensa Libre naming her "person of the year" for 2004
- Nineth Montenegro, Congress of the Republic