EN AMÉRICA LATINA LOS DERECHOS DE LOS PUEBLOS FRENTE AL PODER EMPRESARIAL

The report details cases of corporate abuse in Latin America, including mining disasters in Brazil, the assassination of environmental defenders in Mexico and Honduras, and legal battles over public health and water in Uruguay and Argentina. It argues that current international investment frameworks, such as the ICSID, protect corporate profits over human rights and national sovereignty. The authors call for a binding UN treaty to end corporate impunity and the establishment of an international tribunal to hold transnational companies accountable for environmental and social crimes.

• The 2015 collapse of the Fundão dam in Brazil, operated by Samarco (a joint venture between BHP Billiton and Vale), is described as one of the largest socio-environmental crimes in history, killing 19 people and contaminating 663 kilometers of rivers.
• In Mexico, the Canadian company Blackfire Exploration is linked to the 2009 assassination of environmental leader Mariano Abarca Roblero in Chiapas, with the report alleging state complicity and a lack of due diligence in the criminal investigation.
• The Agua Zarca hydroelectric project in Honduras, developed by DESA and funded by FMO (Netherlands), Finnfund (Finland), and the BCIE, is associated with the assassination of activist Berta Cáceres and other Lenca community leaders.
• Argentina has become the most sued country in the international arbitration system, with 59 cases, including a significant dispute where the ICSID ordered Argentina to pay $405 million to Suez following the re-nationalization of the water company AySA in 2006.
• El Salvador successfully prohibited metallic mining in 2017 following a legal victory at the ICSID against Pacific Rim/Oceana Gold, which had sought up to $301 million in damages after the state denied exploitation permits.
• The expansion of pineapple monocultures in Costa Rica, dominated by US companies like Del Monte and Dole, has led to the loss of over 5,500 hectares of forest between 2000 and 2015 and widespread water contamination from agrochemicals.
• In Guatemala, the community of Ixquisis resisted hydroelectric projects (Pojom I, II, and San Andrés) by PDHSA, reporting 75 incidents of human rights violations in 2016, including extrajudicial detentions and threats.
• The report argues that Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) and Free Trade Agreements create an 'architecture of impunity' by allowing corporations to sue states in biased ad hoc tribunals while victims have no international venue to seek justice.

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). EN AMÉRICA LATINA LOS DERECHOS DE LOS PUEBLOS FRENTE AL PODER EMPRESARIAL. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ATALC_espanol_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. EN AMÉRICA LATINA LOS DERECHOS DE LOS PUEBLOS FRENTE AL PODER EMPRESARIAL. Friends of the Earth International, 2017. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ATALC_espanol_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=EN AMÉRICA LATINA LOS DERECHOS DE LOS PUEBLOS FRENTE AL PODER EMPRESARIAL |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=October 2017 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ATALC_espanol_2017-WEB.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{viana2017amrica, 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 = {{EN AMÉRICA LATINA LOS DERECHOS DE LOS PUEBLOS FRENTE AL PODER EMPRESARIAL}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2017}, month = oct, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ATALC_espanol_2017-WEB.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }