This historic ruling upheld a lower court’s June 2017 order that the then mine owner, Tahoe Resources, halt all construction. It furthermore ordered the mine to remain closed until the Ministry of Energy and Mines conducted a consultation with the Indigenous Xinka people. From the original ruling in 2017 until this announcement from the Constitutional Court in September 2018, thousands of Xinka water protectors from various municipalities maintained an around-the-clock encampment to resist the mine and call for its permanent closure. Communities resisting this silver mine continue to face surveillance, criminalization, violence, defamation, and repression. NISGUA continues to accompany the Peaceful Resistance of Santa Rosa, Jalapa, and Jutiapa against the Escobal mine. Read more here.
📸 In April 2018, thousands of water protectors gathered in front of the Constitutional Court in Guatemala City, demanding the closure of the Escobal mine and respect for the self-determination of the Xinka people.