Something big was missing from Goldcorp and Tahoe Resources' shareholder meetings: the voices of communities impacted by their mines

On April 30th and May 8th respectively, Goldcorp and Tahoe Resources held their Annual General Meetings (AGM) in Canada to discuss their FY2014 accomplishments and future expansion plans at their mine sites in Guatemala.

What was missing, however, were the many voices of those impacted by Goldcorp and Tahoe's operations around the world - voices of communities whose water sources are becoming increasingly contaminated and drying up; voices of community leaders who are being criminalized for speaking out against the mining companies, and the voices of peaceful Guatemalans who are witnessing the military occupy their communities once more in order to protect private corporate interests.

Members of the Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence
Network (BTS), the Mining Injustice Solidarity Network (MISN)
and other allies demonstrate in front of Goldcorp's office.
Photo credit: NISGUA

Organizers, activists and others in solidarity with mining-impacted communities gathered on April 30th outside Goldcorp's Toronto office to commemorate the life of 16-year-old Topacio Reynoso. Topacio was the Youth Coordinator of the Resistance in Mataquescuintla, near the Escobal mine, and was shot and killed in April 2014. Although the Escobal mine is owned by Tahoe Resources, Goldcorp retains a 29% controlling share in the company. 

"Rest in Power, Topacio!" Photo credit: NISGUA

Those present laid red carnations on the steps of Goldcorp's office in an act of solidarity with Topacio's family and friends as well as with communities who continue to face violence from mining operations. The flowers also symbolize the ongoing resistance to the Escobal project. In 2011, communities from San Rafael las Flores - which borders the Escobal mine - marched to the company's headquarters in Guatemala City and to the Canadian embassy to leave red carnations in an act of protest against the mining project.

Photo credit: NISGUA

Activists marched down Toronto's financial district to Goldcorp's shareholder AGM, carrying banners to denounce the violence suffered around the Marlin mine during its ten years of operation in Guatemala.

Photo credit: NISGUA

Photo credit: NISGUA

Community voices aren't being heard where the decisions are being made, and so demonstrators wheat-pasted some of the messages impacted communities wanted to tell investors outside Goldcorp's office and around Toronto's financial district.

Photo credit: Sarita Galvez

In a similar action on May 8th, members of the Mining Justice Alliance and Amnesty International gathered to bring some of these same messages to Tahoe Resources' shareholder AGM in Vancouver, Canada.

U.S. and Canadian-owned mining companies like Tahoe Resources and Goldcorp operate without the free, prior and informed consent of those most impacted by their operations. Instead of listening to the concerns of community members, these companies engage in practices of criminalization of local leaders, while promoting the implementation of militarized security strategies at their mine sites in an attempt to quell local opposition. 

Despite this violence, communities continue to stand up and say: "We're still here. We're still in resistance." 

To see more messages from those impacted by Tahoe's Escobal mine, click here. 

Sipakapa is still not for sale...

Neither are San Rafael Las Flores, Nueva Santa Rosa, Mataquescuintla, Jalapa nor Santa Rosa de Lima.

In 2005, the communities of Sipakapa carried out one of the first community consultations on mining in Guatemala, taking a stand against Canadian giant, Goldcorp Inc., and sparking a movement that has resulted in over 70 referenda throughout the country to date.

Communities opposing mining in their territory warn of environmental destruction, poisoned water sources and community division. Goldcorp's Marlin mine, which began extracting gold in 2005, has soundly delivered on all three of the concerns outlined by affected communities, while Tahoe Resources' Escobal mine, which began commercial production a month ago, seems poised to follow suite.

In addition to expanding the Marlin mine to include extraction from underground tunnels, Goldcorp and Guatemalan subsidiary EntreMares, have initiated development of a new open pit project named Los Chocoyos in neighboring Sipakapa. The Los Chocoyos license was granted in 2006 and renewed twice before the Environmental Impact Assessment was approved in February 2013, giving the go ahead for exploitation at the mining site. While Goldcorp lauds the municipal government of Sipakapa for its support of mining, the company fails to recognize that public opinion is divided and widespread opposition exists.

In May 2013, the Maya Sipakapense Council and over one thousand supporters gathered in front of the municipality to express their opposition to the municipal government's proposal to repeat the 2005 community consultation, which voted against mineral exploitation in their territory. In June, thousands marched to celebrate the eighth anniversary of their consultation. In September, hundreds of protesters temporarily blocked the Inter-American Highway to demand an end to Goldcorp's Marlin operations. A month later, community members gathered again to call on the mayor to respond to concerns previously presented by communities and to put an end to the municipal government's stigmatization of community leaders opposing mining. 

Community members gather in the municipal hall to commemorate the 8th
anniversary of the community consultation in Sipakapa (Photo SaraGuate)

Communities opposed to Goldcorp's Los Chocoyos project
 march in Sipakapa (Photo SaraGuate)

In December, representatives from the Maya Sipakapense Council and the Western People's Council (CPO) presented a legal action against the Director of the Ministry of Energy and Mines for violation of the right to free, prior and informed consent as outlined in ILO Convention 169 regarding Indigenous Peoples and supported by a 2011 ruling in Guatemala's Constitutional Court. 

“The Maya Sipakapense People will not allow more abuse and displacement. It is for these reasons that on December 11, 2013, we presented a Constitutional complaint... in order to achieve, in a legal and peaceful way, the annulment of the Los Chocoyos license and the immediate departure of the mining company.” - Press release Maya Sipakapense Council, January 14, 2014

In a political action intended to draw attention to the December legal complaint, thousands of protesters gathered on January 14 to express their opposition to Goldcorp's newest project. Community members from surrounding departments and municipalities, many of whom also oppose Goldcorp projects in their territory, joined the Sipakapense people, to form a peaceful march of an estimated 5,000 people. During the course of the day, a worker was taken into custody by those gathered as a pressure tactic. The police responded by apprehending two protesters. Shortly after, those captured on both sides were released.

Protesters in Pie de la Cuesta demand the suspension
 of Goldcorp's Los Chocoyos mine (Photo CPO)

Protests and marches are often considered a “last resort” by communities that have attempted for years to express their opposition to projects through legal actions and community referenda without results. One reason why protest has become so costly in Guatemala is that community leaders and human rights defenders at the forefront of movements in defense of territory are often slapped with unfounded legal suites filed by companies or their associates with the purpose of undermining and criminalizing social movements.

Not surprisingly, less than a month after the January march, 13 legal cases were filed in San Marcos against community members from Sipakapa for alleged criminal activities carried out on they day of the January 14 protest. The 13 community members include seven people from Pie de la Cuesta, the location of the Los Chocoyos project, the January 14 protest, as well as home to numerous members of the Maya Sipakapense Council. For many, the accusations come as a complete surprise, as they were in the neighboring municipality of San Miguel Ixtahuacán holding a press conference on the day of the protest.

As Goldcorp continues to expand, so does community opposition and increased social conflict. Tahoe Resources, a company made up of 40% Goldcorp investment shares and that has structured its management team around ex-Goldcorp employees, most importantly former Glamis Gold CEO Kevin McArthur, is unsurprisingly following in Goldcorp's shameful footsteps. Since Tahoe began the development of its Escobal silver mine in the department of Santa Rosa in southeastern Guatemala, the communities surrounding the project have experienced conflict, violence and massive criminalization of peaceful protest.

Santa Rosa de Lima No se vende - protest on February 14
against Tahoe Resources voluntary royalties (Photo Parlamento Xinca)

Tahoe Resources has brushed off community opposition by claiming that protesters are shipped in from neighboring municipalities who are unaffected by the silver project. The case of Sipakapa and the fact that Tahoe and Goldcorp mining concessions extend into the nearby municipalities of Jalapa, Santa Rosa de Lima and Nueva Santa Rosa, Casillas, Jutiapa and Mataquesquintla, clearly demonstrate that Tahoe will not stop at the Escobal mine. Sipakapa serves as an example that community opposition, despite setback and division, will not stop either.

With information from Breaking the Silence Network

Communities denounce forced labor in San Miguel Ixtahuacán

CALAS and Plurijul denounce mayor of San Miguel Ixtahuacán
Photo: Breaking the Silence

Press Conference Communiqué

Article 4 of the political constitution of the Republic of Guatemala establishes that no person can be subjected to servitude or any other condition which undermines their dignity.

On January 8, 2014, five communities of San Miguel Ixtahuacán, department of San Marcos, where the Marlin Mine (Goldcorp Inc.) operates, presented a complaint against Ovidio Joel Domingo Bámaca, Mayor of San Miguel Ixtahuacán, for the crime of subjecting citizens to involuntary servitude according to article 202 of the criminal code. At the end of January, the Guatemalan Supreme Court of Justice transferred the legal process to the Joint Chamber the Appeals Court of San Marcos.

The Chamber will appoint a judge to resolve whether the complaint put forward constitutes a crime that has been committed, and that is hasn’t been submitted for spurious, political or illegitimate reasons. It will then be sent to be investigated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office in San Marcos.

When a person is obliged to do something against his or her will, the crime of servitude is being committed. This offense is punishable by 10 years in prison. It is a public offense, and therefore, the Appeals Court Judge is required to officially forward the complaint to the Prosecutor’s Office of San Marcos.

The Municipal Mayor is also violating Article 6 of the American Convention on Human Rights of the Organizations of American States (OAS) which prohibits absolute and irrevocable prohibition of slavery, servitude and forced labor.

The five communities of Ágel, San Antonio de los Altos, San José Nueva Esperanza, San José Ixcaniche, and Siete Platos of San Miguel Ixtahuacán, San Marcos, are beneficiaries of the precautionary measures ordered by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights – CIDH – on May 20, 2010, which require guaranteed potable water, water for domestic use and water safe for irrigation, in particular water not contaminated by the Marlin Mine operations. However, we are being forced to work without pay to have access to the precautionary measures.

The accused mayor, Ovidio Joel Domingo Bámaca, is forcing the five communities to:

1. Pay for the right to have running water,

2. Work for free to build the infrastructure for the water projects,

3. Give, for free, natural resources from our communal territories to make the construction materials,

4. Pay for the right of way to the owners of the land where the infrastructure for the water projects will be built,

5. Provide free free labor in the construction, operation and maintenance of infrastructure of the water projects in our communities.

Guatemala, February 6, 2014.

Plurijur, Maya Sipacapense Council, FREDEMI, CALAS

Translation by Breaking the Silence.

Communities in Totonicapán and Quetzaltenango hold community referenda on mining

"The Council of Ancestral Authorities of the 31 communities of Momostenango welcomes you to the good faith community consultation" (All Photos: NISGUA)

On Sunday September 1, the municipality of Momostenango held the third community consultation in the department of Totonicapán. In all three referenda in Totonicapán, as well as two additional referenda in the department of Quetzaltenango, community members overwhelmingly rejected mining projects in their territories.

In Momostenango, 51,667 people, 99.88%, voted No to mining

While there are no mining projects currently operating in Totonicapán, there are 17 concessions for mineral exploration held by Entre Mares and Montana Exploradora, Guatemalan subsidiaries of Canada's Goldcorp Inc. Goldcorp currently owns and operates the Marlin Mine, an open pit gold mine, which has been the source of human rights abuses and tension over lack of respect for indigenous rights, as well as negative impacts on clean water supplies and public health. Goldcorp also holds 40% of shares in Tahoe Resources' controversial Escobal silver mine in San Rafael Las Flores, Santa Rosa.

Two boys show off their inked thumbs - a sign of their participation in the referenda

Since 2005, nearly a million people in more than 78 municipalities across Guatemala have held community referenda on large-scale development projects.

Despite a clear mandate, neither the government nor the companies have respected community decisions. In response to this systematic and historic exclusion of indigenous people from decision-making processes, the Western Peoples' Council (CPO) recently filed a petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) for failure to consult with indigenous peoples on projects and policy decisions that impact their territories. 

During a September 3 press conference, Lolita Chávez, member of the CPO in representation of the K'iche' Peoples' Council, explained indigenous peoples' opposition to the large-scale development model imposed by the government: “The government says that we are an obstacle to development, but we believe that your laws and your state are an impediment to the path of our people.”

Read NISGUA's press release: Guatemalan Indigenous Organizations File Complaint over Mining Law with Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

Sipakapa celebrates 8th anniversary of community consultation

On June 18, the communities of Sipakapa, a municipality affected by GoldCorp's Marlin Mine in Western Guatemala, celebrated the eighth anniversary of one of the first community consultations in the country. Today, more than 70 community consultations on natural resource exploration and exploitation have been carried out throughout Guatemala. In every case, communities have resoundingly rejected mega-projects on their territory voting NO to mining and YES to life.

On Tuesday, more than 1,000 men, women and children peacefully gathered in Sipakapa, in the department of San Marcos, to demand respect for the community consultation and to demonstrate their opposition to GoldCorp's Marlin Mine. The people of Sipakapa confirmed once again: Sipakapa is not for sale / Sipakapa no se vende!

Thousands gather to celebrate the anniversary of one of Guatemala's first community
consultations in 2005 around the Marlin Mine in Sipakapa, San Marcos. Photo: COPAE

In recent months, repression, violent attacks and a state of siege have shifted public attention to GoldCorp's newest investment in Guatemala, Tahoe Resources' Escobal silver mine, of which GoldCorp holds 40% of the shares. However, the social and environmental impacts of the Marlin Mine continue to be a major concern for residents in the surrounding communities.

At a press conference on May 19, the Center for Legal, Environmental and Social Action in Guatemala (CALAS) and the organization Juridical Pluralism (Plurijur) presented evidence of the possible existence of chronic arsenic poisoning and other environmental illnesses in the region of the Marlin Mine in the department of San Marcos. Chronic arsenic poisoning is typically caused by exposure to high levels of arsenic in groundwater, a possible result of pollution from the mine.

The health impacts mining have long been a concern for affected communities as was demonstrated during the People's International Health Tribunal in 2012. Technical studies have also shown that Marlin's mine operations present significant health risks. Researchers from Physicians for Human Rights and the University of Michigan have released a study showing that individuals living closer to the mine had higher levels of arsenic and other potentially toxic metals than those living further away. Studies confirming the negative environmental and health impacts of the mine have also been carried out by researchers at the University of Ghent in Belgium and E-Tech International, a New Mexico based environmental organization.

In 2010, in response to a petition submitted by Marlin Mine affected communities, the Inter-American Human Rights Commission urged the Guatemalan government to suspend all operations at the mine. In the face of governmental pressure, the recommendation to suspend all operations was lifted the following year. However, other recommendations remained in place, including an order that the government ensure the quality of water resources in the area of the mine. According to Carlos Loarca of Plurijur, the government announced in August 2012 that they would install a treatment plant for water contaminated by mine's operations, but the communities have not been aware of any follow-up actions taken by the government.

During the Sipakapa consultation anniversary activities this week, representatives of the community expressed their ongoing concerns about the impacts of mining on their territory and communities, including the contamination of water sources used for human consumption and crops. Community activist and human rights defender Crisanta Pérez called for unity and strength moving forward saying: “Today Sipakapa rejected mining, and all of our brothers and sisters have to continue on the path no matter what we suffer or what we live through, we must continue forward. Today Montana Exploradora (Canadian subsidiary of GoldCorp) - wants to exploit our communities, but the people want to express themselves and each day we continue to grow.”