Pedro Uc Be

Pedro Uc Be is a Mayan land rights defender, writer, translator, teacher and promoter of Mayan culture and the protector of its land. As a member of the Assembly of Defenders of the Mayan Territory Múuch' Xíinbal and the Indigenous National Congress (CNI), he has worked on the protection of lands of Mayan peoples affected by mega-projects, including transgenic soybean production, pig farms, renewable energy plants, high-impact tourism and the ’Mayan Train’, which is intended to be both a tourist and regional train that would cross the states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo. Through his work as a defender of human rights, Pedro Uc Be invites communities to critically reflect on and revalue Mayan culture and language, especially to inform them of their rights to land as indigenous peoples.