source: La Prensa
By Glenda Álvarez
Fr the past 13 years, IRTF’s Rapid Response Network (RRN) has been amplifying the will of the Indigenous Xinka people in Guatemala to ban the controversial El Escobal silver mine in San Rafael Flores, Santa Rosa Department. From one of our early RRN letters to authorities and the mining company:
“Those living close to the mine are concerned that the possible use of toxic chemicals could lead to the pollution of water used for their crops. International human rights obligations require Guatemala to consult populations that could be affected by a mining project and require the consent of affected indigenous peoples. Communities near the project, including indigenous Xinka peoples, have not been consulted.”
Now the Xinka people have delivered the results of their consultation on the El Escobal mine.
The consultation was carried out under the Xinka people's own forms of organization, decision-making, and worldview, consolidating a historic precedent in the exercise of their self-determination. This decision culminates a process marked by dispossession, environmental impacts, and sustained resistance to criminalization.
The results of the Xinka people's consultation on the El Escobal mining project will be presented to the government of Bernardo Arévalo on May 8 in Guatemala City. This event represents the culmination of a process ordered in 2018 by the Constitutional Court (CC), which included the suspension of the mine's operations and a consultation with the Xinka people.
The ruling recognized the right established in Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and other national and international legal frameworks to decide on their territory and protect property, labor, culture, and the environment.
This session will officially present the conclusions and decisions made by the Xinka communities after years of pre-consultation, technical analysis, field trips, and internal deliberation.
“The release of the results is a testament to 15 years of resistance to the extractive model,” the community members share.
The ruling issued by the CC recognized that the State violated the right of the Xinka people to be consulted in advance, in a free, informed manner, and in good faith regarding projects that impact their territory, as established by Convention 169.
The CC determined that the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) granted mining exploration and exploitation licenses to the mining company San Rafael—a subsidiary of Tahoe Resources, now Pan American Silver—without consulting the Xinka people, even denying their existence in the affected municipalities.
"I am Xinka," reads a woman's banner during a march. Photo by CPR.Urbana
This omission represented a structural violation of their collective rights, their identity, their spiritual connection to the territory, and the principle of non-discrimination. As a result, the Supreme Court suspended the exploitation license for the El Escobal mine and ordered the State to conduct a consultation in accordance with international standards.
This consultation has been recognized as the first in Guatemalan history formally conducted with an Indigenous people within the framework of an extractive project and is the result of a long history of resistance. Between 2010 and 2025, the Xinka people faced years of repression, criminalization, violence, and denial, which resulted in an unprecedented judicial process.
The CC established that this consultation could not be reduced to a technical procedure, but rather should be a profound process of dialogue, respecting the Xinka people's unique forms of organization, decision-making, and worldview.
A story of struggle and resistance
El Escobal is a silver mining project located in the municipality of San Rafael Las Flores, Santa Rosa Department, in southeastern Guatemala. In 2007, the Canadian company Goldcorp obtained an exploration license in the area. Three years later, Goldcorp sold the project to Tahoe Resources, another Canadian company that accelerated the project.
In December 2010, the population began organizing in opposition to the project. One of the largest marches, called the "March of Flowers," was held by the Catholic Church in the town of San Rafael Las Flores.
“Walk for life. We demand that the CC respect our rights.” Photo by CPR.Urbana
Some two thousand people demonstrated on that occasion. Women, children, the elderly, and priests marched with banners and placards to express their opposition to the mining company's installation, warning of pollution, and calling for President Álvaro Colom to intervene.
In 2011, Tahoe Resources submitted the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and applied for a mining license for El Escobal. The local communities, mostly Xinka Indigenous, expressed their opposition to the project. The residents and neighbors of San Rafael Las Flores organized municipal consultations under the Municipal Code.
The results expressed opposition to the mining project. In the village of Los Planes, 93% of the population voted against mining. The result was similar in Casillas, Santa Rosa, where the local referendum obtained 98% of votes against mining activity.
Autonomous communities in Santa Rosa, Jalapa, and Jutiapa continued between 2011 and 2013. Mataquescuintla and San Juan Tecuaco held their own consultations, but the NO vote also prevailed. The consultations were challenged by the Guatemalan Chamber of Industry (CIG), but the courts upheld the validity of the communities' exercise of autonomy. "Since 2009, we have demonstrated and demanded the right to consultation, but unfortunately, it was denied to us," said Xinka leader Aleisar Arana at the time.
Criminalization began
Despite community opposition, the Ministry of Energy and Mines granted the exploitation license in 2013, and the company began preparing to extract silver. Community opposition intensified. On March 17, following a consultation in the village of El Volcancito, four Xinka community leaders were kidnapped by an armed group on the return road.
During their captivity, the attackers tortured the leaders. The secretary of the Xinka Board of Directors, Exaltación Marcos Ucelo, was found murdered hours later, while the others, including Roberto González, then Huxi Hurak (head man), managed to escape with their lives. This attack generated consternation and highlighted the violence unleashed around the mining project.
A few days later, on April 3, 2013, the Guatemalan government formally granted the El Escobal mining license for 25 years. Far from calming the situation, this action further fueled protests in San Rafael Las Flores.
Xinka communities held a peaceful protest near the mine, which was violently evicted on April 12 of that same year by riot police from the National Civil Police (PNC). During the eviction, police used tear gas and rubber bullets against the protesters, resulting in the arbitrary detention of 29 people (all released days later due to lack of evidence).
The atmosphere became even more tense when, on April 27, 2013, private security guards from the San Rafael mine opened fire on a group of community members from the peaceful resistance group "El Escobal" who were protesting near the mine entrance. Eight people were injured, including a 19-year-old man who lost an eye from a projectile.
According to witness accounts, the company's head of security, former Chilean military officer Alberto Rotondo, ordered the shooting, claiming to be "fed up" with the opposition. This incident triggered legal action against Rotondo (who was captured and prosecuted for bodily harm, although he later fled the country), but it also provoked an extreme response from the state.
Under siege
On May 1, 2013, President Otto Pérez Molina declared a state of siege in four municipalities in the conflict zone: San Rafael Las Flores and Casillas, Santa Rosa; Jalapa; and Mataquescuintla.
Approximately 8,000 soldiers and police were deployed in the region, constitutional guarantees were suspended, and numerous arrests were made. The operation sought to regain territorial control in Santa María Xalapán (Xinka Mountain in Jalapa) and other resistance areas. During the state of siege, raids and a fierce persecution of local leaders were reported. The escalating violence claimed several lives: in addition to Marcos Ucelo, a PNC agent and another member of the Xinka resistance from Jalapa, who was treasurer of the Santa María Xalapán Water Board, also died in these clashes.
The criminalization of the Xinka people escalated to the international level, with networks such as Fox News Channel reporting: “The inhabitants no longer leave their homes for fear of the troops (of the Guatemalan Army) with machine guns who set up checkpoints in these mountains,” comparing the environment with the worst years of the internal armed conflict.
Along with the social mobilization, legal action against the mining project began. In July 2013, the First Court of Appeals of the Civil Branch issued a surprising ruling: it provisionally suspended the El Escobal mining license because the Ministry of Energy and Mines had failed to address more than 200 challenges filed by residents, primarily due to the risk of depletion or contamination of water sources. Although temporary, this early judicial decision recognized the legitimacy of citizen complaints.
Tahoe Resources successfully reversed the suspension, and by 2014, the El Escobal mine was operating. It became one of the largest silver producers in the world. According to company data, between 2014 and 2016, up to 20 million ounces of silver were extracted annually, following an investment of more than US$500 million, according to data published by the company.
The mining operation did not stop the conflicts. On April 13, 2014, the resistance suffered another tragic blow. Topacio Reynoso, a 16-year-old activist and daughter of leader Alex Reynoso, was murdered in an armed attack while returning from a community event in Mataquescuintla, Jalapa. Her father, a driving force behind the 2012 municipal referendum, was seriously injured. The crime shocked the Xinka movement and highlighted the dangers faced by those who opposed the project.
Between 2014 and 2016, peaceful protests continued, as did the criminalization. Several community leaders were prosecuted on unfounded charges such as "coercion" or "terrorism," with international accusations pointing to a strategy to undermine resistance. The Catholic Church and human rights organizations warned of a pattern of persecution against those defending the territory.
Effects of mining extraction
With the mine operating in 2016, residents of the village of La Cuchilla, San Rafael Las Flores, located less than 3 kilometers from the mine, began reporting constant vibrations caused by underground explosions.
In February, cracks began to appear in the homes, and on April 19 of that year, several houses partially collapsed. The community formed a repair committee and demanded relocation or compensation from the San Rafael mining company, but the company denied any responsibility, attributing the damage to the climate crisis and the site's topography. A report by the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (CONRED) acknowledged the geological risk but failed to assess the potential impact of mining activity.
In November 2016, after nearly a year without solutions, men, women, and children from La Cuchilla marched and peacefully stood in front of the entrance to the El Escobal mine to press for a response, declaring: “The village is not uninhabitable because it is on a dangerous slope, but because the houses are cracked by the vibrations from the explosions carried out by the San Rafael mine in the tunnel.”
In the end, dozens of families were forced to abandon La Cuchilla. CONRED declared the area uninhabitable in 2016 due to irreparable damage to homes and subsoil, a situation residents attribute to mining activities.
Peaceful resistance
Following complaints and reports, on June 7, 2017, residents of several villages in Santa Rosa and Jalapa set up a permanent protest camp on the road between Casillas and San Rafael Las Flores. The road was blocked for mining trucks.
This peaceful protest successfully halted the transportation of critical supplies (fuel and explosives) to El Escobal, forcing the company to suspend operations due to a lack of supplies.
In parallel, the environmental organization Center for Legal, Environmental and Social Action (CALAS) filed a lawsuit arguing that the State, when approving the license in 2013, never informed or consulted this indigenous population and even denied its existence in the region to circumvent Convention 169. The case progressed, and on July 5, 2017, the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) granted CALAS a provisional injunction, ordering the mining license to be suspended again while the underlying issue was resolved.
From that moment on, between June and July 2017, the El Escobal mine was paralyzed by court order. In September 2017, the same Supreme Court of Justice partially upheld the injunction, recognized the obligation to consult, and ordered the government to begin it, but allowed the company to conduct certain studies in the meantime. Both parties (the company and CALAS) appealed, taking the matter to the Constitutional Court.
Finally, after lengthy hearings and tensions, in which the Xinka People's Parliament of Guatemala (Papxigua) emerged as a third party interested in the case, the CC issued its final ruling on September 3, 2018.
The CC's ruling was considered historic: it declared that the Guatemalan State violated the Xinka people's right to consultation by granting the El Escobal license without prior consultation. Consequently, it upheld the mine's suspension pending consultation in accordance with international standards. Furthermore, the CC annulled a related mining exploration license for having been similarly authorized without consultation.
The ruling of the highest court
The CC ruling issued on September 3, 2018 instructed the following:
Conduct consultation with the Xinka people
• Translate the resolution into Xinka language
• Formally accredit the representatives elected by the Xinka people
• Conduct a pre-consultation phase to agree on the methodology
• Compile environmental, social, and cultural studies, and even conduct a specific cultural and spiritual impact study conducted by independent anthropologists.
Consultation process (2019-2025)
• The Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) was supposed to organize the process in coordination with the Xinka Parliament. However, it stalled for almost two years.
• The Ministry of the Interior (MEM) refused to formally accredit the 59 representatives elected by the Xinka, creating bureaucratic obstacles.
• In 2020, during Alejandro Giammattei's administration, authorities resumed outreach to Xinka leaders. A roadmap was agreed upon, and preparatory meetings were held in October 2020.
• On October 14 and December 6, 2020, two preliminary meetings were held to define the conditions for launching the pre-consultation phase and review compliance with commitments.
Phase I: Pre-consultation
It began on May 21, 2021. It was carried out with Xinka Ancestral Authorities and the Government Commission. Delegates from Pan American Silver, the company's ultimate owner, also participated.
One of those agreements was the hiring of anthropologist Claudia Dary to conduct the aforementioned study of the cultural and spiritual impact on the Xinka people.
In December 2021, the pre-consultation concluded successfully, having met the prerequisites established by the CC.
Phase II: Consultation – Reception and analysis of information
During 2022 and 2023, the consultation process advanced in technical depth. Specialized entities were called upon to submit studies and reports documenting all potential impacts.
The Xinka Parliament requested information on critical axes:
Water: quantity, quality and use in the mine
Geology and soil stability, the hydrogeological model (underground flows), waste management plans (tailings), and mine closure measures, among others.
Phase III: Community decision
In 2024, the Xinka Parliament denounced the company's attempt to divide communities during the deliberation phase.
An attempt was made to manipulate and misinform the communities with a visit arranged by the municipality of San Rafael Las Flores, when the Ministry of Energy and Mines is the only entity that can lead the consultative process.
Having gathered the information required by the legal ruling, the 59 Xinka representatives disseminated the findings to their communities to begin the debate phase for approving the mining project.
Once these local debates are complete, it is now time to present the consolidated results. The presentation of the results on May 8, 2025, will therefore consist of officially communicating the Xinka people's decision to the State.
The State's commitment will begin after May 8, 2025. If the Xinka people's decision is against the mine, will the State abide by that will and maintain the definitive suspension of the El Escobal license?
Note on the CC resolution
It's worth remembering that, legally, the CC never revoked the license; it left its validity subject to the consultation. If the outcome is negative, a scenario of permanent closure and remediation will likely arise, for which Guatemala doesn't even have clear regulations. The closure of El Escobal could entail costs of up to Q4 billion, according to estimates by the Central American Institute for Fiscal Studies (ICEFI).
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addendum: IRTF RRN letter to authorities 11 JAN 2024
Lic. José Alejandro Córdoba, Procurador de los Derechos Humanos (Office of the Ombudsman for Human Rights)
Ciudad de Guatemala, GUATEMALA
January 11, 2024
Dear Procurador Córdoba:
We are writing to ask for an update on the investigation into the killing of Noé Gómez Barrera. The well-respected 69-year old Xinka Indigenous community leader was assassinated in Jutiapa on October 28, 2023. He was a member of the ancestral authorities of the Xinka Parliament of Guatemala. Since 2002 he fought for Xinka rights in Jutiapa against the company Renewable Energy Alternative (Alternativa de Energía Renovable).
This act of violence takes place in the context of violence, threats and heightened security risks for human rights and environmental defenders in the Xinka territories of Jutiapa, Santa Rosa and Jalapa. During recent years, the Xinka people have maintained a broad and ongoing struggle to defend their health, water, forests, lands, and territory against the threat of megaprojects including the Renewable Energy Alternative company, as well as the Escobal mine owned by Canadian mining company Pan American Silver. For their commitment to the defense of collective rights, the Xinka people have faced intimidation, defamation, criminalization, attacks, and assassinations.
In a letter to the US State Department in September 2023, 13 members of the US House of Representatives expressed concern for the security of the Xinka people. The legislators called for the State Department to play an active role to ensure an effective response to any further acts of repression against the Xinka people. And since October, the Ancestral Indigenous Authorities of Guatemala have requested precautionary measures from the Inter- American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) given the risks they face for exercising their rights.
We strongly urge that your government:
• conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into the assassination of Noé Gómez Barrera, publish the results, and bring those responsible to justice
• work with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to grant precautionary measures to protect the Ancestral Indigenous Authorities, especially the five Xinka leaders who requested precautionary measures from the IACHR in 2021
• publicly denounce acts of violence against Ancestral Indigenous Authorities
