#escobal

[happyredstar]

Last set (part 3) of our Baguio 2023

[gentefolk]

Danza de diablitos de espejos a jóvenes de la Copa de lasEstrellas

Danza de diablitos de espejos a jóvenes de la Copa de lasEstrellas

El Ministerio de Cultura (MiCultura) dictó taller de danza de Diablitos de Espejos a grupo de niños y jóvenes, como parte del programa de capacitaciones organizadas por el Movimiento Nueva Generación (MNG).La jornada inició con la proyección de un documental sobre la fiesta de Corpus Christi de Escobal, provincia de Colón, donde se mostraban los pasos de los danzantes, el vestuario y la ejecución…

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[caesarsreport]

Tahoe Resources suspends its dividend

Tahoe Resources suspends its dividend

Tahoe Resources (THO.TO, TAHO) has announced the suspension of its dividend and company-wide production guidance as the Escobal mining license remains suspended fort the time being as the supreme court has denied a motion for reconsideration and the procedure in front of the constitutional court could take several more months. The company also reported a total production of 4.1 million ounces of…

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[losdespojados]

Some of the tactics used by private and state security forces against communities opposed to they company’s project given concerns over potential impacts on water, health and agriculture include:

The company and other actors brought constitutional challenges against local plebiscites over mining;

Some hundred people faced legal persecution, only to later be absolved of all charges for lack of evidence;

Under pressure from the company to protect its interests, the Guatemalan government installed an “inter-institutional pilot project” in the municipality where the mine is located, characterising those opposed to mining as a threat to national security. Local residents consider it to be a military intelligence gathering exercise;

Peaceful protests were violently repressed by police and private security forces on more than one occasion. In particular, on April 27, 2013, private security guards fired on peaceful protesters demonstrating outside the mine site, wounding seven men;

Days after the April 27 shooting, the Guatemalan government declared a state of siege in the local area during which time the homes of community leaders opposed to the mine were raided. Several people were jailed for months and then released;

The “inter-institutional project” continues; two military outposts have remained in the area.

Read full report. 

[losdespojados]

Two years have passed since the region around the municipality of San Rafael las Flores in southwestern Guatemala was crawling with soldiers and police officers during a state of siege, but locals organizing against mining projects continue to live with the impacts of the government crackdown. The militarization of the area and the judicial persecution of local leaders continue, as do murders of anti-mining activists.

This latest article by Sandra Cuffe re-tells the history of the popular resistance against mining in San Rafael Las Flores, Guatemala, led by the region’s indigenous Xinca people. The population has been clear in its opposition to the Escobal mine, which until recently counted Canada’s GoldCorp among its major shareholders. The response from authorities has been a series of ‘states of emergency’ (i.e. temporary military take-over), criminalisation of dissent, intimidation of leaders and activists, and outright assassination, including the recent murder of Telesforo Pivaral.

"In Mataquescuintla and in Casillas, the two municipalities are militarized. There's a military outpost seven kilometers from San Rafael [in one direction] and another military outpost seven kilometers away [in the other direction]," Oscar Morales told mongabay.com in an interview in Guatemala City following a hearing in one of the many legal cases against him. Morales, an organizer from San Rafael las Flores, said locals view the military presence as government intimidation. "Any leader or person who wants to speak out against mining prefers to stay quiet rather than face legal proceedings or harassment from the state," said Morales. "Basically, it's sowing fear in the region," he said of the army's ongoing presence.

Read the full article here. Note that this piece is the fourth in a series that Cuffe has been writing for Mongabay. You can read the other three here:

Nickel Mine, Lead Bullets: Maya Q’eqchi’ seek justice in Guatemala and Canada (19 May 2015)

Mining and Energy Contracts under Investigation as Corruption Scandals Rock Guatemala (22 May 2015)

Damming Dissent: Community leaders behind bars in Guatemala after opposing hydro projects (2 July 2015)

[losdespojados]

Short news story by TeleSur about last week’s Encuentro Continental contra la Minería (Continental Summit Against Mining) where Guatemalan organisations voiced their grievances against Canadian mining company Tahoe Resources and the Escobal mine that it owns in San Rafael Las Flores, central Guatemala. The video is in Spanish, so here’s a brief summary in English: 

Local resident Celeste Gutierrez Palma said that the mine’s first social impact was to cause quarrels within the community and between family members as the company adopts a divide and conquer strategy in order to obtain a social license. Luis Garcia Monroy then showed is bullet wounds on camera. Garcia was shot four times on April 27th 2013 when private security guards backed by National Police forces opened fire on a peaceful protest. Finally, Ana González of Madre Selva, an environmental NGO that has monitored and documented the mine’s environmental impacts, said that no less than eleven sources of spring water have dried up since the mine began operations. 

For more info on the project itself, including a timeline of significant events, see here.