Much of the international attention which has turned towards Mexico in recent years has come as a result of the so-called drug war. But one aspect which has marked the years since 2006 in resource-rich areas of Mexico has been the number of mining concessions approved for operations. As these permits move from the exploratory to the commercial production stage, an increasing number of communities in Mexico – many of them indigenous – are raising their voices in opposition. One such community is San Jose del Progreso in the southern state of Oaxaca.

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Of the hundreds of permits granted to foreign mining companies in Mexico, more than half have gone to Canadian firms. Some of the more contentious mining projects involve operations within indigenous territories. A common complaint in these cases is the lack of community consultation beforehand.

AMBI: reading statement at protest

At a recent protest in front of a state office for foreign investment, indigenous rights activists called on the government to abide by the terms of the International Labor Organization’s Convention 169 and consult with local communities before approving projects within their territories.

Residents of San Jose del Progreso – where Canadian firm Fortuna Silver owns a 55 million dollar mine – say that didn’t happen.

(Bernardo Vasquez audio in Spanish, reporter interprets)

Mine opponent Bernardo Vasquez Sanchez said residents began to notice the then-mayor was holding long, closed door meetings with businessmen in 2006…and that residents were only informed of the plans for the mine once the project was in its exploratory stage.

Vasquez, a college educated avocado farmer, became a lead organizer. On the night of March 15th, he became the second opponent of the San Jose mine murdered this year. He spoke with FSRN weeks before his death and alleged the mine was funding local officials who, in turn, created an armed group to intimidate opponents of the mine.

This is something Fortuna Silver CEO Jorge Ganoza denies.

JORGE GANOZA: “We categorically deny any involvement of the company or its subsidiaries in acts or even condoning any such violence.”

Ganoza told investors during a teleconference this week that the conflict in San Jose pre-dates the arrival of the Fortuna Silver owned mine.

JORGE GANOZA: “What we are aware of is a long, historic conflict in San Jose that is a cause of local struggle. This is not unusual in Oaxaca which is a state marked by local political disputes and land struggle.”

But many San Jose residents say the rift within the community is more recent. Eustacio Vasquez Ruiz says the mine is the root cause of the social division within the town:

EUSTACIO VASQUEZ RUIZ: “Everything started to change when this mining company arrived. It started to divide our people…and I think that’s the aim of these big companies; to divide and conquer. And those of us who have experienced it first-hand can attest to it.”

That statement came during a press conference held in Mexico City last week ahead of a demonstration in front of the Canadian Embassy. During the question and answer session, an audience member from the state of Veracruz stood up to make his own statement.

(Guillermo Rodriguez audio in Spanish, reporter interprets)

The man introduced himself as Guillermo Rodriguez, a member of a newly-formed group which opposes plans for an open pit gold mine near Mexico’s only nuclear power plant. The project is known as Caballo Blanco and the permit belongs to Goldgroup, another Canadian-owned firm. In his short speech, Rodriguez said Bernardo Vasquez’s murder struck a personal nerve because he had travelled to Veracruz just weeks before his murder to share the experiences of the anti-mine struggle in San Jose.

GUILLERMO RODRIGUEZ: “We say that Bernardo isn’t dead. He’s been planted and he sewed a powerful seed in Veracruz. And in our most recent meeting of our organization, we determined that we will honor Bernardo’s memory by fighting until the Canadian mine, Caballo Blanco, is eradicated.”

Over the past few of years, opposition to mining projects in indigenous territories has been relatively contained and limited to regional struggles…but the recent murder of activist Bernardo Vasquez seems to be changing that. His death has focused international attention on controversial mines in Mexico and established a concrete connection between previously isolated environmental and indigenous rights movements in southern Mexico.

Bernardo Vásquez and Rosalinda Dionicio in the CPUVO office in San José del Progreso. Photo credit: Dawn Paley

A prominent opponent of a Canadian-owned mine in Mexico has died after armed men opened fire on his car. Bernardo Vásquez was the outspoken leader of a regional movement opposed to a silver and gold mine in southern Mexico. The mine is operated by a subsidiary of Vancouver-based Fortuna Silver. Shannon Young reports from Oaxaca, Mexico.

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Thirty-two year old activist agronomist Bernardo Vásquez was fatally shot while driving along a rural highway about one hour south of Oaxaca City, Mexico.

Bernardo Vásquez’s brother Andrés and a cousin, Rosalinda Dionicio – both active in the local anti-mine struggle – were also in the car when armed men opened fire. Both sustained serious gunshot wounds and remain in the hospital.

(audio: Leovigildo Vásquez in Spanish, reporter interprets)

Another brother told local reporters on Friday that Vasquez received a death threat about three weeks ago.

Bernardo Vásquez documented the violence of a pro-mine group he said has been funded – and armed – by mining interests since 2009.

(audio: Bernardo Vásquez decribes documentation file – fade under)

Last month, Vasquez showed CBC News a case file containing a list of crimes committed by the pro-mining group which included

Men open fire on residents protesting the installation of infrastructure to pipe water to the mine

photographs of members carrying high-power rifles reserved exclusively for military use. Bernardo Vásquez said his group was planning to turn over the folder and other documents to the Canadian Embassy. He said the state government refused to adequately respond to the January murder of a local mine opponent.

Bernardo Vásquez: “The state can no longer continue to protect these men, especially with all of the evidence we’ve made public. We’ve filed more than twenty criminal complaints against these people and not one case has advanced. It’s clear the state government – or at least its attorney general – is protecting them.”

Oaxaca is one of Mexico’s poorest states and the government actively promotes investment opportunities in the mining sector.

The apparent lack of political will to prosecute violent crimes against opponents of the mine in San José has spanned years and political administrations. Father Martin Garcia, the area’s former parish priest, was brutally attacked in mid 2010, allegedly by members of the pro-mine group; many of whom he could identify by name. No one has been formally charged.

(audio: Father Martín García in Spanish, reporter interprets.)

Andrés Vásquez Sánchez read a spray-painted death threat aimed at his brother, Bernardo in February 2012

Father Martín García says he and many parishioners felt the government should inform and consult with local populations before approving projects within indigenous territories.

Bernardo Vásquez’s organization saw the fight over the local mine as a part of a larger set of demands for greater self-determination and territorial control in Oaxaca; Mexico’s most indigenous state.

Bernardo Vásquez: “The problem with the San José mine isn’t just limited to San José del Progreso. It’s a problem for the whole state of Oaxaca, for the whole nation. It’s practically a war declared on the small towns and their people because government officials, in their eagerness to look productive, are giving away our gold like in times past.”

The gold and silver mine in San José began full operations in September 2011. On its website, Fortuna Silver states it expects the mine to produce “1.7 million ounces of silver and 15,000 ounces of gold” this year.

A spokesperson for the company says it is in touch with local authorities about Vasquez’s murder and says it doesn’t know if his death is connected to his work as an anti-mine activist.

The murder comes as C-323, a bill which would allow foreigners to file tort claims against Canadian mining companies in Canadian courts is before the House of Commons.

Shannon Young, CBC News, Oaxaca.

(NOTE: The above is a transcript of a report produced for the March 17, 2012 broadcast of the CBC Radio program, The World This Weekend.]

Bernardo Vásquez Sánchez speaking at a mining opposition event in Xalapa, Veracruz (Feb 25, 2012)

A well-known environmental activist in Oaxaca, Mexico was murdered Thursday night in a highway ambush about an hour south of the state capital. Thirty-two year old Bernardo Vásquez Sánchez – a vocal opponent to a Canadian-owned mining project – was shot multiple times in the chest when armed men attacked his car along the road which connects his hometown, San Jose del Progreso, to the regional hub of Ocotlán.

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His brother, Andrés Vásquez and his cousin, Rosalinda Dionicio – both active in the local struggle against the mine – have been hospitalized with gunshot wounds. Bernardo Vásquez died upon arrival at a regional clinic.

The men responsible for the attack have not been identified, but the organization Vásquez led – the Coordinating Committee of the United Towns of the Valley – has meticulously documented the actions of a group they say has been funded and armed by mining interests.

In a recent interview with FSRN, Bernardo Vazquez Sanchez described how in 2006, the then-mayor of San Jose del Progreso signed a deal with mine representatives without consulting the town’s residents.

Bernardo Vásquez Sánchez: “We found out about it in 2008. That year was marked by demands and peaceful protests against the mayor. In 2009, with the occupation of the mine, the pressure became more notable. And it was in May of 2009 when we found out about the pro-mine organization. And it was that month when we began to see armed men who belonged to said organization. Those armed men who belonged to that organization, are now part of the town governing council and they’ve now brought in guys from other towns to act as their gunmen.” 

Water reservoir in San José del Progreso

The mine in San José del Progreso operates as Minera Cuzcatlán, a subsidiary of Vancouver-based Fortuna Silver.

Bernardo Vázquez showed FSRN a case file of documentation, including photographs of men with weapons reserved exclusively for military use. His group had identified the men by name and – in the face of state government inaction – had planned to deliver the evidence to the Canadian Embassy.

While opposition to the mining project is a main thrust of the Coordinating Committee of the United Towns of the Valley, it’s part of a larger set of demands for greater self-determination and territorial control in Oaxaca; Mexico’s most indigenous state.

Again, Bernardo Vazquez Sanchez.

Bernardo Vásquez Sánchez: “The problem with the San José mine isn’t just limited to San José del Progreso. It’s a problem for Oaxaca. It’s a nationwide problem. It’s practically a war declared on the small towns and their people because government officials, in their eagerness to look productive, are giving away our gold like in times past.”

The gold and silver mine in San José began full operations in September 2011. On its website, Fortuna Silver states it expects the mine to produce “1.7 million ounces of silver and 15,000 ounces of gold” this year.

Although opposition to the mine will likely continue, Thursday night’s murder of Bernardo Vásquez Sánchez means local movements of mostly indigenous small farmers in the Ocotlán Valley have lost a young and committed leader.

[This report was produced for the Friday, March 16, 2010 broadcast of FSRN]

Seventeen people, including children, were taken from their homes by a group of armed men in the community of Cerro Verde in the southern state of Guerrero. The mass abduction occurred in the early hours of December 11th but has only recently become public after a relative decided to file a police report in a district outside of the one in which the crime occurred.

Those kidnapped belong to three families linked to a regional environmental movement known as the Organization of Ecologist Farmers. Two leaders of this organization, Eva Alarcon and Marcial Bautista, were abducted earlier this month as they traveled aboard a passenger bus on their way to a meeting in Mexico City.

The daughters of the two kidnapped organizers held a press conference in Mexico City Tuesday begging the kidnappers to negotiate and to return their parents alive.

Twenty four local police and four state level detectives have been arrested in connection to the federal investigation into the case.

The whereabouts of the abducted environmental activists and their relatives remains unknown.

Papers with names of the murdered and disappeared on a wall in Oaxaca City

Much of the news of Mexico’s Drug War focuses on the shootouts, massacres and abductions which have killed tens of thousands of people in the north. Violence in the south takes on a different form and generally receives less attention.

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The southern states of Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Chiapas share certain characteristics. They are Mexico’s poorest states, are rich in natural resources, have large indigenous populations and long traditions of social movements.

In parts of southern Mexico, the legacy of the decades-long Dirty War against political dissidents has dovetailed with the climate of violence and impunity of the ongoing Drug War.

MICAELA CABAÑAS: “Desde hace mas de 40 años que tenemos en esta lucha…(fade under, reporter interprets)

Such is the case of Micaela Cabañas, who joined the caravan in her home state of Guerrero. Her father, the iconic guerrilla leader and rural teacher, Lucio Cabañas, died during an army siege in the mid ’70s. Her mother and aunt, Isabel and Reyna Anaya, were assassinated just over two months ago while leaving a church. Just hours after the crime, Micaela Cabañas received a death threat from the cell phone that had been stolen from her murdered mother.

MICAELA CABAÑAS (voiceover): “We have to continue the struggle. We have to continue planting seeds – seeds that send down firm roots steeped in education and culture – to continue on this path towards the light.”

A historic grievance in this corner of Mexico has been indigenous control over ancestral territory. Conflicts over land can take many forms; from outright paramilitary displacement campaigns sponsored by powerful regional land bosses…to rifts within a community over religion or politics. Exploitation of inter-communal divisions are sometimes fueled by outside forces.

One of the deadliest recent rural conflicts in Oaxaca occurred last year in the town of San Juan Copala. Armed men forced supporters of

Caravan event in the main plaza of Oaxaca City

a local self-governance model to flee the town after a 10 month long siege. The displaced say their aggressors received resources from what was then the state’s ruling party to keep the town under siege and crush the indigenous autonomy project.

Macario Garcia Merino spoke to the caravan during one of its stops in Oaxaca.

MACARIO GARCIA MERINO (voiceover):“It’s not just the situation in San Juan Copala and it’s not specific to the state of Oaxaca. We’ve come to realize that this situation, this war of extermination, is throughout the entire country. This is why we need all need to band together and walk together to find justice.”

San Juan Copala, like other areas experiencing forced displacements, is believed to contain significant mineral wealth.

(SPEECH/AMBI – Monte Alban ceremony)

The issue of conflict and indigenous control over their mineral-rich lands was acknowledged specifically during a ceremony for caravan participants at the Monte Alban archaeological site.

Amada Puentes, whose son has been missing since he was taken from the streets of Monterrey by policemen more than 2 years ago, said the ceremony for peace had a profound impact.

Banner with written messages next to caravan bus

AMADA PUENTES: “Cuando iniciamos la caravana, yo todavía traía en mi corazón deseos de venganza, ya no tanto de justicia, de venganza. En esta ceremonia creanme que me cambió la manera de pensar “(fade under, reporter interprets)

Puentes says even at the start of the caravan her heart yearned for revenge; not so much for justice any more, but revenge. But she says the ceremony at Monte Alban changed her way of thinking.

PUENTES (voiceover):“I now feel calmer than at the start of this journey. And I know now that it was worth it because I felt connected and I could see that I’m not alone. Even with all the people at the start of this trip, I felt isolated. After such an amazing moment [in the ceremony], my way of thinking and feeling changed. Even though I continue to cry on the inside, I now feel strong. I feel accompanied. And I feel hopeful that I’ll find my son soon.”

From Oaxaca, the caravan continued on to Chiapas, where a delegation met with the indigenous pacifist community Las Abejas and the leadership of a Zapatista base community.

The caravan also focused attention on the relatively under-covered dangers faced by undocumented migrants and their advocates in southern Mexico.

Sunday night, the bus loads of drug war victims, human rights activists, observers and journalists received a welcome by thousands ofpeople in Xalapa, the state capital of Veracruz – a city which has recently begun to experience the shoot outs and spike in missing persons cases that have plagued the north.

(Julian LeBaron tape – fade under, reporter interprets)

In Xalapa’s main plaza, Julian LeBaron, a home builder who has lost a brother and a brother in law to the violence in his home state of Chihuahua, told the crowds of people who have lost loved ones that the house that is best protected isn’t the one with the most police guarding it, but rather the one with the most organized residents.

(Julian LeBaron continues, reporter interprets)

LeBaron said that while he is a victim of crime, members of the the movement need to stop viewing themselves as victims and become the agents of the change they want to see.

 (This report was produced for the September 19, 2011 broadcast of Free Speech Radio News. The audio is downloadable here.)