Zapotec accountant will attend the UN conference on climate change in Mexico
Lilian Hernandez Osorio
La Jornada Newspaper
Monday, October 14, 2024, p. 16
Betzabeth Martínez Gutiérrez, originally from the Zapotec indigenous community located in Santiago Matatlán, Oaxaca, and graduated from the UNAM Faculty of Accounting and Administration, was selected to participate in the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in November of this year .
The young woman had dreamed of winning that scholarship and remembers that it was a long process. In January she was preselected for an interview and in March she received the news that she is the only one chosen from Mexico and one of the 12 young Latin Americans who obtained this scholarship.
Being a woman and indigenous means resisting twice, and I believe that we face a very big challenge in wanting to leave our communities and access a university education.
narrated about the challenges he has faced during his life to make his way academically.
The scholarship consists of being an observer of climate change conferences: the first was from June 3 to 13 in Germany and the second will be from November 11 to 22 in Azerbaijan, where Betzabeth will participate. The objective is to create spaces so that young people can interact and participate in negotiations on climate change and identify what the issues are.
In the case of the national university graduate, her focus will be on indigenous and Afro-descendant communities and how climate change affects them. In the end, they are the ones who suffer the direct consequences
commented; Women are the first to suffer this impact, he added.
Women, he explained, have always had the role of being a midwife or healer; He is also dedicated to making mezcal, a drink that today has wide national and global recognition. It is an artisanal process, from sowing in the crop fields to sale.
Currently, they are facing a crisis because there is too much agave, but no sales. Additionally, due to droughts, this year there were several forest fires in the Central Valley area of Oaxaca.
Unfortunately, the UNAM graduate said, some people lost their lives trying to put out the fires. Those who have dedicated their lives to planting maguey and corn have been affected by climate change. In addition, midwives and healers have found it difficult to plant the plants they use.
