Uncertainty around the Xalalá Hydroelectric Project

Posted on February 28, 2015 by ACOGUATE

Translation by NISGUA

On November 7, 2013, the National Electrification Institute (Instituto Nacional de Electrificación, INDE) signed an Emergency Purchase contract with the Brazilian company Intertechne Consultores, S.A. to conduct the geotechnical, seismic, geological and geophysical feasibility studies for the Xalalá dam, without informing and consulting the affected communities. More than a year later, affected communities organized through the Association of Communities for Development, Defense of Territory and Natural Resources (ACODET) are still waiting for the decision of the Constitutional Court on the irregularities of the contract and the lack of consent.

Photo credit: ACOGUATE archive

Even though the company was unable to begin their groundwork during 2014, tension in the region has increased. On December 12, the Ministry of Energy and Mines declared it would no longer be actively pushing the Xalalá project forward during the current administration, however communities remain concerned about its continued development. ACOGUATE has accompanied ACODET since 2007 and accompanied consultations in the Ixcán and Uspantán in 2007 and 2010.

Legal action against irregularities within the contract and the right to be consulted
The Xalalá dam is currently the largest planned hydroelectric project in Guatemala. With a generating capacity of 181 megawatts, if built, the dam would be the second most powerful in the country after the Chixoy dam. It is estimated to directly affect 58 communities in the region.  The contract signed between INDE and Intertechne Consultores, S.A. on November 7, 2013 is for a period of 12 months,  and is now being questioned due to irregularities in the contract.

On April 10, 2014, the office of the General Comptroller (Contraloría General de Cuentas, CGC) filed a legal complaint against 12 members of the INDE board of directors, noting irregularities in contracting the Brazilian company to conduct the feasibility studies of the Xalalá dam - a contract valued at Q40.8 million.  According to the General Comptroller, Nora Segura: "It is clear that the adjudication process of the feasibility study was not transparent. There are many irregularities and neither the law nor the internal process of INDE were respected, much less the government procurement law, which is why a criminal complaint was filed.”  In particular, the CGC called attention to three irregularities, stating that they infringed upon government procurement law:

• INDE hired Intertechne directly without going through the public bidding process of GUATECOMPRAS, claiming a national emergency,
• INDE paid an advance that was 20% higher than the maximum allowed for the contract, and
• At the time of signing the contract, the Brazilian company did not have headquarters in Guatemala but instead, established a subsidiary company 60 days later.  

A month later, Amilcar Pop, the President of the Congressional Committee on Integrity (CGC), filed a complaint against members of the INDE board of directors - including Minister of Energy and Mines Erick Archila, former INDE Manager Marinus Boer, and INDE Project Manager Widthmark Estrada - for fraud, abuse of authority, embezzlement and failure to report to the Office of Administrative Offences of the Public Prosecutor's Office.  Amilcar Pop found that the contracting process was set out to directly benefit Intertechne. Alongside the CGC, Amilcar Pop found that the lack of offers from interested companies to conduct the feasibility study - leading to the eventual abandoning of the study in March 2013 - was likely due to INDE's requirement that each company pay $10,000 US just for the right to participate in the bidding process. According to Amilcar Pop: "While complying with legal requirements, that condition was put in place to guarantee that no one would participate and therefore, demonstrate the need to award the contract without any competition."

Even President Otto Peréz Molina gave contradictory answers regarding the irregularities. He called for the resignation of INDE’s manager, Marius Boer, who retired a week before being called to present before Congress.  On April 10, Otto Peréz Molina publicly stated that he was in agreement with the cancellation of the contract. He changed his discourse three days later, however, when he said that the feasibility study for the Xalalá hydroelectric dam was of national priority,  and therefore, INDE was exempt from following the Law of Contracts and Purchasing and instead, needed only to follow its own internal decision-making procedures.  Since the start of the project, the government has stated on several occasions that Xalalá is a priority and that feasibility studies would be carried out during Molina's administration. It was not until December 12, 2014 that the Minister of Energy and Mines stated the administration would not actively push the Xalalá project forward, feasibility studies would continue despite ongoing opposition and it would be the next administration which would make a decision.

Photo credit: ACOGUATE archive

The Supreme Court denied the preliminary hearings requested to contract Intertechne. The Attorney General's Office declared itself unfit to rule on the impacts of the contract, arguing that the Office could not intervene in the activities of an autonomous institution like INDE.  On June 12, 2014, affected communities represented by ancestral authorities of the Xalalá and Las Margaritas Copón communities filed an injunction against the irregularities of the INDE contract and Intertechne. On July 22, ancestral authorities went before the Procedural Complaints Court and with legal support from Maya Lawyers and third-party support from Congressman Amílcar Pop, argued the illegality of Intertechne’s contracting process. They also presented arguments around the lack of consultation with the communities before the contract was signed, effectively ignoring the results of the community consultations in the municipalities of Ixcán in 2007 and Uspantán in 2010.  INDE failed to appear at the public hearing.

In its decision, the Court declared the injunction to be of partial merit and recognized the lack of prior and informed consultation with the communities by INDE. However, the Court did not annul the contract, stating that it would be the responsibility of the Public Prosecutor's Office, who defended the contract at the public hearing. In addition, the Court's ruling requested that impacted communities participate in the study, which was subsequently appealed by ancestral authorities, the Congressional Committee on Integrity, and INDE.

In its second public hearing on October 8, 2014 in the Constitutional Court, INDE argued that they did in fact consult communities, presenting the "right to passage" signed by various Community Development Councils (COCODEs) in the region as evidence. However, the ancestral authorities insisted that no consultation process took place and that INDE only came to communities to offer development projects, which cannot replace consultation in accordance with national and international law. Likewise, the chairman of the Congressional Committee on Integrity argued that, "These rights were not respected in the least, and [the contract] threatenes the constitutional right of the Guatemalan people, as outlined in Articles 58, 66 and 67 of the Constitution, where the rights of indigenous peoples are recognized."  He also noted there were already two feasibility studies made in the 1970s, which showed the soil in the region where the dam would be built is too sandy, making it unfit to withstand the planned Xalalá construction. In addition, this puts into question the justification of a new feasibility study, with a demonstrated lack of transparency on part of INDE in relation to the project. A decision on the injunction is still pending from the Constitutional Court.

Strong Impact on Affected Communities

During 2014, tension in communities affected by the Xalalá project increased, leading to divisions within and among communities that have differing opinions on the dam's construction. Although Intertechne has not appeared in the area, affected communities have claimed that INDE and the Ministry of Planning and Programming (SEGEPLAN) have tried to convince people by coopting leaders and COCODEs, conditioning rural electrification on the acceptance of the dam, as well as offering development projects outlined in the "Immediate Action Plan 2013-2014 Xalalá - Investment for Development." Affected communities organized within ACODET have also suffered heavy pressure, militarization and defamation. Community leaders feel greater concern since the signing of the contract in November 2013. As one community member states: "How can one live when under constant threat?"

According to Amnesty International, there has been an increase in military presence in various locations in Guatemala under the current government, especially in regions with a high percentage of indigenous peoples and strong opposition to megaprojects. This militarization is justified through defamation and criminalization, where leaders are accused of being terrorists or drug traffickers.  The army arrived twice in the region in 2014. On February 25, a military and police convoy arrived at the entrance of the Q'eqch'i communities of Las Margaritas Copón and Xalalá, allegedly due to a complaint about the suspected presence of drug traffickers in the Xalalá community.  Yet no one from the community of Xalalá had registered the complaint.  Nevertheless, several news outlets had already circulated the announcement made by the Minister of the Interior about the presence of drug traffickers in Xalalá, linking communities directly with drug trafficking; Prensa Libre tweeted: "An armed command pressures the population of Xalalá, Ixcán, Quiché to get involved in drug trafficking.”

Photo credit: ACOGUATE archive

Given these circumstances, ACODET believes this to be the continuation of a governmental strategy to impose the construction of the Xalalá project: “Under these circumstances, we understand that the government is trying to terrorize our communities, discredit our struggle against the imposition of the Xalalá dam and justify the presence of military troops in our territory."  Two months later on May 5, military and police convoys returned to the neighboring community, Copalá la Esperanza, in the municipality of Cobán, Alta Verapaz. They arrived in the community in the morning, without warning and armed with machine guns,  explaining that the purpose of their presence was to patrol the area and to cross the river. Since Copalá is a community of returned refugees who fled during the internal armed conflict, the unexpected arrival of the army caused much concern and fear among the community. Community members stated:

"The presence of the military in our community without our consent causes us great concern, as they came heavily armed as if they were coming to wage war against us while we are in times of peace. Their presence causes fear, despair, and reminds us of the traumas inflicted during the internal armed conflict. They turned us into victims of war and we continue to be victimized by the threats their presence brings to our territory; just seeing them causes panic..." 

Concern for the Violation of Fundamental Rights

Reacting to the two military incursions, communities of ACODET cite Article 30 of the Declaration of the United Nations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: "No military activities will take place in the lands or territories of indigenous peoples...”  They affirm that entering without consent into their communities violates their right to self-determination, their territory and their ancestral authorities –rights guaranteed by various international treaties. They demand that this type of activity not be repeated.  “There is concern among communities that INDE could enter by force to conduct the studies. Communities live under constant tension, wondering how and when they might enter. Given the violent evictions by the police in 2014 in other parts of the country such as in La Puya and Monte Olivo, the community leaders of ACODET are worried they could face a similar situation.
The Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman (PDH) also expressed its concern about the situation in May 2014: "With the [construction of] the Xalalá dam, three fundamental rights are being violated: the right to life, to live in a healthy environment and the right to health."  On several occasions, leaders and social organizations in the region who oppose the dam have been slandered by local and national actors.

Communities threatened by the construction of the dam have filed complaints with human rights organizations about the use of the Rural Electrification Project Las Copones (Proyecto de Electrificación Rural Los Copones) to carry out the Xalalá project. It has also been reported that INDE geologists have enterred communities by using the legitimate request for bringing electricity to the communities as a substitute for free, prior and informed consent. This action has caused division and confrontations within communities.  At a meeting held in Ascension Copón, Uspantán in December 2013, shortly after signing the contract with Intertechne, senior staff of INDE (Manager Marinus Boer and Project Development Manager Widthmark Estrada) agreed to begin the feasibility studies for the electrification of nine communities.  However, there has still been no progress made in electrification.

In the same manner, humanitarian aid has been conditioned. In March 2014, Uspantán Mayor Victor Hugo Figueroa conditioned material support and equipment to open up roads after heavy landslides in the Zona Reina, Uspantán, in exchange for the acceptance of the presence of INDE engineers who were to perform the technical studies needed to advance rural electrification.  [In the landslides], 27 families of the community of Playitas Copón lost their homes, their livestock and crops and had to take refuge in neighboring communities, where they lived under plastic tents without access to potable water or plumbing.  Since the communities did not accept these conditions, the mayor delayed the road repairs and waited until seven months later - in October - to deliver rooftops and food.

Due to the lack of official information since 2007 on the possible impact of the dam construction, ACODET has requested meetings with relevant state authorities.  In January 2014, the project development manager of INDE began to talk about a design change for the dam, stating that instead of a large hydroelectric dam, there could be several medium-sized ones on both tributaries (Chixoy and Copón. He subsequently argued that the concerns of affected communities are disproportionate to possible damages.

It is important to note that a meeting was held on November 13, 2013, in San Juan Chactelá, Ixcán, between representatives of INDE and communities from Ixcán, Uspantán and Coban who will be directly or indirectly affected by the construction of the dam. At the meeting, INDE failed to mention that the contract with Intertechne had already been signed six days prior.  The International Mission of FIAN, CIFCA, CIDSE and APRODEV that visited two communities of the region in November 2014 found that, "communities do not have adequate information and have not been adequately consulted," and reminded "the state of its responsibility to provide accurate, complete and objective information on topics of interest to the community."  According to Article 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO), ratified by Guatemala in 1996, the state has an obligation to "consult the affected people using appropriate procedures, particularly through their representative institutions, whenever carrying out legislative or administrative activities that may directly affect them."

For a complete list of sources, please see the original article on the ACOGUATE blog.

Expansion of hydroelectric dams and energy transportation infrastructure threatens Indigenous communities in northern Guatemala

With information from Resistencia de los Pueblos, Boletín February 2014
and El Observador 44-45

In 2010, information became publicly available about government electricity projects under the plan: “Expansion of the Electricity Transportation System.” Ever since, organizations and communities have worked to gather information about the implications of these mega-development plans for their communities and territories. One of these projects is the 464.3 kilometer-long Hydraulic Ring (Anillo Hidráulico) - a project that includes eight substations, wire extensions and reinforcements and spans the departments of Huehuetenango, Quiché, Alta Verapaz and Baja Verapaz. The Hydraulic Ring will connect more than 30 hydroelectric projects that are either already in operation in the region or currently being constructed.

The government and industry continue to provide many explanations for the need to ramp up hydroelectric energy generation in Guatemala. The National Electrification Institute (INDE) claims that current production levels are not enough to support demand, and that without the construction of the proposed Xalalá mega-dam, subsidized tariffs provided by the government currently in place for low-income families will have to be eliminated. A member of the Madre Selva Collective explains, however, that the current demand for electricity is in fact being covered by existing hydroelectric dams in the country – principally, the Chixoy and smaller dams previously constructed by INDE. 

The construction of the Xalalá dam would follow in the devastating footprints of the Chixoy project, displacing dozens of communities in northern Quiché, flooding ancestral lands and destroying the main sources of livelihoods for local indigenous peoples. Despite widespread opposition to the dam and questions about the necessity of a project of this scale, the government has continued to push Xalalá forward. 

How, then, do we explain the level of interest in constructing so many hydroelectric dams, including Xalalá, in Guatemala? It is believed that the pressure to push forward the Xalalá project is so that the Xalalá and Chixoy (INDE projects) can be used to cover the national demand, while the new smaller and private projects will be used to generate electricity for sale outside the country or used to support the expansion of mining projects within Guatemala.

The majority of these projects are financed by both international and national private capital. Indeed, the principle role of INDE in the chain of energy generation, including distribution, commercialization and transportation, has slowly been replaced by private actors. This shift from public to private funding for electricity projects has resulted in a push to improve and expand Guatemala's capacity for energy transport.

Government Plans for the Expansion of Energy Transportation Infrastructure – an Urgent National Necessity 

Policies for the distribution and transportation of energy produced by these hydroelectric dams was developed by the Guatemalan government and is divided into five areas: the Electricity Expansion Plan (PET), the Rural Electrification Plan (PER), the Transmission Expansion Plans (PEG), Strategies for Participation in the Regional Electricity Market (MER) and the Energy Reserve Strategy (REE). In order to begin to carry these policies out, the Guatemalan Ministry of Energy and Mines granted the Colombian company, Transportadora de Energia de Controamerica S.A. (TRECSA) a 50-year license to construct the electricity transportation project as outlined in PET and PER.

In April 2013, the Guatemalan government approved Agreement 145-2013, which declared the energy distribution infrastructure projects of “urgent national necessity”, paving the way for a private company, paid by the government via loans from the Inter-American Development Bank, to construct electricity infrastructure. This is being done without the free, prior and informed consent of the Indigenous communities most impacted.

It is under this legal framework that TRECSA has expanded the Electricity Expansion Plan (PET) and Rural Electrification Plan (PER) into northern Guatemala, with the installation of large electric towers, posts and the construction of the electric substations necessary for the advancement of both plans. This imposition is one of the principal causes of ongoing conflict in the municipalities of northern Quiché and throughout the country.

Many Indigenous communities and organizations are denouncing the threats they are receiving and other ways they are being pressured to allow the installation of electrical posts and high tension cables on their land as part of the construction of PET and PER. Communities, including those opposing the Xalalá dam have documented the government's use of coercion and conditioning of social programs on acceptance of mega-development projects. According to local leaders, the government's promises of new social projects are available only to those who allow TRECSA to enter on to their lands, effectively putting a ransom on the wellbeing of women and children in the impacted regions in the Quiché, such as the Ixcán, Uspantán, Cunén and Sacapulas. 

Law 4782 – Forced Expropriation of Land

In early 2014, the Guatemalan Congress began to debate Law 4782 on Forced Expropriation. The law had been previously proposed by the ruling party - Partido Patriota - on three different occasions, and would facilitate TRECSA's legal grounds to forcibly enter private land. The law would allow the contractor or company, in this case TRECSA, to identify and register land it considered to be a candidate for forced expropriation based on plans for the expansion of energy transportation infrastructure. This legislation, together with the decree classifying the project to be of “urgent national necessity”, facilitates the forced displacement of mostly indigenous communities from their ancestral land without consultation, negotiation or fair compensation.

In March 2014, communities and social organizations filed an appeal arguing that declaring PET and PER of urgent national necessity was unconstitutional. A decision by the court is pending.

Community opposition and organizing

On April 20, 2013, people from throughout Guatemala attended the Assembly of the People of the Northern region of the Department of Quiché, which took place in the municipality of Nebaj. During the Assembly, communities publicly expressed the rejection and condemnation of the exploitation and usurpation of their lands and natural resources by the government and the companies in order to develop their own projects at the expense of people and their lands. Through sharing of information, community consultations and assemblies, opposition to this form of energy generation has grown. Pueblos, entire communities and municipalities have carried out more than 70 community consultations since 2005.

US groups call on new US Ambassador to Guatemala to promote justice

The following letter was originally sent on October 14, 2014

Ambassador Todd Robinson U.S. Embassy
Guatemala City, Guatemala

Dear Ambassador Robinson:

We write to congratulate you on your recent appointment as the United States ambassador to Guatemala, and we recognize your extensive experience and service in country as well as throughout the Western hemisphere. As U.S.-based human rights and policy organizations, we closely follow the human rights situation in Guatemala and the impacts of U.S. policy in the region.

We appreciate the steps the U.S. Embassy has taken in recent years to support justice and accountability in Guatemala and fervently believe that the protection of human rights must continue to be a top priority.

Unfortunately, over the last two years, the human rights situation has been deteriorating. As you are well aware, Guatemala currently suffers from increasing violence, organized criminal activity, intense conflict over land and natural resources, high rates of poverty and unemployment, and minimal social spending. When addressing these challenges, the Guatemalan government should implement policies that improve the common good; its institutions and public officials should act within the rule of law, and be held accountable when they do not. However, the Guatemalan government, through militarized policies and ineffective mechanisms for civil society dialogue, has exacerbated social conflict. Impunity rates for all crimes remains high –particularly in cases relating to human rights defenders, indigenous peoples, women, and LGBTQ individuals–and corruption within the government has not been effectively addressed.

Reflections on the "Rivers for Life: Cultural Resistance to the Xalalá Dam" fall speaking tour

Tour speaker, Víctor Caal Tzuy, shows NISGUA's Rivers for Life solidarity banner to ACODET members from Las Margaritas Copón.

The goals for the 2014 NISGUA speaking tour were much like those which have guided us during our 33 years as a human rights, solidarity organization: amplify Guatemalan voices and experiences, connect grassroots struggles across borders, inspire, educate and strengthen our partners in the US and Guatemala. This year's tour exceeded our expectations, and we have Víctor Caal Tzuy of the Association of Communities for Development, Defense of Territory and Natural Resources (ACODET) and the NISGUA grassroots base on both coasts to thank.

Víctor's message of cultural resistance, community organization and unity reached more than 1,000 people during more than 20 events and interviews. Spanish language radio spots helped our tour reach immigrant communities in Seattle, Portland and the Bay Area. The tour petition gathered nearly 700 signatures demanding respect for indigenous communities’ right to consultation and the cancellation of the Xalalá pre-construction studies.

Víctor Caal Tzuy speaking at the Duwamish Longhouse & Cultural Center

Presentation to NISGUA supporters at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, VA

Preparing for a radio interview during Indigenous Peoples Day Sunrise Ceremony on Alcatraz Island

Tour events in Seattle, San Francisco and San Jose, CA, opened space for horizontal exchanges between indigenous leaders and local activists working against displacement and in defense of territories. Our final days were spent in Washington D.C., where Víctor had the opportunity to provide decision-makers in the US government, at the Brazilian Embassy and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) with first-hand information about the damages of the proposed dam project.

Especially moving were the opportunities for horizontal exchange between Víctor and similarly affected peoples –including indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest and Bay Area activists fighting for self-determination in Palestine, the Phillipines and Richmond, CA. During one such exchange in Seattle, WA, Víctor, a Maya-Q'eqchi' leader and Ken Workman of the Duwamish Tribal Council, found common ground as indigenous people with shared legacies of river stewardship and common experiences of displacement from colonization. “Ken and I have much in common–we both live on the shores of rivers, and we will defend our rivers”, reflected Víctor. Ken, the great-great-great-great grandson of Chief Si'ahl (Seattle) drew connections between past suffering of the Duwamish people and the current situation facing Q'eqchi' communities opposing the Xalalá Dam. “The potential effects on culture and environment that Victor describes are exactly what occurred here in Seattle 100 years ago..."

Indigenous leaders, Víctor Caal Tzuy and Ken Workman

Sharing culture and struggle with New Fire in San Jose, CA

During meetings in Washington, DC, Víctor expressed the concerns shared by the 51 indigenous communities that compose ACODET about the lack of respect for consultation and the intensification of government pressure to accept the project in return for vital social programs. He shared specific instances of attempts to militarize peacefully resisting communities in the name of fighting supposed drug activity in the region.

In a meeting with the IDB, we discussed a 2008 grant that provided technical support to establish the Xalalá Dam as a “pilot project” for future hydroelectric projects, and we encouraged the Bank to refrain from future funding of the dam given ongoing human rights abuses. We also raised concerns about ongoing IDB loans to the Guatemalan government for rural electrification as these funds are being used to condition local electricity projects in Ixcán communities based on their acceptance of the Xalalá Dam.

At each of the tour stops, Víctor explained the significance and importance of international solidarity in their struggle. He encouraged people to come and visit his community, which is located at the confluence of the Chixoy and Copón rivers, precisely where the Xalalá Dam would be built. “I invite you to come and visit our river. You will be welcomed if you come with NISGUA, but not if you come with the companies. One of the reasons our resistance has been successful is international accompaniment. We need your support.”

Horizontal exchange with Bay Area activists fighting for self-determination

Media links:

Interview at KEPX Seattle, WA

"Letters Home: Dawn in the Ixcán" published on The Outsider 

"Los Qéqchi' y los Duwamish"  / "The Q'equchi' and the Duwamish" published on El Salmón

Say No to State Department funds for Guatemalan Army

Join NISGUA and GHRC in calling on Secretary of State John Kerry to deny certification of DOS funds to Guatemala

"We need more teachers and not military brigades." Photo: PrensaComunitaria

Guatemala’s UN Truth Commission report not only attributes 93% of all human rights violations and acts of violence to the Guatemalan State, which included over 600 massacres, it also finds the US responsible for playing a large role in providing military assistance and training to the Guatemalan Army during the conflict. It was not until 1990, seven years after the most violent period of Guatemala's internal armed conflict, that the US enacted a full ban on Department of State aid to the Guatemalan Army. Over the past two decades, restrictions on the ban have been weakened. Now, we face the possibility of seeing the restrictions lifted completely.

Currently, State Department funds may only go to the Guatemalan Army if the Secretary of State certifies that the Army:

1. Has a narrowly defined mission focused on border security and external threats, and a credible plan to end the Army’s involvement in internal law enforcement.
2. Cooperates with civilian investigations and prosecutions of human rights cases involving current and retired military officers.
3. Publicly discloses all military archival documents related to the internal armed conflict in a timely manner in response to requests by civilian judicial authorities.

In addition, this year, the US Congress approved special conditions for reinstatement of aid, contingent upon the Guatemalan government taking credible steps toward implementing the 2010 reparations plan for the communities affected by the Chixoy Hydroelectric Dam. Over 3,000 people were affected by the dam, including 444 people massacred and several communities completely inundated when the dam was built in the early 1980s.

Otto Pérez Molina in Santa Cruz Barillas with soldiers and special forces Kaibiles.
Photo: Simone Dalmass

The persecution, criminalization and repression carried out by Otto Pérez Molina’s military government and the Guatemalan state aim to minimize or put an end to the opposition to the implementation of mining exploitation projects.  --- Departmental Assembly of Huehuetenango (ADH) 

Why should the US maintain restrictions on military aid?

• Survivors have not seen justice for the atrocities carried out by the military. This neglect has been demonstrated by survivors of the Guatemalan genocide who have filed a complaint in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights against the Guatemalan State for the denial of justice to witnesses involved in the genocide trial
• Peaceful communities have suffered military repression, and leaders are increasingly criminalized for their work defending human rights, territory and natural resources.
• Guatemala clearly does not meet conditions necessary to receive military aid defined by the US Department of State, as the Guatemalan Army expands its role in law enforcement, and refuses to disclose some documents related to the internal armed conflict.

Take action today!

Download NISGUA's Background on US Military Aid to Guatemala for additional information. Print our petition in English or Spanish, circulate it in your community and mail to: NISGUA PO Box 70494 Oakland, CA 94612.

ADH denounces World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank

The Departmental Assembly of Huehuetenango in Defense of Territory and for the Autonomy and Free Determination of the People – ADH – informs the national and international community:


During 1981, 1982, 1983, the Guatemalan Army massacred the Achí communities that lived on the banks of the Chixoy River; 444 people, including youth, children, men and women were executed. The justification of the massacre was the existence of an internal armed conflict, but in reality, they carried out this strategy in order to clean the zone and implant the construction of the Chixoy hydro-electric project. The National Electrification Institute – INDE – was responsible for the execution of this project, having received a loan from the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank for almost 1 billion dollars. In 2012, the Inter-American Court on Human Rights condemned the State of Guatemala for the massacres of Rio Negro and called for fulfillment of the reparations to the victims' family members for the damages caused, including the expropriation of land, crops, animals, identity and culture.

On January 17, 2014, after a 32-year community struggle, the Congress and President of the United States made a declaration demanding that the State of Guatemala and Otto Pérez Molina should pay the $154,000,000 in damages to the victims. The response of “ Mr. President “ was immediate: “To give these communities $154,000,000, is like saying that we are going to privilege these communities and leave others out.”  “Mr. President” this is a historic debt owed by the Guatemalan State to the victims of the massacres and the civilized world. The communities of Río Negro continue living in extreme poverty and in inhumane conditions. Your response, “Mr. President”, is irresponsible and aberrant.

Today, February 7, 2014, the Departmental Assembly of Huehuetenango – ADH – and the people of Santa Cruz Barillas, demand that the military government of Otto Pérez Molina respond responsibly and quickly to resolve once and for all the conflict in Barillas. 31 years later, the same methods are being repeated by Hidralia-Hidro Santa Cruz. It is time to end the conflict created by the Spanish company in its attempt to implant two hydro-electric projects in the Q’am’balam River. The conflict has gone on for five years and has resulted in the persecution, intimidation, and co-opting of community leaders. There have been assassinations, imprisonment; there is fear and terror. “Mr. President,” it is necessary to stop these companies.

The sad and terrifying story of Chixoy is related to the current persecution in Barillas through international financial institutions. The World Bank and the Inter- American Development Bank are financing Hidro Santa Cruz through the Inter-American Corporation for Infrastructure Financing (CIFI), which in 2010 provided financing for the Canbalam hydroelectric dam. In 2008, CIFI received an $80,000,000 loan from the International Financial Corporation of the World Bank Group.  In 2001, CIFI received $10,000,000 from the Inter-American Investment Corporation of the Inter-American Development Bank. We believe that these investments are responsible for the human rights violations and the damages suffered by the communities of Barillas.

Mr. Otto Pérez Molina, do you want to continue protecting companies that act illegally? What do you and your government stand to gain? Will you continue to repress the Q’anjob’al and Mestizo communities of Santa Cruz Barillas? Or what are your plans for this region that has been abandoned by the state of Guatemala?

For all of the previous reasons, as the ADH we demand:

A: The end to persecution, repression and criminalization of community leaders.
B: That the Spanish company Hidralia-Hidro Santa Cruz be expelled from the country given the harm it has caused to the communities of Barillas.
C: That Hidralia-Hidro Santa Cruz pay material, physical, physiological and cultural damages to the victims.

We call on:

• International organizations and the Inter American Commission on Human Rights – IACDH to visit in order to investigate the damages caused by Hidralia-Hidro Santa Cruz and that they issue a public statement.
• The governments of Europe, Canada and Latin America to investigate and make a public statement against the improper use given to funds provided by the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank. 
• International solidarity organizations to denounce these acts and remain vigilant to the evolution of Otto Pérez Molina’s military government so that he upholds his responsibilities and that the persecution, repression and criminalization ends. 
• National organization to close our ranks in solidarity and unity of the People.

We demand liberty for our political prisoners.

The people of Barillas are not responsible for the violence; they are the object of a dark plan of repression and criminalization.

We are all Barillas
Life and Territory have no owner

Departmental Assembly of Huehuetenango – ADH – February 7, 2014