Photo taken during the pre-consultation phase meetings for the Escobal Mine (Photo credit: Xinka Parliament) Written by: Maria Reyes and Indigo Christ After multiple delays, the first meeting of the pre-consultation process for the Escobal mine was held at the Xinka Parliament’s offices in Cuilapa, Santa Rosa, on [...]
[Direct Translation from Spanish, Original Below] Pre-consultation Process for the Mining Rights of the Escobal Mine Begins The office of the Xinka Parliament of Guatemala (PAPXIGUA), located in Cuilapa, Santa Rosa, was present at the first meeting of the pre-consultation phase for the Escobal mining law case, a milestone in [...]
Vancouver-based mining company Pan American Silver held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on May 12th: the final shareholder meeting for retiring founder and Board Chair Ross Beaty. To shareholders attending online, Beaty narrated a glowing chronicle of Pan American Silver’s socially and environmentally responsible history in Latin America. Yet, when [...]
What is Making News In Guatemala: Top 3 Stories Written by Cooperants Indigo Christ and Laura Robinson COVID-19: New strains Last year the Semana Santa (Easter) holiday in Guatemala was dampened with strict curfews and travel restrictions. This year however, the holidays went about with relaxed constraints. The result has [...]
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 – [...]
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 [...]
