Global Eyes

As previously mentioned, the mining issue is one that is greatly affecting communities in Guatemala, specifically in the San Marcos region of the country. Nate Howard is currently working with MCC in this area, supporting food security projects in various mountainous communities. Below is an article in which Nate shares his views on what is happening in the region as a result of globalization.

MCC Guatemala/El Salvador and MCC Canada are very interested in organizing a Learning Tour that would focus on these issues and the impact North American companies are having in Guatemala and other Latin American countries; please contact connecting@guatemala.mcc.org for more information.

Globalization’s Perils in a Guatemalan Gold Rush

By Nate Howard

“The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom…”

Introduction

If we take seriously that “His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made,” instead of seeing a separation between Creation and the Creator, we discover that Creation is “nothing less than the manifestation of God’s hidden Being.”

Thus, in light of our worship of a type of progress that destroys Creation and dehumanises people, I would say that there is less fear of God today than at any other time in the history of humanity. By intuition then, I believe that wisdom is lacking.

Central to the philosophy of progress, preached by our economists, scientists, and politicians, is the belief that universal peace is achievable through unlimited economic progress. Certainly the notion of personal enrichment is a powerful mover, but as wise men and women have always asked, can the foundation for peace really be achieved through the “cultivation and expansion of needs?”

Traditional wisdom leaves no room for the romanticism of peace sought by employing the powerful human drives of selfishness. “Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint.”

Problem

Like the province of San Marcos, Guatemala where I work, “there are many poor societies that have too little, but where is the rich society that says “Halt!” we have enough? There is none.”

Here in San Marcos, there are numerous anti-life manifestations of this unwillingness by the rich to practice restraint. One of the most severe is the presence of Goldcorp Inc. Goldcorp is a Canadian-owned mining company that began operations in Guatemnala in 2006 at the Marlin Mine in Sipicapa, San Marcos and continues today with preliminary explorations in areas across the Highlands, one being the region of Sibinal where MCC alongside the San Marcos Diocese has been implementing a food security program. Goldcorp’s mining operation in Guatemala, which is almost entirely given to the extraction of gold, is very difficult to justify on any grounds. To begin, there are serious environmental issues raised as a result of its operations. According to the Mineral Policy Institute (MPI), safe disposal of mine waste is generally recognized as the single largest environmental challenge facing the mining industry worldwide. Similarly, the United States Environmental Protection Agency named water contamination from mining as on of its top three ecological security threats to the world. In addition to the waste, which amounts to 20 tons of earth, cyanide and 250,000 tons of water an hour are involved in the process to create sellable gold. Besides the physical dangers to local communities and ecosystems, this excessive use of water is especially concerning as numerous communities in Sibinal are without potable water systems and deal with water shortages for the irrigation of their crops.

Another area of concern is Goldcorp’s contribution to social conflict in Guatemala. Through a formal consultation process, it is documented that the overwhelming majority of communities are opposed to the presence of the mine. Nevertheless, due to exceptional rights for multinational corporations guaranteed by recent fair trade agreements and clever legal tactics, Goldcorp has been allowed to pay little attention to the stated will of these primarily indigenous communities. In Sibinal for example, though 32 of the 32 villages in the region cast their lot in opposition to the mine, Goldcorp through contracts with the Guatemalan national government has obtained a license to explore an area 25 km². The result has been conflict. In December of 2004, and then again in January of 2005, blockades organized by indigenous peoples to stop the transport of materials to be used in the construction of the Marlin Mine, have ended in violent attacks perpetrated by the military and police. Since the mine began its operation, a number of clashes have arisen between local residents and the mine’s employees. As a result, indigenous leaders, many of which have been women, have faced intense legal harassment, and in some cases, jail time. Most recently, on August 9,2008, indigenous peoples once again took to the streets successfully blockading 16 points along Guatemala’s major highway system in protest to the mining exploration occurring throughout the highlands. The climate only continues to intensify.

Who benefits?

All these negative social and environmental factors aside, the distribution of profits, four-fifths of which are generated by the sale of gold for ornamental purposes, is laughable. The current mining law in Guatemala requires that 1% of the mine’s profits be left behind in Guatemala, of which half is supposed to be passed on to the local authorities in the areas being mined. In the end, due to corruption and other factors, it is estimated that about 01% of total profits actually trickles down to the communities affected by mining operations.

The obvious beneficiaries are Goldcorp’s executives (in 2007 the CEO was the highest paid executive in British Columbia, earning $17 million) and its shareholders, who were paid $31.7 million in the second quarter of 2007 alone. Nevertheless, those benefiting from Golcorp’s practices do not end with those directly invested. A few examples are the 17 million Canadians contributing to the Canadian Pension Plan that is one of Goldcorp’s largest investors, and the thousands benefiting from Goldcorp’s massive donations to such institutions as the University of British Colombia. As cited in a report from the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability, the reality is that most of Canada’s citizenry, due to its government’s relationship with the extractive industry through economic and political backing is benefiting from the more than 1000 Canadian mining companies that account for 40% of all mineral exploration undertaken globally. Sadly, these same companies have been implicated in human rights abuses and environmental disasters in more than thirty countries.

What can we do?

In confronting the philosophy of materialism, ultimately we are dealing with a meta-narrative issue, and thus, the resolution to our problem lies at the meta-narrative level. As a Christian, I know no greater authority on “right” meta-narratives than the church that adheres to its holy scripture. It is the church that can best begin to steer us towards something more virtuous; or at least bear witness to a different way. There are many places to start, but I can see none more effective than heeding the wisdom given us by our faith tradition and putting first our own house, or in this case church, in order in three distinct ways.

The first is simply to be less greedy and selfish ourselves. Rather than new needs, we should work to cultivate virtues such as restraint and moderation. Do we really need to buy new gold, silver, or diamonds? The church should be an example of temperance. Until then our collective voice is just one of the many. The second acquires its girth from the first. Instead of yielding to those and that which promotes a type of “progress” that is anti-life, we should render our full support to those who truly work for peace. There are great organizations out there doing great work that could use our support. This requires the church actively work to educate itself and learn. The third is to be hopeful. If I have learned anything in my three years here in Central America it is that hope is central to the Christian faith and something that we should always be about. However true hope is displayed through action and so congregational activities such as writing a letter to your church’s Member of Parliament or buying a share and then attending Goldcorp shareholders’ meetings to raise concerns are in order. Be creative…

Leonardo Boff, a trailblazing Brazilian theologian/ecologist who recently spoke here in Guatemala spoke wisdom by saying, “our Earth, this living bio-system, is groaning, nevertheless, these are not groans unto death but unto birth, and we along with her must choose life.”

Let us choose life…

About the Author

After serving for 18 months as MCC’s Hurricane Stan Response Coordinator, Nate Howard is currently working with MCC providing food security support for its programs in San Marcos, Guatemala. He has a Masters Degree in Business Administration and International Development from Eastern University in Philadelphia. Originally from Indiana, he has lived and worked for three and a half years in Central America.

Photos taken in San Marcos by Shannon Malburg

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