Southern Cone
Chile: Pascua Lama mine suspended over safety
Barrick Gold Corporation had to suspend some operations at its troubled Pascua Lama mine after inspectors found unsafe levels of fine particles in the air.
Tag: control of water
The Andes
Peru: Water Tribunal indicts Conga project
The Costa Rica-based Latin American Water Tribunal issued a judgment calling on Peru to cancel the Conga mining project, finding numerous irregularities in its approval.
The Andes
Peru: threats against Cajamarca movement
Campesinos who support the proposed Conga mine are threatening to evict the encampment estabished at the concession bloc by the "Guardians of the Lagunas."
The Andes
Peru: land, water conflicts grow in Cajamarca
A campesino family in Cajamarca may face a four-year prison term for defending their lands in an ownership dispute with the US-backed Yanacocha mining company.
Mexico
Mexico: lives claimed in Chihuahua water wars
Hundreds of campeisnos occupied the governor’s office in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua to demand justice following the murder of two water rights activists.
Central America
Panama: strikes halt trade zone land sale
Days of strikes and protests in Panama’s cities forced the government to cancel a planned sale of lands in the Colón Free Trade Zone to multinational corporations.
The Amazon
Peru: indigenous development plan for Amazon
The Inter-ethnic Association for Development of the Peruvian Rainforest (AIDESEP) issued a “Plan for the Full Life of the Amazon,” calling for indigenous-directed development projects.
The Andes
Peru: OAS rights commission to hear Conga case
Campesino leaders from Cajamarca will travel to Washington DC to testify before the Inter-American Human Rights Commission about abuses related to the Conga mine project.
Innu block roads in northern Quebec
Local Innu are blocking a highway outside the town of Sept-Îles to protest their exclusion from talks over Quebec’s Plan Nord mega-project to exploit timber and energy resources.
The Andes
Peru: campesino vigilance at Conga mine site
Campesinos in Cajamarca are organizing round-the-clock vigilance at the proposed site of the Conga gold mine, skeptical of official assurances that the project is suspended.
The Andes
Peru warned on repression of peasant protests
Human Rights Watch urged Peru’s President Ollanta Humala to take steps to prevent the unlawful killing of peasant protesters, noting growing incidents of deadly force.
Central America
Guatemala: wins, threats for peasant ecologists
Charges were dropped against 10 campesino opponents of a hydro-electric project on Maya lands in Guatemala, but other leaders remain in prison and face death threats.