PEOPLES RIGHTS CONFRONTING CORPORATE POWER IN LATIN AMERICA

The report details various cases in Latin America where transnational corporations in mining, energy, agribusiness, and tobacco have violated human rights and caused environmental destruction. It highlights the 'architecture of impunity' created by bilateral investment treaties and the ICSID arbitration system, which allow companies to sue states over public interest policies. The document advocates for a binding international treaty and an independent international tribunal to ensure corporate accountability and the supremacy of human rights over commercial interests.

• The 2015 collapse of the Fundão dam in Brazil, operated by Samarco (a joint venture of BHP Billiton and Vale), released 62 million cubic meters of mining waste, killing 19 people and affecting 3.5 million people's drinking water supply across 230 municipalities.
• In Mexico, Canadian mining company Blackfire Exploration is accused of colluding with authorities in Chiapas to criminalize and murder environmental leader Mariano Abarca Roblero in 2009 after he opposed the Payback/La Revancha mine.
• The Agua Zarca hydroelectric project in Honduras, developed by DESA and funded by FMO (Netherlands), Finnfund (Finland), and CABEI, was linked to the 2016 murder of Lenca activist Berta Cáceres and other community leaders.
• The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) is described as a tool for corporations to coerce states, exemplified by Phillip Morris suing Uruguay over public health tobacco regulations and Suez suing Argentina after the state recovered the water utility AySA.
• El Salvador successfully defeated a claim by Pacific Rim/Oceana Gold at ICSID and subsequently passed a law on March 29, 2017, banning metal mining nationwide following intense social mobilization.
• Costa Rica's pineapple industry, dominated by multinationals like Del Monte and Dole, has caused significant deforestation (5,568.98 hectares between 2000 and 2015) and widespread water pollution from agrochemicals.
• In Guatemala, the Ixquisis community has resisted hydroelectric projects (Pojom I, II, and San Andrés) by PDHSA, reporting 75 incidents of harassment, threats, and violence against defenders in 2016.
• The report argues that current international law contains gaps that allow transnational corporations to avoid responsibility for crimes committed outside their home countries, necessitating a binding treaty and an autonomous International Tribunal on Human Rights and Transnational Corporations.

APA

Viana, A., Soto, G. C., Silva, M. A. C., Garay, M. E. Z., Salvático, N., Villarreal, A., Vásquez, A. M., Porras, M., Palacios, E. H., Grijalva, B. T., Herrera, R., & Raymundo, E. R. (2017). PEOPLES RIGHTS CONFRONTING CORPORATE POWER IN LATIN AMERICA. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ATALC_english_2017-WEB.pdf

Chicago

Viana, Arthur, Gustavo Castro Soto, Martha Alejandra Canales Silva, Mario Ernesto Zavala Garay, Natalia Salvático, Alberto Villarreal, Ana María Vásquez, et al. PEOPLES RIGHTS CONFRONTING CORPORATE POWER IN LATIN AMERICA. Friends of the Earth International, 2017. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ATALC_english_2017-WEB.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Viana |first1=Arthur |last2=Soto |first2=Gustavo Castro |last3=Silva |first3=Martha Alejandra Canales |last4=Garay |first4=Mario Ernesto Zavala |last5=Salvático |first5=Natalia |last6=Villarreal |first6=Alberto |last7=Vásquez |first7=Ana María |last8=Porras |first8=Mariana |last9=Palacios |first9=Eric Hernández |display-authors=etal |title=PEOPLES RIGHTS CONFRONTING CORPORATE POWER IN LATIN AMERICA |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=October 2017 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ATALC_english_2017-WEB.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{viana2017peoples, author = {Viana, Arthur and Soto, Gustavo Castro and Silva, Martha Alejandra Canales and Garay, Mario Ernesto Zavala and Salvático, Natalia and Villarreal, Alberto and Vásquez, Ana María and Porras, Mariana and Palacios, Eric Hernández and Grijalva, Basilio Tzoy and Herrera, Ruben and Raymundo, Elías Raymundo}, title = {{PEOPLES RIGHTS CONFRONTING CORPORATE POWER IN LATIN AMERICA}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2017}, month = oct, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ATALC_english_2017-WEB.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }