Not all gold glitters: Corporate gold-fever breeds resistance in Central America

The commodity markets are booming. Political situations and supply bottlenecks send oil and copper prices skyrocketing. The gold price is also rising and even the all-time high of 850 US Dollars per ounce is likely to be transgressed sooner or later. Fear of inflation, geopolitical concerns, and an overheated boom of the US economy drive investors into the panic-proved currency gold. For trans-national mining conglomerates, like GlamisGold, it’s a business that pays: The worldwide demand for silver and gold is as keen as seldom before. In search of new gold veins they expand to Central America. But the prophets of the new gold-fever encounter strong resistance there. “Mining does not provide any development opportunities for those countries. You can see that in Peru, where the regions, in which the mines are located, belong to the poorest of the country”, says Alois Möller, representative of the Department for World Service of the Lutheran World Federation in Central America (http://www.lwfcamerica.org/english/index.php). The political economist compares the mining activities with natural disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes. “About 78 percent of the global gold production is needed for the manufacturing of jewellery; 12 percent are spent by the industry for the production of pharmaceuticals or computer chips. The remaining 10 percent are used by banking companies and speculators to fuel their businesses” says Edgardo Mira of CEICOM, Centro de Investigación sobre inversion y comercio, in San Salvador. The Lutheran World Federation supports the integration efforts, which are made by several local organisations to develop a concerted strategy against the mining industry. Involved are political activists from grassroot movements, members of non-governmental organisations like Madreseva from Guatemala or Caritas Honduras. Also, international agencies like Oxfam America and church representatives from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica will be among the attendees. Guatemala: Indígenas defend their country It’s about noon in Huehueteango, Guatemala. The properly dressed man finishes his Powerpoint-presentation; yet again he addresses his audience of more than 200 people in the lecture hall of the provincial capital’s university: “It’s important that every one of you will minute the results of tomorrow’s voting very, very carefully. To have a valid outcome at least 20 percent of the eligible voters will have to cast their votes. Thank you for your attention.” Carlos Guard Guarquez is chairman of Asociaciación Guatemalteca de Alcaldes y Asociaciones Indígenas AGAAI. He has a nationwide reputation as an environmentalist and is just about to complete the briefing of Guatemalan and international observers of a plebiscite in the five districts of Huehuetenango in Northern Guatemala. For the time being, Carlos Guarquez is shadowed by two young women, sporting white waistcoats with highly visible peace doves. His life was threatened several times and the two Europeans work for Peace Brigades International: Their mere presence is meant to protect the Guatemalan. Referendum on mining concessions The logistic effort for the plebiscite is enormous: On 25 July all eligible voters of the administrative districts Colotenango, Todos Santos, Concepción Huista, San Juan Atitan and Santiago Chimaltenango were invited to cast their ballots on whether they consent to issuing licenses to mining trans-nationals. “The referendum is in line with the communal constitution. But we explicitly invoke the ILO Convention 169 for the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples”, explains Guarquez. About 84 percent of the Guatemalans are indígenas and the 100,000 citizens of the five districts are almost exclusively of indigenous decent. The first referendum of its kind took place in the neighbouring district of Sipakapa about a year ago. The vast majority objected to any local gold exploitation, but, at this point, the mining corporation and the government delay the proceedings. “The difference to Sipakapa is that this time all the mayors of the affected communities are very proactive and stick by the referendum”, says the activist optimistically. And the result is overwhelming: In every community centre—from the biggest town Todos Santos to the hamlets far away in the breathtakingly beautiful mountain scenery of Cuchumantes near the Mexican border—men and women, clad in their colourful traditional costumes, queue up for hours on that Tuesday morning to register. The organisers clarify the exact procedure both in Spanish and in the local tongue Mam. The men have furrowed hands on account of the arduous field work; the women work with their babies tied to their backs. Poor people, proud people. And everyone knows what they want: “We’re descendants of the Mayans and like them we can hear the voice of the hills. Mother Earth gives us our daily bread; we are closely connected with her. The people of the mining corporations come like conquerors to our land—once again”, says an old man. On the market places and in the town centres the voters reach a clear decision: Almost no one raises their hand in favour of the goldmine. State repression It’s also a great success for the environmentalists in other Guatemalan and Central American places. CONIC for instance is the National Coordinating organisation for Indígenas and Campesinos and plays a decisive role in the protest movement. In this country the anti-mine-movement is particularly strong and the state executives react to resistance with repression. In 2005 one demonstrator was killed and several others were wounded, when a street blockade turned violent: Security forces mercilessly opened fire as the protestors started to block the street. “Environmentalists are criminalized and berated as notoriously anti-progressive or even as drug dealers”, says Oscar Conde in a calm voice. The teacher and musician is spokesman for the non-governmental organisation Madreselva in Guatemala City. A gentle smile plays on his lips, which are surrounded by a neatly trimmed albeit slightly curly beard. Oscar Conde is not only a well-known environmentalist: As the flute player of the band Alux Nahual he was also a star in Central America since the 80ies. Corruption cankers the country Although the state has somewhat tightened the laws for licensees of goldmines, Conde generally objects to the mining of precious metal: “Environmental laws in our country are lax. But the institutions, which are supposed to control the abidance by the law, are even laxer. Like almost everywhere in Latin America the political system of Guatemala suffers from heavy corruption. It begins with the conditions, under which mining concessions are issued. Every company is legally obligated to present a study which illustrates the environmental impact of a projected venture. Licences are issued all the same and I don’t know a single fair-minded study.” But there aren’t only environmental consequences arising out of mining: The adolescent Udiel Gonzalo Miranda of the Catholic Movimiento de Trabajadores y Campesinos (MTC) in San Marcos says that his neighbourhood has paid dearly: “Until the mining company started exploiting the plateau of San Marcos three years ago we all lived peacefully in the neighbouring communities of San Miguel or Sipakapa. The arrival of the mining corporation launched problems that we merely knew from radio or TV. Now there are maras, gun-toting criminal youth-gangs, and the mining company directly employs such gangs to frighten environmental activists off.” One steadfast supporter of the anti-mine campaigners is the Catholic bishop of San Marcos, Alvaro Ramazzini, who uses his international influence to speak out against the exploitation of man and nature. But he’s not everybody’s darling: After several threats of his life the government now provides military protection. Wherever the dignitary goes, he is escorted by six fierce-looking uniformed men with machine guns. With the help of Madreselva the parish of Sipakapa devised an alternative development plan for the San Marcos region, which also focuses on organic farming. An ingenious plan, which demonstrates that alternatives exist. To read the complete article you can click here: http://www.vocesnuestras.org/glitters.html

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