Maya Kaqchikel communicator Walter Cúc will assume the presidency of the Latin American Association of Education and Popular Communication (ALER) for the period 2026-2030 with the challenge of strengthening popular communication, articulating its media, and supporting the voices and proposals of the peoples and social movements of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Cúc, executive secretary of the Guatemalan Federation of Radio Schools (FGER), took on the election with “great humility, great joy, but above all with a firm commitment” to follow the path laid out by his ancestors. His arrival also marks a double milestone: it is the first time that the FGER holds the presidency of ALER and that this responsibility falls on a representative of the Kaqchikel Maya people.
Popular communication in times of democratic regression
The Guatemalan communicator, in an interview with Radio Noticias de Venezuela, proposes as a priority to strengthen the ties between those who do popular communication in Latin America and the Caribbean. In the midst of a context marked by political and social tensions, highlights the role of community radios and media as spaces to promote a critical perspective and offer new viewpoints to the population.
“There is the voice of the broadcasters and the media that are building a more critical thought”, stated Cúc. In this line, he proposes to strengthen ALER's presence in social movements and support the initiatives that arise from communities, popular universities, and academia.
More than just looking towards the future, Cúc proposes to return to the roots of ALER. After more than five decades of popular communication, he considers it necessary to recover the path of an organization that “walked with the people, walked with the movements”. “That route is the one to take,” he observed, along with the challenge of building new alliances in Latin America.
Open microphones for peoples and communities
Faced with challenges such as migration, the advance of extractivism, monocultures, and threats to biodiversity, Cúc bets on a communication committed to the territories, that makes visible the realities of the peoples and accompanies the proposals that arise from the communities to advance towards integral human development.
“We have that strength that our peoples can unite their perspectives and, above all, walk towards integral human development”, he expressed. On that path, he considers it a priority to open the microphones to indigenous and original peoples and strengthen communication networks to make their realities visible, defend their territories, and support their demands and proposals.
Solidarity with migrants and Venezuela
Cúc also expressed his solidarity with the Venezuelan people, especially with those who have had to migrate. Evoking the wisdom of his Mayan ancestors, he called to maintain hope and stated: “The dawn, clarity will come,” convinced that Venezuela will be able to pave the way for a new beginning.
In this sense, he also called on Latin American migrants to maintain their ties with their countries of origin and to become voices for their communities in the countries where they now live. “You can be our voice on other continents”, he affirmed, highlighting communication as a bridge to make visible the realities of Latin America and to keep together those who remain and those who had to leave.
The new leadership of ALER will also include Mónica López Cuétara from Mexico as vice president; Edwin Beltrán from Ecuador; Laura Maldonado from Argentina; and Óscar Orellana from El Salvador as directors. They will be accompanied by substitutes Edward Niño and Alma Montoya from Colombia, and Mercedes Hernández from Ecuador.
Since 1972, ALER has built a continental network of popular communication that has evolved from educational radios to integrating community, indigenous, and popular experiences. Its trajectory is linked to the defense of rights, citizen participation, and the democratization of communication.
Photo: Radio Noticias Venezuela
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