Last weekend, 93% of the population of Los Planes rejected Tahoe
Resources' proposed Escobal project, voting NO to chemical mineral
mining on their territory. This good-faith referendum, organized
by local authorities, is the second of 26 community referenda planned
in the municipality of San Rafael Las Flores. The first
referendum, held February 17 in San Juan Bosco, also soundly rejected
the project, with 99% of the population voting NO to mining and YES
to life.
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| Community authorities count votes. (Photo: C.P.R.Urbana) |
These
small-scale referenda, regulated by Guatemalan Municipal Code, are
communities' best option for making their voices heard. That’s
because municipal authorities in San Rafael Las Flores have refused
requests for a referendum at the municipal level, similar to those held in Santa Rosa de Lima and Nueva Santa Rosa in 2011.
For the
last two years, community members and local human rights
organizations have been peacefully resisting the Escobal project
in the face of
increasing violence, intimidation and criminalization. The Escobal mine is
operated by MinerÃa San Rafael S.A., a Guatemalan subsidiary of
Canada’s Tahoe
Resources, which acquired the Escobal project
from Goldcorp in 2010. Despite not having a license for mineral
exploitation, Tahoe insists final permission to begin mining is
imminent and, as a result, has already invested millions of dollars
in infrastructure.
The wave of referenda throughout the municipality of San Rafael Las
Flores comes on the heels of an attack against the mine's private
security, resulting in the deaths of two guards. Shortly following
the attack, Minister of the Interior Mauricio
López Bonilla insinuated possible links between this event and the
local non-violent resistance to Tahoe Resources’ project.
Bonilla linked local
mining resistance to terrorism, delinquency and drug
trafficking, and stated that local, peaceful opposition to Tahoe's
project does not exist1.
But
the opposition is real. With these 26 democratic consultations, the
communities surrounding the proposed Escobal project are
demonstrating, once again, their commitment to peacefully
resisting the imposition of mining on their territory. They
are demanding that the Guatemalan government respect the referenda
and recognize their right to participate in decision-making
processes. This ongoing, community-based resistance indicates the
company not only lacks the necessary permits to proceed with the
mine, as it acknowledged in a January 14 press release,2
but it also lacks the social license to operate.
 |
| Citizens of Los Planes wait in line to cast their vote (Photo: C.P.R.Urbana) |
In
a recent open letter to Guatemalan Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz,
the International Coalition
Against Unjust Mining in Guatemala (CAMIGUA) joined the communities
of Santa Rosa and Jalapa in condemning
acts of violence occurring around US and Canadian-owned mining sites
and demanding respect for consultation processes.
The letter calls for an investigation of the violent events and an
end to the criminalization of community-based peaceful resistance.
TAKE
ACTION! Sign this petition
and join NISGUA and the Center for International Environmental Law in
demanding NO mining license for Tahoe Resources.
1 Castañon,
Mariela. “Cuarto órdenes de captura por ataque en mina San
Rafael.” La
Hora 7 Feb. 2013.
http://www.lahora.com.gt/index.php/nacional/guatemala/actualidad/173135-cuatro-ordenes-de-captura-por-ataque-en-mina-san-rafael
2 http://www.tahoeresourcesinc.com/tahoe-reports-incident-and-updates-escobal-project/
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