Blood of Extraction

by Todd Gordon

  325 Mcallister, “A Headlong Rush,” p. 277.

  326 G. Grandin, The Blood of Guatemala: A History of Race and Nation, Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2000, p. 224.

  327 S. Jonas, Of Centaurs and Doves: Guatemala’s Peace Process, Boulder: Westview Press, 2000, p. 23.

  328 Ibid., p. 23.

  329 Mcallister, “A Headlong Rush,” p. 279.

  330 Ibid., p. 23.

  331 Grandin, The Last Colonial Massacre, p. 182.

  332 D. Levenson-Estrada, Trade Unionists against Terror: Guatemala City, 1954–1985, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1994.

  333 D.T. Levenson, Adiós Niño: The Gangs of Guatemala City and the Politics of Death, Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2013, p. 2.

  334 Grandin, The Blood of Guatemala, p. 224.

  335 Levenson, Adiós Niño, pp. 32–33.

  336 J. Dunkerley, Power in the Isthmus: A Political History of Modern Central America, London: Verso, 1988, pp. 496–497.

  337 Grandin, The Last Colonial Massacre, p. 3.

  338 W.I. Robinson, Transnational Conflicts: Central America, Social Change, and Globalization, London: Verso, 2003, p. 103.

  339 Robinson, Transnational Conflicts, pp. 105–106.

  340 Levenson, Adiós Niño, p. 39.

  341 EIU, Guatemala: Country Report, London: Economist Intelligence Unit, June 2013, p. 3.

  342 Robinson, Transnational Conflicts, p. 109.

  343 A. Bird, “Drugs and Business: Central America Faces Another Round of Violence,” NACLA Report on the Americas, 45, 1, 2012, pp. 35–36; W.I. Robinson, “Latin America in the New Global Capitalism,” NACLA Report on the Americas, 45, 2, 2012.

  344 Robinson, Transnational Conflicts, pp. 115–116.

  345 ECLAC, Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2012, Santiago: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, 2012, p. 117. Figures for 2011 are preliminary.

  346 ECLAC, Anuario Estadístico 2012, Santiago: Economic Commision for Latin America and the Caribbean, 2012, p. 65.

  347 Ibid., p. 68.

  348 Ibid., p. 70.

  349 S.V. Yagenova, “Guatemala: Reflexiones sobre el ciclo actual de lucha popular en la antesala del proceso electoral del 2011,” OSAL, 12, 29, May 2011, p. 214.

  350 S.V. Yagenova, “Guatemala 2012: Reconfiguración autoritaria, movilización popular y criminalización de las luchas,” OSAL, 14, 33, May 2013, p. 137.

  351 EIU, Guatemala: Country Report, p. 2.

  352 Ibid., p. 3.

  353 Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Foreign Direct Investment, 65. While this section focuses principally on the mining sector, it is important to note too that Canadian oil companies have been expanding their presence in the country as of late. For example, Calgary-based Quattro Exploration and Production acquired just short of 350,000 hectares of oil concession in the country in November 2011. See D. Paley, “The Spoils of an Undeclared War: How Guatemala’s ‘War on Drugs’ is Being Used as a Front to Clear Land for Oil Companies,” Briarpatch, July 1, 2012. Available online at: http://briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/view/the-spoils-of-an-undeclared-war. Accessed on June 2, 2014.

  354 Data was obtained via www.northernminer.org.

  355 Goldcorp’s Marlin and Cerro Blanco mines are operated by subsidiaries Montana Exploradora and Entre Mares, respectively.

  356 M.L. Dougherty, “The Global Gold Mining Industry, Junior Firms, and Civil Society Resistance in Guatemala,” Bulletin of Latin American Research, 30, 4, 2011, p. 9.

  357 Ibid., p. 10.

  358 Ibid., p. 10.

  359 Ibid., pp. 9–11.

  360 Canadian Institute for Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum, “Guatemala Laws and Regulations.” Available online at: www.cim.org. Accessed on May 18, 2012.

  361 Dougherty, “The Global Gold Mining Industry, Junior Firms, and Civil Society Resistance in Guatemala,” p. 11.

  362 D. Valladares, “Guatemala: Mines Bring No Benefits to Local People,” Upside Down World, July 24, 2009. Available online at: http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/2012/68/. Accessed on August 1, 2009.

  363 I. Bickis, “Guatemala proposes 40% stake in mining companies,” Northern Miner, July 16–22, 2012, p. 5; Mining Watch, “Guatemala’s Highest Court to Hear Landmark Indigenous Challenge against Mining Law,” Mining Watch, July 20, 2012. Available online at: http://www.miningwatch.ca/news/guatemala-s-highest-court-hear-landmark-indigenous-challenge-against-mining-law. Accessed on July 20, 2012; Reuters, “Guatemala steps back from mining reform plans—adviser,” Reuters, August 7, 2012. Available online at: http://uk.reuters.com/article/guatemala-mining-urgent-idUKL2E8J64W420120806. Accessed on August 9, 2012.

  364 J. Lambert, “Minería en Canadá,” Prensa Libre, November 4, 2004. Available online at: http://www.prensalibre.com/. Accessed on May 15, 2012. Translation from Rosalind Gill for www.rightsaction.org, accessed May 15, 2012.

  365 The National Mining Forum is discussed by Ambassador Lambert during a January 23, 2005 televised debate on the program “Libre Encuentro,” which can be viewed with translation at: www.schnoorversuscanada.ca. Accessed May 15, 2012.

  366 R. Collins, “Tahltan Chief Jerry Asp Removed from Office by Elders,” MAC: Mines and Communities, February 10, 2005. Available online at: http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=1412. Accessed on May 15, 2012.

  367 See, for example, Gordon, Imperialist Canada, chapter 2.

  368 J. Lambert quoted in “Libre Encuentro,” January 23, 2005.

  369 C. Luttman, “Meeting with MEM new officials,” Guatemala City, Canadian Embassy, February 11, 2008, Access to Information, file A-2010-02420.

  370 Ibid. The PDAC meetings are the largest mining industry gathering in the world.

  371 Canadian Embassy, “Itinerario Final: Visita del Viceministro Estuardo Roldán y la Delegación de Guatemala a Canadá,” Guatemala City, Canadian Embassy, February 26, 2010, Access to Information, file A-2010-02404.

  372 C. Rojas-Arbulú, “Canadian participation in Guatemala’s Energy Sector,” Guatemala City: Canadian Embassy, specific date unknown, 2005, Access to Information, file A-2010-02417.

  373 S. Yagenova and R. Garcia, “Indigenous People’s Struggles Against Transnational Mining Companies in Guatemala: The Sipakapa People vs. GoldCorp Mining Company,” Socialism and Democracy, 23, 3, 2009, p. 160.

  374 P. Kent, “Notes for an Address by the Honourable Peter Kent, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas), to the Inter-American Dialogue,” March 16, 2009, Global Affairs Canada. Available online at: http://www.international.gc.ca/media/state-etat/speeches-discours/2009/387072.aspx?lang=en. Accessed on February 3, 2010.

  375 Dougherty, “The Global Gold Mining Industry, Junior Firms, and Civil Society Resistance in Guatemala,” p. 7.

  376 On Common Ground Consultants, Inc., Human Rights Assessment of Goldcorp’s Marlin Mine, Executive Summary, May 2010, 12. Available online at: http://www.hria-guatemala.com/en/MarlinHumanRights.htm. Accessed on May 20, 2012. While the report is critical of Goldcorp and its predecessor, it accepts as its premise—not surprisingly, given it was commissioned by Goldcorp—the company’s legitimacy, and the industry’s more broadly, as a “stakeholder” in developmental questions effecting indigenous communities in Guatemala, even when it acknowledges consultation was inadequate.

  377 Dougherty, “The Global Gold Mining Industry, Junior Firms, and Civil Society Resistance in Guatemala,” p. 8.

  378 N. Basu and H. Hu, “Toxic metals and indigenous peoples near the Marlin mine in western Guatemala,” Technical Report for Physicians for Human Rights, May 2010, cited in J. Van de Wauw, R. Evens and L. Machiels, “Are groundwater overextraction and reduced infiltration contributing to arsenic related health problems near the Marlin mine?” October 14, 2010. Available online at: htt
ps://www.researchgate.net/publication/266274045_Are_Groundwater_overextraction_and_reduced_infiltration_contributing_to_Arsenic_related_health_problems_near_the_Marlin_mine_Guatemala. Accessed on May 2, 2012. See also Physicians for Human Rights, Press Release, May 18, 2010. Available online at: //physiciansforhumanrights.org. Accessed on May 20, 2010.

  379 Wauw, Evens and Machiels, “Are groundwater overextraction and reduced infiltration contributing to arsenic related health problems near the Marlin mine?” October 14, 2010, pp. 1, 3. Available online at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266274045_Are_Groundwater_overextraction_and_reduced_infiltration_contributing_to_Arsenic_related_health_problems_near_the_Marlin_mine_Guatemala. Accessed on May 2, 2012.

  380 R. Llewellyn, “Gold flows as the wells run dry,” Le Monde Diplomatique, English edition, April 25, 2012. Available online at: http://mondediplo.com/blogs/gold-flows-as-the-wells-run-dry. Accessed on April 25, 2012.

  381 G. Russell, “Even the Cows are Being Killed By Goldcorp’s Mine in Guatemala,” Rights Action, Electronic Bulletin, February 4, 2011.

  382 L. Zarsky and L. Stanley, “Searching for Gold in the Highlands of Guatemala: Economic Benefits and Environmental Risks of the Marlin Mine,” Global Development and Environment Institute, Tufts University, September 2011.

  383 Lewellyn, “Gold flows as the wells run dry.”

  384 Dougherty, “The Global Gold Mining Industry, Junior Firms, and Civil Society Resistance in Guatemala,” pp. 7–8; A. Ramírez, “The Minister Takes Legal Action Against Montana,” October 4, 2010, Prensa Libre. Available online at: http://www.prensalibre.com/noticias/justicia/Ministro-presenta-accion-legal-Montana_0_347365300.html. Accessed on October 20, 2010, translated by Rosalind Gill for Rights Action. Available online at: https://goldcorpoutnews.wordpress.com/2010/10/01/the-minister-takes-legal-action-against-montana/; M. Rey Rosa, “Montana Lied!” Prensa Libre, October 1, 2010, translated by Rosalind Gill for Rights Action. Available online at: https://goldcorpoutnews.wordpress.com/2010/10/18/montana-lied/. Access on December 14, 2015.

  385 International Labour Conference, Report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, International Labour Office, 99th Session, 2010, p. 770.

  386 M. Mittelstaedt, “Goldcorp mine in Guatemala ordered to shut,” Globe and Mail, June 8, 2010, p. B16. IACHR quoted in Rights Action, “Government of Guatemala Ordered to Suspend Goldcorp’s Marlin Gold Mine Operation,” Rights Action, Electronic Bulletin, June 1, 2010.

  387 Personal interview, Sacmuj, Guatemala, July 13, 2012.

  388 Goldcorp, “Goldcorp Reports Action Regarding Marlin Mine,” June 9, 2010. Available online at: http://www.goldcorp.com/English/Investor-Resources/News/News-Details/2010/Goldcorp-Reports-Action-Regarding-Marlin-Mine1122161/default.aspx. Accessed on June 15, 2010.

  389 Nasdaq, “Goldcorp Guatemalan Mine Restrictions Modified by IACHR; Goldcorp Gratified by Announcement,” Nasdaq, December 19, 2011. Available online at: http://www.nasdaq.com/article/goldcorp-guatemalan-mine-restrictions-modified-by-iachr-goldcorp-gratified-by-announcement-cm109730. Accessed on December 19, 2011.

  390 Moore quoted in Mining Watch, “A Wake-up Call for Human Rights Defenders in the Americas, Not Indicator of Goldcorp’s Performance,” Mining Watch, January 5, 2012. Available online at: http://www.miningwatch.ca/news/human-rights-commissions-climbdown-wake-call-human-rights-defenders-americas-not-indicator. Accessed on January 6, 2012.

  391 A. Bugailiskis, “Follow up on Your Meeting with DG Jamie Lambert,” Ottawa, Foreign Affairs and International Trade, June 29, 2010, Access to Information, file A-2010-02408.

  392 L. McKechnie, “RE: MINING/GUATEMALA/HUMAN RIGHTS: Goldcorp’s Marlin mine at centre of a human rights battle over licensing process,” Guatemala City: Canadian Embassy, June 9, 2010, Access to Information file, A-2012-00366.

  393 J. Marder, subject header redacted, Ottawa: Foreign Affairs and International Trade, June 14, 2010, Access to Information, file A-2012-00366. The quotes are from a “Meeting Note” for Van Loan, the date and author for which are not indicated, Access to Information, file A-2012-00366.

  394 K. Patterson, subject header redacted, Washington: Canada’s Permanent Mission to the OAS, June 14, 2010, Access to Information, file A-2012-00366; A. Bugailiskis, “Follow up On Your Meeting with DG Jamie Lambert,” Ottawa: Foreign Affairs and International Trade, June 29, 2010, Access to Information, file A-2012-00366.

  395 J. Buss, “OMINT Request: Letter to MINT’s Guatemalan counterpart,” Ottawa: Foreign Affairs and International Trade, June 18, 2010, Access to Information, file A-2010-02408.

  396 S. Moffett, “Recontre avec Goldcorp—24 juin—Guatemala,” Guatemala City: Embassy, June 24, 2010, Access to Information, file A-2010-02408.

  397 Both quotes are from an email string between embassy staff and FAIT officials in Ottawa from July 9–13, 2010, Access to Information, file A-2012-00366.

  398 L. Dalby, “RE: Marlin Mine,” Ottawa: Foreign Affairs and International Trade, October 8, 2010, Access to Information, file A-2012-00366.

  399 S. Moffett, “Plainte à l’IACHR contre le gouvernement du Guatemala,” Guatemala City: Canadian Embassy, October 13, 2010, Access to Information, file A-2012-00366.

  400 S. Moffett, subject header redacted, Guatemala City: Foreign Affairs and International Trade, October 26, 2010, Access to Information, file A-2012-00366.

  401 D. Janoff, “Meeting with Goldcorp V.P. David Deisley,” Washington: Canada’s Permanent Mission to the OAS, November 15, 2010, Access to Information, file A-2012-00366; L. Dalby, “Update—Goldcorp status please,” Ottawa: Foreign Affairs and International Trade, November 1, 2010, Access to Information, file A-2012-00366.

  402 Cristiani quoted in Mining Watch, “Canadian Parliamentarians Meet with Guatemalan Legislators on Goldcorp’s Ticket,” Mining Watch, September 11, 2012. Available online at: http://www.miningwatch.ca/news/canadian-parliamentarians-meet-guatemalan-legislators-goldcorp-s-ticket. Accessed on September 13, 2012.

  403 The Hill and Knowlton letter and Bergeron’s testimony are both quoted in Mining Watch, “Goldcorp organizes junket for Canadian parliamentarians to Guatemala,” Mining Watch, August 28, 2012. Available online at: http://www.miningwatch.ca/news/goldcorp-organizes-junket-guatemala-canadian-parliamentarians. Accessed on August 28, 2012.

  404 D. Valladares, “Goldcorp Mining Project in Guatemala Faces Cross Border Opposition,” Upside Down World, April 6, 2010. Available online at: http://upsidedownworld.org/main/guatemala-archives-33/2435-goldcorp-mining-project-in-guatemala-faces-cross-border-opposition. Accessed on April 8, 2010.

  405 INCO’s EXMIBAL is actually identified in the Guatemalan truth and reconciliation report in a case study of an assassination. Comisión para el Esclarecimiento Histórico, Guatemala Memoria del Silencio, Tomo VI, Casos ilustrativos, Anexo 1, Guatemala: United Nations, 1999, pp. 99–104. Thank you to Graham Russell for pointing this out to us.

  406 S. Fitzpatrick Behrens, “Nickel for Your Life: Q’eqchi’ Communities Take on Mining Companies in Guatemala,” NACLA Report on the Americas, October 25, 2009. Available online at: https://nacla.org/news/nickel-your-life-qeqchi-communities-take-mining-companies-guatemala. Accessed on November 1, 2009; Rights Action, “Hudbay Minerals Linked to One and Possibly Two Deadly Shootings On September 27 and 28,” Rights Action, Electronic Bulletin, September 28, 2009.

  407 Choc V. Hudbay Minerals, “Hudbay Minerals Sells Nickel Mine in Guatemala,” August 9, 2011. Available online at: http://www.chocversushudbay.com/. Accessed on August 10, 2011.

  408 C. Jamasmie, “Guatemala’s Escobal Mine to Become One of the Top Silver Projects in the World,” Mining, May 24, 2012. Available online at: http://www.mining.com/guatemalas-el-escobal-mine-to-become-one-of-the-top-silver-projects-in-the-world-report/. Accessed on May 24, 2012.

  409 J. Rodriguez, “Goldcorp’s Legacy: Criminalization and Mining R
esistance in San Rafael las Flores, Guatemala,” Upside Down World, April 25, 2012. Available online at: http://upsidedownworld.org/main/guatemala-archives-33/3595-goldcorps-legacy-criminalization-and-mining-resistance-in-san-rafael-las-flores-guatemala. Accessed on April 26, 2012.

  410 It was sold to Nevada-based Kappes, Cassiday & Associates in August 2012.

  411 Prensa Libre, “San José del Golfo Villagers Detain Mining Personnel,” Prensa Libre, translated by Rosalind Gill for Rights Action, Rights Action Electronic Bulletin, April 10, 2012.

  412 Prensa Libre, “Community Members Call for Closure of Gold and Silver Mine,” Prensa Libre, translated by Rosalind Gill for Rights Action, Rights Action Electronic Bulletin, March 9, 2012.

  413 D, Paley, “Guatemala: Peaceful Resistance in the Face of Violence,” Upside Down World, October 24, 2012. Available online at: http://upsidedownworld.org/main/guatemala-archives-33/3934-guatemala-peaceful-resistance-in-the-face-of-violence. Accessed on August 10, 2013.

  414 Personal interview, San José del Golfo, Guatemala, July 8, 2012.

  415 Ibid.

  416 S.V. Yagenova, “Guatemala 2012: Reconfiguración autoritaria, movilización popular y criminalización de las luchas,” OSAL, 14, 33, 2013, pp. 135–149.

  417 Ibid., p. 137.

  418 R. Zibechi, “Guatemala: Resisting the New Colonialism—An Interview with Mario Godínez,” Americas Program, July 18, 2011. Available online at: http://www.cipamericas.org/archives/5136. Accessed on August 12, 2013.

  419 S.V. Yagenova, “Guatemala: Reflexiones sobre el ciclo actual de lucha popular en la antesala del proceso electoral del 2011,” OSAL, 12, 29, 2011, pp. 215–216.

  420 Yagenova, “Guatemala 2012,” p. 140.

  421 D. Paley, “Nueva Esperanza,” Canadian Dimension, August 1, 2012. Available online at: http://canadiandimension.com/articles/4863. Accessed on August 15, 2013.

  422 Quoted in Raúl Zibechi, “Guatemala: Resisting the New Colonialism.”

  423 T. Sosa, “Implicaciones socio-ambientales de la minería en Centroamérica,” América Latina en Movimiento, 37, II, March 2012, p. 19.