Defensoras y Defensores Ambientales en Peligro La Situación en México y Centro América En el Ámbito de la Industria Minera

The report documents a regional trend of violence against environmental defenders in Mexico and Central America, linking these abuses to the social and environmental impacts of industrial mining and the failure of states to protect human rights. It provides case studies from five countries and recommends strengthening institutional protection, environmental regulations, and the right to free, prior, and informed consent.

• Environmental defenders in Mexico and Central America face a growing trend of repression and violence, including death threats, arbitrary detention, kidnapping, assassination, and the destruction of private property.
• The violence against defenders is driven by two primary failures: the inability of states to manage the environmental impacts of mining projects and the failure to protect human rights, which results in high levels of impunity for perpetrators.
• Industrial mining causes severe environmental degradation, including the contamination of air, soil, and water through chemicals like cyanide and arsenic, as well as the depletion of water sources through high consumption.
• Mining operations generate significant social risks, such as forced displacement of communities, government corruption, and the introduction of social tensions like alcoholism and prostitution due to labor migration.
• There is a systemic failure by the home countries of mining companies, specifically Canada and the United States, to prevent or punish human rights violations committed by their companies abroad.
• In Guatemala, environmental defenders are among the most threatened human rights defenders, operating in a context where approximately 98% of crimes remain unpunished.
• Case studies in Mexico highlight specific instances of violence, such as the 2009 assassination of indigenous leader Mariano Abarca Roblero in Chiapas and the 2010 killing of three environmental inspectors and a local resident in Temascaltepec.
• In El Salvador, the presence of the Canadian company Pacific Rim has been linked to violence, including the torture and murder of defender Marcelo Rivera and the assassination of Ramiro Rivera Gómez and Felicita Echeverría.
• Panama has seen the use of state force to dismantle anti-mining camps and the passage of legislation, such as Law 30 ('Ley Chorizo'), which the report argues reduces environmental impact assessment requirements and increases impunity for police abuse.
• The report recommends that states implement the right to free, prior, and informed consent for communities affected by mining, arguing that projects should not proceed without the consent of indigenous and local populations.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2010). Defensoras y Defensores Ambientales en Peligro La Situación en México y Centro América En el Ámbito de la Industria Minera. https://www.ciel.org/Publications/IACHR_Oct10.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Defensoras y Defensores Ambientales en Peligro La Situación en México y Centro América En el Ámbito de la Industria Minera. 2010. https://www.ciel.org/Publications/IACHR_Oct10.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Defensoras y Defensores Ambientales en Peligro La Situación en México y Centro América En el Ámbito de la Industria Minera |date=October 2010 |url=https://www.ciel.org/Publications/IACHR_Oct10.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2010defensoras, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Defensoras y Defensores Ambientales en Peligro La Situación en México y Centro América En el Ámbito de la Industria Minera}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2010}, month = oct, url = {https://www.ciel.org/Publications/IACHR_Oct10.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }