Translated by Penn Tomassetti
The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues recently concluded its 12th session.
Two reports on Mexico show, on the one hand, one of the most serious problems affecting indigenous peoples in relation to mining, and on the other hand, the State's position in response to particular observations from the forum. They offer a list of actions that revolve around programs, but omit considerations of the right to autonomy and self-determination.
...It is important to note that Saúl Vicente Vázquez, an indigenous member of the forum, on his own initiative, presented a study on extractive mining industries in Mexico and the situation of indigenous communities in territories where these industries are located.
The voice of the people is set forth and established in the document:
“I found a claim by the indigenous people, who maintain that the Mexican authorities neither respect nor protect their rights enshrined in the Mexican Constitution and international legal instruments. Their participation was neither procured in the consultative processes nor was their free, prior and informed consent obtained before granting concessions and permitting operations in their territories by these types of industries.
"Their protests demanding their rights are criminalized by the authorities with acts of violence, even to the point of their leaders being murdered. They suffer the loss of their natural resources, negative environmental affects and health problems brought on by the processes of extracting these metals. Such industries have not benefited them.”The legal framework is reportedly in favor of the people, as well as the one that regulates mining concessions granted by the State—which highlights something I have been persistently denouncing, pointing out that it is a joke:
The Mining Law acknowledges a preference for the request of the indigenous people or community, provided it complies with the requirements and conditions that the law establishes. One of those conditions is "to match the best economic proposal with that which another competitor presents", which in fact annuls the preemptive right granted by the Constitution to indigenous people. In the event that they decide [to present an alternative proposal], they will hardly be able to count on the economic and technical resources needed in order to compete with big transnational or national businesses.
On the other hand, the report describes the types of conflicts the mining industry generates by its impacts. It also collects the result of interviews with business associations from the sector, as well as those in the Secretariat of Economics, and highlights some shocking numbers, such as that
"26,559 mining concession permits were issued in Mexico between 2000 and 2010, which is equivalent to 35 percent of the national territory".In 2010, 301 mining companies implemented projects, 202 of which are Canadian.
It clarifies what are defined by officials as 'conflicts of relational politics':
“If there are disputes with communities, it is necessary to find out which of these communities are indigenous. There are a lot of disputes in the mountain region of Guerrero. But are these indigenous? I don't know.”
MV Note: This is evidently presented as an example of a type of official government response, challenging whether communities qualify as indigenous and thus can claim relevant rights to control what happens with their lands. Virtually all communities in the mountains of Guerrero are indigenous.Also outstanding is the voice of the Community Police and the Regional Coordinator of Community Authorities (CRAC), who reject various concessions granted in the Mountain region of Guerrero, as well as the Zapotec population of San José del Progreso, in the Valley of Ocotlán in Oaxaca. They are organized as the Coordinator of United Peoples of the Valley of Ocotlán (CPUVO).
These two groups have indicated that leasing contracts, and in some cases land grants, have been made with the Cuzcatlán company (a subsidiary of Fortuna Silver Mines Inc) by means of intimidation, in addition to causing a dispute with another group—namely, the San José Civil Association Defending our Rights.
The murder of Bernardo Méndez, and Bernardo Vázquez of the CPUVO a month later, emphatically stands out. Likewise, the Wirikuta is an emblematic case, as it affects the sacred territory of an indigenous people in Real del Catorce [in the state of San Luis Potosi].
The report cites the offer in the Pact for Mexico to reform the Mining Law and concludes with a series of recommendations that ought to be legislated.
It is a good report that, nevertheless, does not develop the range of what are known as "benefits of the concessions" for the people affected. That may be the poisoned apple which keeps the game revolving around "good and bad miners", or the communities that are "for progress against those which are not". Most certainly, this will be the arena of the next debate. Spanish original
*Magdalena Gómez is an attorney, who also earned the Master's Degree in Political Science and a Certificate in Educational Technology. Her areas of specialization are agrarian law, indigenous rights and law, political education and society.