Lorenzo Muelas
{{short description|Guambiano activist}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2022}}
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.{{Cite web |last=Chavarro |first=Ángela Santamaría |date=March 30, 2012 |title=Lorenzo Muelas and Indigenous Constitutionalism “From Below”: A Critical Perspective on the Constitutional Process of 1991 |url=http://www.scielo.org.co/pdf/rci/n79/n79a04.pdf |website=Del Rosario University}}{{Cite web |last=Semana |date=July 2, 2016 |title=Lorenzo Muelas regresó a la tierra |url=https://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/el-poder-de-las-razas-constituyente-lorenzo-muelas-y-su-lucha-por-la-inclusion/480207/ |access-date=June 27, 2022 |website=Semana.com Últimas Noticias de Colombia y el Mundo |language=spanish}}
Biography
Muelas was born on July 9, 1938, in Silvia, Cauca, Colombia.{{Cite web |last=Tiempo |first=Casa Editorial El |date=1990-11-05 |title=LORENZO MUELAS ARADO POLÍTICO |url=https://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento/MAM-2684 |access-date=2022-06-27 |website=El Tiempo |language=spanish}} 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.{{Cite web |date=2016-10-24 |title=LA CONSTITUCIÓN DE 1991 Y LOS INDÍGENAS |url=https://www.revistacredencial.com/historia/temas/la-constitucion-de-1991-y-los-indigenas |access-date=2022-06-27 |website=Revista Credencial |language=es}} 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".{{Cite news |last=Brooke |first=James |date=1991-05-02 |title=Door Opens a Crack for Colombia's Indians |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/02/world/door-opens-a-crack-for-colombia-s-indians.html |access-date=2022-06-27 |issn=0362-4331}}
In 1994, Muelas was elected to the Senate of Colombia with 270,000 votes in his favor, and served in the body until 1998.{{Cite web |title=Entrevista al dirigente indígena colombiano Lorenzo Muelas Hurtado |url=https://grain.org/fr/article/entries/1100-entrevista-al-dirigente-indigena-colombiano-lorenzo-muelas-hurtado |access-date=2022-06-27 |website=grain.org |language=fr}} In 2006, Muelas was elected Governor of Guambia, the highest position in his community.{{Cite web |last= |date=2009-04-04 |title=El constituyente Lorenzo Muelas |url=https://www.semana.com/enfoque/articulo/el-constituyente-lorenzo-muelas/101802-3/ |access-date=2022-06-27 |website=Semana.com Últimas Noticias de Colombia y el Mundo |language=spanish}} 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.{{Cite web |title=La fuerza de la gente: juntando recuerdos sobre la terrajería en Guambía-Colombia |url=https://babel.banrepcultural.org/digital/collection/p17054coll10/id/1477/ |access-date=2022-06-27 |website=babel.banrepcultural.org |language=en}} In a 2007 interview with Indian Country Today, Muelas criticized the United States over the Plan Colombia doctrine.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=March 26, 2007 |title='They are bombing us'. |url=https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/they-are-bombing-us-2 |access-date=2022-06-27 |website=Indian Country Today |language=en}}