Mexico's Indigenous Wirikuta Appeal to UN to Pressure Peña Nieto to Stop Mining on Their Territory

Wirikuta youth protest
Photo: Marco Ugarte

Proceso: The Editors
Translated by Kevin Chao

The Wirikuta Defense Front requested that the United Nations (UN) make an urgent appeal to Enrique Peña Nieto’s administration to take concrete action protecting the sacred grounds of the Wixaritari in the state of San Luis Potosí and protecting the Wixaritari themselves from human rights violations.

In a report presented to James Anaya, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Front stressed the threat that the exploitation of mining grants in Wixaritari territory poses to the people that live there.

Likewise, it informed him of the various forms of legal recourse taken to remedy the issue, including citizen complaints filed with the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA), as well as an indirect amparo judgment [temporary order of "protection", temporary injunction] authorizing the immediate and unconditional suspension of any act encouraging the exploitation of mining grants for the company First Majestic Silver.

The report also references recommendation of the National Human Rights Commission on the violation of the Wixarika people’s collective rights to consultation, use and enjoyment of their territory, and to cultural identity, a healthy environment, drinkable water, sanitation, and health protection in Wirikuta.

They similarly denounce the various steps taken by the federal government “to make it seem as if the conflict has been resolved,” and warn of social problems emerging in Wirikuta due to the actions of both mining companies and the local government in Catorce (a municipality in San Luis Potosí). The report points out that these actions could unleash cycles of violence and more human rights violations.

“We, the Wixaritari communities that make up the Regional Wixarika Council, with the support of the civil society that organizes the Wirikuta Defense Front, prepare this Report so that the UN Special Rapporteur can have access to recent data and strong arguments. We hope these will allow him to examine the situation and make a recommendation concerning the human rights violations affecting the indigenous communities in this region of the country,” they said.

In the same report, they reiterated their appeal to the federal government not to allow the exploitation of mining grants on sacred grounds traditionally left to the Wirikuta. Such activity, they assured, would do the Wixarika people irreversible environmental, social and cultural damage.  Spanish original