Talcanac 1 does not support Mining Exploitation or Hydroelectric Development Women s contribution in the struggle to defend lands, territory, and natural resources and to construct the self-determination of the Maya Mam Nation San Martín Sacatepéquez, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala San Martín Sacatepéquez is one of the 24 municipalities in the department of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. It has a population of approximately 25 thousand inhabitants and an area of 100 km2. The municipal seat lies at 2,469 meters above sea level. About 3.5 km to the South lays Chikab'al Lake, a sacred and ceremonial place for all the Mam people within the Mam territory. San Martin s economy is based on agriculture and trade. The area still contains a large amount of forests where many water springs are formed and which are used by the entire municipality. It is currently governed by a Civic Committee named Mam Tineco. A Civic Committee is a political organization formed by community leaders and is an alternative to obtain local power and is exclusively to choose mayors in general elections. Its main difference is that it is a local organization and is not like the traditional political parties. Overall San Martin is still plagued by high illiteracy rates, currently at more than 60% and its populace suffers from low-quality health indicators amongst other factors. 1 Talcanac is one of the communities in the municipality of San Martin Sacatepéquez where the river Talcanac originates. The name is from the Mam language and was usurped by the company when it called the hydroelectric Project, TALCANAC S. A.
The threat of the hydroelectric project, Talcanac S.A located in the San Isidro Estate, San Martín Sacatepéquez, Quetzaltenango Guatemala Since 2010 the company Talcanac S.A. through its legal representative, Jorge Manrique, of Guatemalan/Peruvian nationality (with international partners) has begun a process of registration and construction of a hydroelectric plant. The construction of the first hydroelectric plant is in San Isidro, one of the private estates located in the territory of the municipality of San Martín Sacatepéquez. However the Talcanac River and waters that would supply the hydroelectric plant are from the communities of the municipality; thus, violating collective rights over the territories and natural resources of the surrounding communities along the river. The advocates of the hydroelectric project have been promoting this project to the communities closest to the construction site of the estate; specifically the communities of Caserio Los Almorzaderos, the village of El Rincon, Buena Vista, Santa Anita, and La Loma. According to a note sent to the municipality before the community consultation of 2011, the company indicated that there are five points that have been identified for the construction of other hydroelectric dams. Location of the Hydroelectric Project, Map from the Environmental Impact Assessment TALCANAC S.A. The role of corporations in human rights violations: Energy distribution became privatized in Guatemala after the Peace Accords were signed in 1996. This transition occurred approximately in 1999 when the State created DEOCSA and DEORSA two subsidiaries of Union FENOSA. Union FENOSA was recently bought in 2011 by Actis 2 Capital LLP. Actis changed the name of Union FENOSA to Energuate. Talcanac S.A. is part of ENERGUATE, a company responsible for supplying electricity to 22 of Guatemala's 24 provinces; that is to 1.4 million people in rural areas, covering 94% of the country. ENERGUATE was formerly known as Deocsa, and was owned by Gas Natural Fenosa. It was purchased and renamed ENERGUATE by Actis Capital LLP, a private investment firm created by the UK government in 2004. The Actis private equity arm was set up by the 2 http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/12/uk-guatemalan-energy-firm-protest
Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) in 2004 with UK government money. It was fully privatized in May 2012 and the sale netted the taxpayer 8.37 million, plus as much as 62 million in future profits. Most recently, in Totonicapán, the K iche nation was expressing deep concern for rising energy costs under Energuate. The protests on October 4, 2012 resulted in the massacre of at least 8 indigenous peoples and more than 30 wounded by national security forces. Energuate (Actis) says the matter of Totonicapán is the problem of the Government and that they are trying to pressure the Government to abstain from increasing energy costs, costs felt by the population at large. However this dialogue is occurring between the Government and the company and not taking into account the rights of the indigenous peoples and directly violating the rights to consultation. Ancestral self-governing institutions, The Maya Mam Council: The Maya Mam Council is not an NGO, nor political party; this council is the ancestral selfgoverning institution of the Mam Nation conceived from the worldview of the Maya people including the philosophical, spiritual, and political expressions of the Maya. The Mam council is comprised of political and spiritual leadership of both men and women from the four departments within the Mam territory. Each department has its own Council and jointly they make the Grand Maya Mam Council of the Mam Nation. The objective of the Council is to reconstitute as one of the original nations, to then be articulated with other peoples of the world. The Mam Council directs the political process of the Mam Nation and has been critical in the development and implementation of processes to defend its territory including the community consultations, consultations derived from ancestral decision-making processes. Community Consultations Community consultations are based on ancestral decision making processes of the Maya people. This process has been used throughout Guatemala by the Maya people and is a direct expression of their self-determination and self-government, arriving at decisions over their lands, territories and natural resources through their own decision-making institutions, as in the case of the Maya Mam Council. Mining and the threat of hydroelectric dams in the Western region of Guatemala are occurring without consulting indigenous peoples. In the case of Talcanac S.A., company personnel held meetings with the communities closest to the construction site; El Rincon, Almorzanderos, Buena Vista, Las Loma, and Santa Anita during the last months of 2010. These meetings were held to convince community leaders of the project; however community leaders have not established any agreements with these personnel. In addition to these meetings, some leaders have been manipulated and deceived thus becoming involved in the promotion of the project. This has generated conflicts between leaders, families, and the entire community. Women are not taken into account in the overall decisions and the advocates of the project offer financial compensation to the women which in reality do not solve the needs of the women and does not address the rights of the community. The company has approached the Municipal Government in the same manner, but there have been no agreements established with the Municipal Government. San Martin Sacatepéquez held its community consultation regarding the slated mining and hydroelectric projects on March 16, 2011. This Community Consultation was carried out by the Maya Mam Council with the support of Aigmim. The consultation resulted in 17,871 votes stating NO to mining and hydroelectric projects in the municipality; 10,146 votes were female
and 7,923 were male votes. This consultation not only demonstrated an overwhelming NO against mining and hydroelectric projects but it also highlighted an active movement of Mam women exercising their political participation in the defense of their territory. This community consultation took place within the framework of consultations in the Mam region of Quetzaltenango where to date there have been 8 community consultations. There has been 1 community consultation of the K iche people also in Quetzaltenango. At the national level there have been 64 consultations related to mining and hydroelectric dams. Mam women, men, children, youth, and elders voted on March 16, 2011 in San Martin Sacatepéquez Those interested in constructing the hydroelectric dam have been lobbying in all spaces; in fact they have the support of the Government through the various ministries by which licenses have been issued and studies have been approved. According to associates of the hydroelectric project, they have been visiting the embassies of the United States, Denmark and other supporters including the Catholic Church in order to not only obtain support for the project but to also question these same institutions as to why they support organizations that are obstacles to development. The results of the consultations have been submitted to governmental bodies who have said that the results are non-binding. In addition, the inability of the Constitutional Court to resolve the Lawsuit of Unconstitutionality of the Mining Law has been a mockery to indigenous peoples and above all a direct reflection of the racism and discrimination in the country. Though Guatemala ratified the International Labor Organization s Convention 169 (hereinafter ILO 169) in 1997, the government of Guatemala does not apply it systematically through national policies and laws. Guatemala is also a signatory to the United Nations Declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples (hereinafter Declaration) and it also has the duty to implement the 1996 Peace Accords as well as the American Convention on human rights amongst other legal frameworks. In the case of the Hydroelectric project Talcanac S.A. in San Martin, 4 dialogues have been sustained between the Mam Council, the Mancomunidad of Mam Municipalities, and the Ministry of Energy and Mines in order to conduct follow-up to the cancelation request for the awarded licenses granted without consultation of indigenous peoples.
Process of Dialogue: The first dialogue occurred on May 28, 2012 to reconvene conversations concerning the petition to cancel the license. This petition arose from the protest of April 26, 2012 where over 10,000 people took part in a peaceful demonstration in defense of their lands, territories, and natural resources in the city of Quetzaltenango. The second dialogue was sustained on June 6, 2012, and was convened to provide arguments and concrete reasons to cancel the license including the self-determination of indigenous peoples to their ancestral territories and the right to consultation amongst other rights that were violated. The third dialogue occured on June 26, 2012 to: (1) review advances; advances which were minimal if non-existent and; (2) examine the commitments of the government and the Ministry of Energy and Mines to initiate the process of legal and policy analysis to cancel the license. The commitment of the authorities of the Mam people was to create an alternative proposal derived from their own vision as indigenous peoples. It was agreed that the dialogue would be continued until there were clear advances. The fourth dialogue was requested by the Ministry of Energy and Mines and occurred on November 5, 2012 with indigenous authorities from San Martin Sacatepéquez, Concepción, San Miguel, and Huitan. It was again only a discussion concerning technical issues and not about the request to cancel the license, hence there was no advance on the cancelation request. Moreover, it was a meeting that focused on justifications and arguments in defense of the policies of both the government and the companies. The petitions of the Maya People have not been heard. In a written statement presented by the indigenous authorities, the request to cancel the license based on key violations such as the autonomy and self-determination of indigenous peoples and the right to consultation was reaffirmed. The goal was to seek an appointment with the Ministry of Energy and Mines so that they would listen directly to the requests of the indigenous peoples delivered on November 5 th and ensure that the written request be presented to the legal department of the ministry so that the cancelation process could be processed. In addition it was requested that the Ministry assign a qualified person to apply the rights of indigenous peoples in these types of cases based on international law principles such as the ILO160 and the Declaration. Projected Impacts of Talcanac S.A.: Environmental Impacts: Among the environmental impacts caused by this project is the destruction of the landscape, impact to wildlife, noise pollution, and waste produced by the construction. Though the environmental impact assessment by the company minimizes the project s environmental impact, the various communities in the area already observe that the road expansion is causing flooding to their lands. Social Impacts: The company has offered to support various initiatives including health, education, and sports programs. However, these initiatives do not resolve the fundamental issues of poverty faced by the community. In addition the company would generate economic activities that would only benefit the company through the use and control of the natural resources of the community. The promised employment will benefit very few, and largely the men. For the communities it is important that economic growth and development is in line with their indigenous world view based on respect for the land. In the case of San Martin what has already occurred are social
conflicts between communities and individuals, manipulation of community leaders, and above all the promise of employment to young people. Leaders in opposition to these various projects have been singled as opponents of development. Impacts to women Women are the most vulnerable often resulting in disproportionate human rights violations from development projects. However their political participation has been very strong as evidenced by the outcomes of the Consultation and their active participation in community meetings. They preserve many ancestral values especially the relationship with mother earth and life, which has resulted in a political and spiritual resistance to regain the balance of the community between men and women based on complementarity. When neoliberal projects are imposed on the communities, they break balance and equity between men and women, violate human rights, and enlarge existing gaps between race, class, and gender. In the Mam territory, women are reclaiming a critical space within the collective struggle to defend the lands, territories, and natural resources of the Mam Nation. For the women of the Mam Nation, plundering the goods of the Earth is like the rape of the woman. The Earth is mother, provider of everything. The defense of lands, territories, and natural resources for women is a reflection that the territory is an extension of the family, life, and the human body. However, because of this political and spiritual resistance and leadership against the government and corporations, women are often the most susceptible to be criminalized and with arrest warrants for them. In conclusion, the transnational corporations and Government policies violate the rights of indigenous peoples including the right to collective property rights, self-determination, selfgovernance, and consultation all rights in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the ILO 169.
We ask of the international community: We the women of the Mam Nation, the nation known as the people of the Grandmothers and Grandfathers; fight for our peoples self-determination, for our collective rights to our lands, territories, and natural resources and ask the international community to: 1. Pressure the United Nations to verify and ensure compliance of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the ILO 169 and other international instruments related to the rights of indigenous peoples in Guatemala 2. Urge the Government of Guatemala to comply with their obligations to implement the Peace Accords and in particular the Accord on the Identify and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the rights of women 3. Recognize the Maya Mam Council and its Authorities as the ancestral self-governing institution of the Mam Nation and that as traditional Authorities we should be authorized to monitor and implement international instruments 4. Request that the government respond to the cancelation request of awarded licenses for mining and hydroelectric projects 5. Pressure the government, in particular the judicial branch, that the Constitutional Court respond to and resolve the Lawsuit presented by indigenous peoples regarding the Unconstitutionally of the Mining Law in Guatemala 6. Ask that there be a special visit by the United Nations and other human rights bodies to verify the human rights violations occurring in Mam territory, especially in the area of San Martin Sacatepéquez, Cabricán, Huitan and San Carlos Sija as well as other departments such as San Marcos, Huehuetenango and Retalhuleu, all areas impacted by mining and hydroelectric development projects 7. Ensure that the United Nations recommend to the government of Guatemala that they cancel the construction of the hydroelectric project Talcanac S.A. and that the community consultations in the entire Mam territory be respected 8. Support the Mam Nations request that the United Nations take into account and support the comprehensive proposals and or projects developed by the communities based on indigenous economic determination in San Martin Sacatepéquez and the Mam territory
About María Eliza Orozco Pérez: Maria Eliza Orozco Perez is from the Maya Mam Nation and born in San Martín Sacatepéquez in the Department of Quetzaltenango. San Martín is part of the Mam territory in Guatemala and for many years she has been fighting for the collective rights of indigenous peoples, advocating for the rights of indigenous women and for the rights of mother earth. Community Consultation in San Martin Sac. March, 16, 2011. At the table, Eliza collaborates in the voting process She is one of the few Mam women with an academic background in her municipality where there continues to be high illiteracy rates. For women in particular, illiteracy rates are as high as 68% according to data from the Department of Education Directorate of Quetzaltenango. She is the mother of two children and has a long history working for the defense of indigenous women's rights and the collective rights of indigenous peoples. She holds a Teaching degree in Primary Education at the School for Young Ladies Encarnación Rosal, Quetzaltenango. Currently, she is part of the political leadership of the Maya Mam Nation of Guatemala through the Advisory Council of the Maya Mam Council of the department of Quetzaltenango. The Advisory Council of the Maya Mam Council works together with the Commission for the Defense of the Territory of San Martín Sacatepéquez where she has been part of the team that has held dialogue with the municipal government, the Governor of Quetzaltenango and the Ministry of Energy and Mines of Guatemala. This process of dialogue has been done together with other leaders of the Mam Council. Because she is a woman with an elevated leadership role, she is helping bring greater visibility to the needs and demands of Mam women as they relate to megaprojects as well as the demands generally of the Mam people. She along with the other leader of the Mam Council directs the political process of the Mam Nation. She was instrumental in the development and implementation of community consultations, consultations derived from ancestral decision-making processes.