The Terrible Impacts of Canadian Mining in Mexico and the Canadian Embassy’s Complicity

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The Terrible Impacts of Canadian Mining in Mexico and the Canadian Embassy’s Complicity

Mariano Abarca, a resident of Chicomuselo, in the Mexican state of Chiapas, was murdered in December of 2009 after leading his community’s resistance to Canadian mining corporation Blackfire. Last Tuesday and Wednesday, his family and dozens of Mexican organizations and networks that resist mining organized a panel in his honor at the Human Rights Commission of Mexico City, and demonstrated outside the Canadian embassy in Mexico.

The organizations also presented the report “Canadian mining in Mexico: Blackfire exploration and the Canadian embassy, a case of corruption and murder”. Real World Radio’s correspondent (and member of the group Hijos de la Tierra – Children of the Earth) interviewed Jennifer Moore of Mining Watch Canada about the report and the ongoing investigations into the murder of Mariano.

“We have documents from 2007 to 2010 that show the embassy played a key role in facilitating the corporations’ activities before the mine closed down, even though the embassy was aware of the problems between the corporation and the communities”, said the activist.

After the murder of Mariano and the closing down of the mine,” the embassy was still advising the corporation as to how to sue the state of Chiapas. We were outraged at the information we found, but it helped us understand the scope of the support from the Canadian embassy to corporations like Blackfire”.

Mining Watch Canada, Fronteras Comunes Canada and the Canadian trade union United Steelworkers Canada collaborated in the report, together with Otros Mundos-Friends of the Earth Mexico,

“We are demanding a total change of regulations for Canadian mining corporations operating abroad”, said Jennifer.

Photos: Mónica Montalvo