TRANSNACIONALES Y DERECHOS DE LOS PUEBLOS EN AMÉRICA LATINA Y EL CARIBE: VIOLACIONES A LA SOBERANÍA POPULAR

This report by Amigos de la Tierra América Latina y el Caribe (ATALC) analyzes the role of transnational corporations (TNCs) in the accumulation of capital and their impact on human, environmental, and collective rights in Latin America and the Caribbean. It details how TNCs utilize 'corporate capture' to influence governments and legal systems, creating an 'architecture of impunity' that protects their interests over popular sovereignty. The document characterizes the impacts of TNCs across extractivist sectors—including agribusiness, forestry, mining, and energy—and services, while advocating for a legally binding UN treaty to regulate TNCs and a systemic shift toward popular sovereignty and economic justice.

• Transnational corporations (TNCs) act as central agents of the capitalist system, exercising disproportionate power through global production chains and influencing governments to prioritize corporate interests over human and environmental rights.
• The report identifies 'corporate capture' as a strategy used by economic elites to undermine human rights and influence decision-makers. This includes tactics such as 'revolving doors' between TNCs and government/international bodies, the manipulation of communities via Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and the use of media to impose dominant narratives.
• The Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) system is described as a key component of the 'architecture of impunity,' allowing TNCs to sue states over public policy decisions. Between 2009 and 2019, the number of such lawsuits against Latin American countries rose to 165, with investors winning 70% of cases, resulting in payments of 20.588 billion dollars.
• TNCs in the agribusiness sector have driven massive land grabbing and the expansion of transgenic monocultures, particularly soy. In the Southern Cone, the soy model destroyed 35 million hectares of native forest. Six companies dominate the global trade of agricultural commodities: Cargill, Cofco, ADM, Bunge, Wilmar International, and Louis Dreyfus Co.
• Industrial forestry and palm oil plantations are characterized as 'another face of agribusiness,' causing biodiversity loss, soil acidification, and the displacement of indigenous and peasant communities. In the palm oil sector, the report notes violence, sexual harassment of women, and child labor.
• Large-scale 'megaminery' by TNCs—often from Canada and Switzerland—leads to severe water contamination and biodiversity loss. The report notes that mining's contribution to the GDP of Mexico, Bolivia, or Colombia does not exceed 10%, while most profits remain with the corporations.
• The energy sector in Latin America and the Caribbean is heavily dependent on hydrocarbons (74%), with TNCs expanding into non-conventional extraction like fracking and large-scale hydroelectric dams, both of which cause significant socio-environmental damage and community displacement.
• TNCs impact 'feminized lives' by exacerbating the unequal distribution of productive and reproductive work. The report highlights that four TNCs (Suez, Veolia, Thames Water, and Bouygues) dominate almost the entire global market for drinking water storage and distribution.
• The report advocates for a legally binding UN treaty to replace voluntary instruments like the UN Global Compact, which it claims does not guarantee the respect of basic rights. It criticizes the second draft of the treaty (August 2020) for being 'weak' and failing to impose joint liability across global value chains.
• The document records 29 murders with direct TNC involvement across cases such as Agua Zarca, Hidroituango, and CMPC, and cites Global Witness data stating that in 2019, 212 land and environmental defenders were killed globally, with more than two-thirds in Latin America.

APA

Cordo, A. (2020). TRANSNACIONALES Y DERECHOS DE LOS PUEBLOS EN AMÉRICA LATINA Y EL CARIBE: VIOLACIONES A LA SOBERANÍA POPULAR. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/TRANSNACIONALES-Y-DERECHOS-DE-LOS-PUEBLOS-EN-AMÉRICA-LATINA-Y-EL-CARIBE-VIOLACIONES-A-LA-SOBERANÍA-POPULAR.pdf

Chicago

Cordo, Azul. TRANSNACIONALES Y DERECHOS DE LOS PUEBLOS EN AMÉRICA LATINA Y EL CARIBE: VIOLACIONES A LA SOBERANÍA POPULAR. Friends of the Earth International, 2020. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/TRANSNACIONALES-Y-DERECHOS-DE-LOS-PUEBLOS-EN-AMÉRICA-LATINA-Y-EL-CARIBE-VIOLACIONES-A-LA-SOBERANÍA-POPULAR.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Cordo |first1=Azul |title=TRANSNACIONALES Y DERECHOS DE LOS PUEBLOS EN AMÉRICA LATINA Y EL CARIBE: VIOLACIONES A LA SOBERANÍA POPULAR |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=November 2020 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/TRANSNACIONALES-Y-DERECHOS-DE-LOS-PUEBLOS-EN-AMÉRICA-LATINA-Y-EL-CARIBE-VIOLACIONES-A-LA-SOBERANÍA-POPULAR.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cordo2020transnacionales, author = {Cordo, Azul}, title = {{TRANSNACIONALES Y DERECHOS DE LOS PUEBLOS EN AMÉRICA LATINA Y EL CARIBE: VIOLACIONES A LA SOBERANÍA POPULAR}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2020}, month = nov, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/TRANSNACIONALES-Y-DERECHOS-DE-LOS-PUEBLOS-EN-AMÉRICA-LATINA-Y-EL-CARIBE-VIOLACIONES-A-LA-SOBERANÍA-POPULAR.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }