This unaltered story [1] was originally published on OpenDemocracy.org.
License [2]: Creative Commons 4.0 - Attributions/No Derivities/Int'l.
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The rights defenders at risk in Mexico
By: []
Date: 2021-09
The more than 6,000 acres of wetlands in the region have been classified as “protected heritage” by UNESCO. Yet, illegal construction and excessive planting of cash crops are threatening the ecosystem with extinction.
In Mexico, collusion between global corporations, criminal groups and public officials often means environmental crimes go unpunished in the courts. The country’s judicial system calls for “preserving ecological balance” and “protecting the environment” at federal, state and municipal levels. But rampant corruption among government authorities and collusion with the local police and cartels has allowed companies to construct properties over protected land and to exploit natural resources.
Environmental crimes, including killings and disappearances of rights activists, have been on the rise across the globe. In 2019, at least 304 rights defenders were killed in relation to their work, 40% of whom worked on land, environment and indigenous rights. By 2020, this number had risen to 331, with nearly 70% working on environment and land rights.
In Mexico, 18 human rights defenders were murdered in 2020, the highest recorded number for the country. The majority were environment and land rights activists.
Activists like Claudia say that such attacks are on the rise in Mexico due to there being fewer eyes on the ground. Amid pandemic lockdowns, it has been challenging for rights groups to confirm the killings and enforced disappearances, due to limited access to the areas of concern, and restitution mechanisms.
Having lost two of her peers to assassinations in the past years, Evelia Baena, a local land rights activist in Guerrero, a state on Mexico’s Pacific coast, braces herself for attacks every day.
Mining for gold in the mountains
While construction and development projects dominate the lowlands, Evelia's home community in the mountainous parts of southern Mexico has been reeling from the impacts of mining and drilling for minerals. Many locals are forced to work in the mines or related industries, while tens of thousands have lost their homes or left the area due to the violence between cartels affiliated with the mines.
Our second location in the heart of Guerrero could not have been more different from the lush greenery of Xochimilco. As we drove further into the state of Guerrero to reach the municipality of Cocula, the land became scorched, measuring up to its nickname, tierra caliente, or ‘hot earth’.
‘Barren’ is the only way to describe the vast expanses of land surrounding the mineral-rich mountains, where mining companies such as Canadian-owned Torex Gold Resources Inc, have set up extractive empires. These lands were burnt down to chase out the local farmers and herders, and to pave way for the mining projects. Amid this displacement and environmental degradation, corporations, cartels and local officials continue to exploit natural resources.
As we drove past checkpoints in Evelia’s car, she looked back from the front seat with excitement lining her otherwise unmoved demeanour.
“When I fight for the rights of the people in the mountains, I feel alive. So I think that if something happens and I do not return, at least I would have died for something valuable.’
Indeed, travelling past eight checkpoints manned by armed cartel members to enter one of the most contested areas in Mexico was no easy feat.
“You are probably among the very few foreign journalists who travelled this far into Guerrero, especially since the massacre of the 43 students,” Verónica, who had arranged the visit remarked as we were waved through the last checkpoint before Cocula.
She was referring to the enforced disappearances of 43 students in Iguala and Cocula, believed to have been killed by local police and criminal gangs for protesting government policies.
Cycles of Vulnerability
Alongside its abysmal record for violations against rights defenders, Mexico was also ranked the most dangerous country in the world for journalists in 2020. Verónica, who has more than 30 years’ experience investigating cases of public and private corruption, is no stranger to threats associated with her profession.
She has pressed on with her work to relay the messages of activists like Claudia and Evelia, and to call for their protection. “Giving the activists a voice is vital for safeguarding the rights of hundreds of thousands of civilians” who are losing their livelihoods, local habitats and land, Verónica says.
When the voices of the journalists who cover these stories are stifled, through intimidation and direct attacks, the activists and their communities become more invisible to the outside world.
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