MAC: Mines and Communities

The Defense Of El Estor

Published by MAC on 2003-05-16
Source: Oxfam America


The Defense of El Estor

May 16, 2003

By: Betsy Rakosy, Oxfam America

Oxfam partner AEPDI (The Assocation for the Integral Development of El Estor) works for the defense of the Maya Q'eqchi. AEPDI is drawing on UN treaties and other international documents ratified by Guatemala to protect indigenous communities from extractive threats.

In northern Guatemala, the intrusive operations of nickel mining companies are posing a serious threat to Mayan communities. In the face of increasing pressure to yield to their demands, one organization won't give an inch.

The town of El Estor, in northeast Guatemala, lies at sea level on the shore of Lake Izabal, the country's largest freshwater lake. The Dulce River flows out of Izabal and hosts Guatemala's most extensive area of aquatic biodiversity, as well as rich petroleum deposits which beckon beneath the lake's surface. In the surrounding mountains, a thin layer of topsoil covers rich nickel reserves, adding value to an already resource-rich territory. The indigenous Maya Q'eqchi, who inhabit this land, are frequently beset by extractive corporations who seek to profit from oil, nickel, and other invaluable resources; operations that pose serious threats to local communities.

Rigorous strip mining has already degraded the fragile El Estor ecosystem, eroding the thin topsoil in mountain passes inhabited by Mayan communities. The mountainsides have been deforested, causing landslides and a litany of environmental hazards. In addition to the environmental threat, there is a long history of political violence between the mining companies and the indigenous communities who resist them.

The Guatemalan Truth Commission, part of the 1996 peace agreement that ended the Guatemalan civil war between government paramilitaries and leftist insurgents, required that indigenous communities be consulted about the use of their land. The Commission also asserted that these communities, with a historical claim to their land that preceded the modern system of legal land titling, have the right to decide the use of their land.

AEPDI is campaigning to ensure that these rights are recognized and enforced. They are organizing the Q'eqchi into a unified front to help the Mayans gain sovereignty over their lands. AEPDI seeks measures to protect communities from the effects of pollution, discrimination and politically-motivated violence that they have suffered in the past.

The Full Scope of AEPDI's Mission

Extractive industries is just one facet of AEPDI's overall campaign. AEPDI also:
Strengthens the Guatemalan justice system by monitoring the formal legal system, influencing public opinion and policy at local and regional levels.
Supplies legal interpreters (Q´eqchi´- Spanish) and trainers for elders in rural communities, teaching conflict resolution and other useful skills.
Sponsors artistic projects to promote justice issues, presenting plays dealing with justice and cultural themes in rural communities, using Mayan legends and myths for their inspiration. The project is composed of students and teachers on school vacations.
Focuses on the educational development of the Q'eqchi population with a focus on young people and adults through a distance education program. The program offers an accelerated education track, focusing on literacy. This program teaches an awareness of environment, culture and language and seeks to build the self-esteem of the students.

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