In 2012, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights condemned the Guatemalan state in three cases: the 1982 Río Negro massacres, the 1984 forced disappearance of union and student activist Fernando García, and 28 disappearances between 1983-1985 documented in the military… Read More ›
Land
Golden Lie: Resistance against mining in Guatemala
“They lied to us, the gold man and the ministry of energy and mines lied to us about the project. They said we were crazy, that nothing was going to happen but we just found out about one year and… Read More ›
Guatemala: Peaceful Resistance in the Face of Violence
We have featured the struggles in the communities of San Pedro Ayampuc and San José del Golfo before <a href=http://gsntest.jocote.org/uncategorized/third-month-of-resistance-against-a-radius-gold-owned-mine-in-guatemala/"Yoli" Oquelí, here. News that the communities had been awarded the Alice Zachmann Human Rights Defender Award also reached us and… Read More ›
Criminalization and Violence Erupt in the Shadow of the Escobal Mine
We have featured the struggles of San Rafael Las Flores against mining interests before both <a href=http://gsntest.jocote.org/uncategorized/goldcorp%e2%80%99s-legacy%3a-criminalization-and-mining-resistance-in-san-rafael-las-flores/' right to consultation in the face of the project and last week, in an unclarified series of events, violence erupted when security forces… Read More ›
Santa Cruz Barillas wants its leaders back
Santa Cruz Barillas is a town in the Western Highlands in the Department of Huehuetenango and it has the misfortune to be the site of the Cambalam hydroelectric dam. The municipality has been the site of conflict since the issuing… Read More ›
Out of land and nowhere to go: Occupying land in Cahabon, Guatemala
“Cahabon, like much of Guatemala, suffers from a high percentage of land disputes. At the moment it is estimated that 50% of the rural population who work small plots of land are waiting to be recognized as legitimate owners. The… Read More ›
Alice Zachmann Human Rights Defender Award
GSN is pleased to pass on the news that the communities of San Pedro Ayampuc and San José del Golfo have been announced as the winners of the Alice Zachmann Human Rights Defender Award. The Guatemala Human Rights Commission (GHRC)… Read More ›
Accumulation by Dispossession
James Rodríguez of MiMundo chronicles another mining story, this time in the Dominican Republic. While at a distance from Guatemala, the company is the same – Goldcorp. Many of the images and stories are familiar to those already familiar with… Read More ›
Guatemala’s Highest Court to Hear Landmark Indigenous Challenge against Mining Law
“Today [July 20th 2012], Guatemala’s Constitutional Court will hear a case challenging the constitutionality of the 1997 mining law for failure to consult with the country’s indigenous peoples who make up more than half the population. The lawsuit, filed by… Read More ›
The spoils of an undeclared war
How Guatemala’s ‘War on Drugs’ is being used as a front to clear land for oil companies We mentioned previously about the Guatemala Government’s subservience to global corporate interests, namely that of French oil company Perenco. An article by Dawn… Read More ›