Testimonio: Canadian Mining in the Aftermath of Genocides in Guatemala

What is land? A resource to be exploited? A commodity to be traded? A home to cherish? In Guatemala, a country still reeling from thirty-six years of US-backed state repression and genocides, dominant Canadian mining interests cash in on the transformation of land into “property,” while those responsible act with near-total impunity.

Editors Catherine Nolin and Grahame Russell draw on over thirty years of community-based research and direct community support work in Guatemala to expose the ruthless state machinery that benefits the Canadian mining industry—a staggeringly profitable juggernaut of exploitation, sanctioned and supported every step of the way by the Canadian government.

This edited collection calls on Canadians to hold our government and companies fully to account for their role in enabling and profiting from violence in Guatemala. The text stands apart in featuring a series of unflinching testimonios (testimonies) authored by Indigenous community leaders in Guatemala, as well as wide-ranging contributions from investigative journalists, scholars, lawyers, activists, and documentarians on the ground.

As resources are ripped from the earth and communities and environments ripped apart, the act of standing in solidarity and bearing witness—rather than extracting knowledge—becomes more radical than ever.

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Testimonio: Canadian Mining in the Aftermath of Genocides in Guatemala

What is land? A resource to be exploited? A commodity to be traded? A home to cherish? In Guatemala, a country still reeling from thirty-six years of US-backed state repression and genocides, dominant Canadian mining interests cash in on the transformation of land into “property,” while those responsible act with near-total impunity.

Editors Catherine Nolin and Grahame Russell draw on over thirty years of community-based research and direct community support work in Guatemala to expose the ruthless state machinery that benefits the Canadian mining industry—a staggeringly profitable juggernaut of exploitation, sanctioned and supported every step of the way by the Canadian government.

This edited collection calls on Canadians to hold our government and companies fully to account for their role in enabling and profiting from violence in Guatemala. The text stands apart in featuring a series of unflinching testimonios (testimonies) authored by Indigenous community leaders in Guatemala, as well as wide-ranging contributions from investigative journalists, scholars, lawyers, activists, and documentarians on the ground.

As resources are ripped from the earth and communities and environments ripped apart, the act of standing in solidarity and bearing witness—rather than extracting knowledge—becomes more radical than ever.

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Testimonio: Canadian Mining in the Aftermath of Genocides in Guatemala

Testimonio: Canadian Mining in the Aftermath of Genocides in Guatemala

Testimonio: Canadian Mining in the Aftermath of Genocides in Guatemala

Testimonio: Canadian Mining in the Aftermath of Genocides in Guatemala

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Overview

What is land? A resource to be exploited? A commodity to be traded? A home to cherish? In Guatemala, a country still reeling from thirty-six years of US-backed state repression and genocides, dominant Canadian mining interests cash in on the transformation of land into “property,” while those responsible act with near-total impunity.

Editors Catherine Nolin and Grahame Russell draw on over thirty years of community-based research and direct community support work in Guatemala to expose the ruthless state machinery that benefits the Canadian mining industry—a staggeringly profitable juggernaut of exploitation, sanctioned and supported every step of the way by the Canadian government.

This edited collection calls on Canadians to hold our government and companies fully to account for their role in enabling and profiting from violence in Guatemala. The text stands apart in featuring a series of unflinching testimonios (testimonies) authored by Indigenous community leaders in Guatemala, as well as wide-ranging contributions from investigative journalists, scholars, lawyers, activists, and documentarians on the ground.

As resources are ripped from the earth and communities and environments ripped apart, the act of standing in solidarity and bearing witness—rather than extracting knowledge—becomes more radical than ever.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781771135634
Publisher: Between the Lines
Publication date: 10/25/2021
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 268
File size: 13 MB
Note: This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Catherine Nolin (BA, MA, PhD in Geography) is professor and chair of the Department of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences at UNBC in Prince George, British Columbia. She is a long-time insurgent researcher and social justice advocate, including more than 25 years grappling with the afterlives of the Guatemalan genocides. Nolin has worked with Grahame Russell of Rights Action for almost 20 years to organize and facilitate field schools to Guatemala for undergraduate and graduate students.


Grahame Russell is, since 1995, director of Rights Action. He is a non-practicing Canadian lawyer and also adjunct professor at University of Northern British Columbia.

Table of Contents

List of Figures xi

Foreword W. George Lovell, FRSC xiii

Preface: A Story that Cannot Be Buried Grahame Russell Catherine Nolin xvii

Acknowledgements xxii

Acronyms xxiii

Timeline of Key Events xxvi

Introduction: Canadian Mining in a Time of Violence, Corruption, and Impunity in the Aftermath of Genocides in Guatemala Catherine Nolin Grahame Russell 1

Chapter 1 Genocide's Legacy on the Land and Dominant Economic Model 13

Profiting from Genocide: The World Bank and IDB's Bloody History in Guatemala Cyril Mychalejko 14

The Genocidal Chixoy Dam Project Nathan Einbinder 16

Testimonies. Sebastian Iboy Osorio Catherine Nolin Grahame Russell 24

Genocide's Legacy: Can These Bones Live? Emilie Smith 27

Chapter 2 Mining in the Wake of Genocides 33

Mining in the Guatemalan Mafia State Sandra Cuffe 34

When You Benefit from Destruction: United Church of Canada Pension Fund and Goldcorp Jackie McVicar 57

Chapter 3 Confronting Goldcorp at Every Step of the Destruction and Repression 61

Is Canada to Blame for Human Rights Abuses in Guatemala? Annie Hylton 63

Diodora Hernández and Goldcorp Inc.: A Stark Contrast Grahame Russell Catherine Nolin James Rodríguez 75

Goldcorp Inc.'s Marlin Mine-A Family's Pain: Death of Jaime Otero Perez López Catherine Nolin Grahame Russell James Rodríguez 78

Something in the Water: The Lasting Violence of a Canadian Mining Company in Guatemala Jeff Abbott 79

Interviews / Testimonios: Thirteen Years of Resistance with FREDEMI Members Alfredo Pérez, Miguel Ángel Bámaca, and Aniseto López Grahame Russell Catherine Nolin 85

Chapter 4 Q'eqchi' People Fight Back against Hudbay Minerals, in Their Own Words 95

Formal Human Rights Violation Complaint Catherine Nolin Grahame Russell, and University of Northern British Columbia 2010 delegation 97

Testimonio: María Magdalena Cue Choc, Taking Claims to Canadian Courts Grahame Russell Catherine Nolin, May 16, 2017 103

Mynor Padilla, Hudbay Mineral's Former Head of Security, Provided with Police "Security Detail" for Safety Grahame Russell Catherine Nolin 105

Testimonio: Angélica Choc, Taking Claims to Canadian Courts Grahame Russell Catherine Nolin, May 16, 2017 107

Testimonio: German Chub, Closing Remarks at Criminal Trial of Mynor Padilla, March 8, 2017 Grahame Russell Rights Action 110

Murder of Héctor: Nephew of Maya Land and Rights Activist Beaten to Death in Guatemala Heather Gies 113

Testimonio: José Ich, This Is How Hard it Is José Ich, son of Adolfo Ich Ayigelica Choc Grahame Russell Catherine Nolin, May 8, 2018 117

Chapter 5 Facing and Resisting KCA / Radius Gold and Tahoe Resources on the Ground 123

Interview: Yuri Melini, ILO 169 and Community Defence Grahame Russell Catherine Nolin, May 18, 2017 124

Tahoe Resources' Violent Mining Operation Simon Granovsky-Larsen Caren Weisbart 126

The Peaceful Encampment at La Puya Alexandra Pedersen 139

Guatemalan Supreme Court of Justice: KCA (& Radius Gold) vs. La Puya Land and Environmental Defenders Catherine Nolin Grahame Russell James Rodríguez 145

Testimonio: Alvaro Sandoval and Ana Sandoval, Dealing with Radius Gold / KCA La Puya peaceful resistance leaders and community defenders Grahame Russell Catherine Nolin, May 17, 2017 147

Chapter 6 Using Law and Democracy to Resist Predatory Mining 151

Reclaiming Democracy, Realizing Self-Determination: Consultas as a Tool to Defend Human Rights and the Environment in Guatemala's Genocidal Shadow J. P. Laplante 152

Testimonios: Santa Cruz del Quiché, Consejo de los Pueblos del Quiché / Council of the Peoples of the Quiché, voices of Osmundo and Anibel 158

Towards Legal Accountability for the Canadian Mining Industry Cory Wanless Murray Klippenscein 158

Conclusion: Visions of a Way Forward Grahame Russell Catherine Nolin 173

Permissions 180

Appendix: List of Resources 184

Notes 190

Contributors 214

Index 219

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