Communities speak out against the Escobal mine: we are still here, we are still in resistance
"In the face of a storm, some animals go underground and bury their heads. But eagles fly above the storm. We need to be like the eagles...with this storm upon us, we choose to rise higher, knowing that our struggle is one that has value and dignity." Teresa Muñoz, San Jose la Sierra On March 1, 2015, Teresa Muñoz [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Norwegian Fund Divests from Tahoe Resources, Canadian and U.S. Investors Urged to Follow Suit
Tuesday, February 3, 2015 (Ottawa/Guatemala) North American shareholders in Tahoe Resources should follow the Norway's Council on Ethics’s lead and divest say Canadian and U.S. organizations. They urge Canadian and U.S. investors to make use of a report published last week that recommends the exclusion of Tahoe Resources from the from the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) portfolio due [...]
The answer to “Who knows who started the fire…” at the Spanish Embassy
Three and a half decades had to go by in order to achieve justice for a horrendous moment in the history of the country. At the time, television cameras recorded the burning of the Spanish Embassy in Guatemala and showed the agony the 37 people endured after being blocked from leaving. The official version offered by the State and [...]
Freedom of expression at serious risk in Guatemala
Today, alternative and grassroots media in Guatemala denounced attacks against Radio Snuq' Jolom Konob', a community radio station in the department of Huehuetenango that regularly transmits voices of the Q'anjob'al people living in and around the municipality of Santa Eulalia. The department of Huehuetenango, like many other areas in Guatemala, has been the site of increased social conflict due [...]