An enlightening interview with Dr. Robert Moran, American hydrologist and geochemist reveals some of the detrimental effects of the Minero Progreso Derivada II project on La Puya and the surrounding areas. The interview was originally published in Spanish by Plaza… Read More ›
Mining
Why We Need an Immediate Moratorium on Gold Mining
Written by Eduardo Gudynas Original Source: América Latina en Movimiento, this from Upside Down World. Gold mining has become a scourge that afflicts most Latin American countries. In some places, a few giant transnational corporations operate. In others, hundreds or… Read More ›
Guatemala’s growing mining sector brings violence against indigenous communities with it
Guatemala’s metal mining sector has grown seven-fold since 2006, and the administration of President Otto Pérez Molina has granted more than 100 mining licenses during its first 18 months in power. There are also more than 50 hydroelectric projects at… Read More ›
Under the Volcano
An anti-mining banner at the roadblock reads: “Defend our Mother Earth from the rats.” Guatemala sits atop a wealth of natural resources—nickel, gold, silver, and titanium—that lie beneath the country’s rich volcanic soil. In 1960, the Canadian-owned and -operated International… Read More ›
‘La Puya’: Two years against the mine
We are all ‘La Puya’ Accompanied by great photographs from the 2nd anniversary celebrations at ‘La Puya’, from Sandra Sebastián, Oswaldo J. Hernández writes, Two years ago, just on the border between San Pedro Ayampuc and San José del Golfo,… Read More ›
La Puya: Two Years of Peaceful Resistance Against an Unwanted Gold Mine
More great photoreportage from James Rodríguez (MiMundo) chronicling the days leading up the 2nd anniversary of the Cominudad en Resistencia of La Puya. The highlight of the first few days was the removal of the heavy machinery that had been… Read More ›
Celebrating Two Years of Resistance in La Puya
Sunday, 2nd March 2014, saw the Comunidad en Resistencia of ‘La Puya’ celebrate its 2nd anniversary in its struggle for land and dignity against a rapacious mining industry and the Guatemala state. Rachel Small has put together a fine series… Read More ›
The Thorn Tree Resistance
As Emilie Teresa Smith articulates so well in Sojourners magazine, Gold and silver mines in Guatemala are wreaking havoc on local communities. But the people, using nonviolent Christian action, are fighting back. With regard to this article, she is referring… Read More ›
La Puya – Employees of EXMINGUA-KCA plead guilty to threats against journalists
Guatemala Human Rights Commission (GHRC) reports that Juan José Reyes Carrera y retired Guatemalan Army Lt., Pablo Silas Orozco Cifuentes, were sentenced to two years in prison for “threats and coercion” against independent journalists reporting on local resistance to a… Read More ›
Indigenous Guatemalans Reject Mining Moratorium, Want Genuine Community Consultation
The above photograph accompanies an article by Curtis Kline on the Intercontinental Cry website. “Mining in Guatemala has often been to the detriment of the Indigenous Peoples of the country as it has proven to take away their ability to… Read More ›