Taken during a sustained peaceful protest in front of the Constitutional Court “We demand new elections” “Courts not mafias, no to the cartel of judges” (Photo credit: LaCuerda) What is Making News In Guatemala: Top 3 Stories Written by Cooperants Indigo Christ and Laura Robinson COVID-19: New strains [...]
Dear Pan American Silver, When you purchased the Escobal mine in 2019, you knew about the broad opposition to the project and that there had been violent repression against those involved in the fight. Now, your refusal to halt local programs in Xinka communities is fomenting tension and division. These [...]
Today, April 13th, 2021, marks the 7th anniversary of the murder of Topacio Reynoso Pacheco. At the age of 16, she was a member of the peaceful resistance against a Canadian-owned silver mine near her home in Mataquescuintla, Guatemala. Topacio was a co-founder of the Mataquescuintla youth movement to resist [...]
The following letter outlines our concern for the recent attacks against the peaceful Xinka resistance to the Escobal mine ahead of the pre-consultation. It was sent to the Canadian Government, including the Canadian Embassy in Guatemala, Global Affairs Canada, Cabinet Ministers, and the Organization of American States on March 30th, [...]
Ottawa / Halifax (March 2, 2021) – The Government of Canada has been ignoring and concealing expert legal advice it commissioned on how to give the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) the powers to do its job. The government has had this legal advice – the McIsaac Report [...]
On the morning of Saturday, January 16, Julio González was shot by unknown assailants in his home in an assasination attempt. Julio is an extraordinary young man. He was one of the first people who spoke out against the Escobal mine in Mataquescuintla, now owned by Canadian company Pan American [...]
January 21, 2021 TO: María Consuelo Porras, Attorney General, Office of the Public Prosecutor, Guatemala; Augusto Jordán Rodas Hernández, Ombudsman, Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman, Guatemala; Sean McAleer, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Guatemala, Pan American Silver; Michael Steinmann, President and Chief Executive Officer, Pan American Silver; Ross [...]
A new report Consultations at Risk: Advances in the Escobal Mine Consultation Overshadowed by Constitutional Crisis examines the ongoing consultation process of the Xinka people by Guatemala's Ministry of Energy and Mines during the 2020 Constitutional Crisis. The document was produced by EarthWorks, IPS- Global Economy Program and the Maritimes-Guatemala [...]
On December 1st, 2020, Xinka, Ixil and Garifuna authorities met with a mission from the Organization of American States (OAS). They called on the OAS to recommend that President Giammetei and the Congress' Executive Council resign and cease attacks against the Constitutional Court and Human Rights Ombudsperson. See below for [...]
Photo credit: Xinka Parliament On October 15, 2020, the Xinka Parliament announced that Guatemalan authorities have finally recognized their representatives elected to participate in a consultation on the Escobal silver mine. Along with other agreements, this breakthrough could allow the court-ordered process over the future of the mine to advance after being [...]
