abusesaffiliationarrow-downarrow-leftarrow-rightarrow-upattack-typeburgerchevron-downchevron-leftchevron-rightchevron-upClock iconclosedeletedevelopment-povertydiscriminationdollardownloademailenvironmentexternal-linkfacebookfiltergenderglobegroupshealthC4067174-3DD9-4B9E-AD64-284FDAAE6338@1xinformation-outlineinformationinstagraminvestment-trade-globalisationissueslabourlanguagesShapeCombined Shapeline, chart, up, arrow, graphLinkedInlocationmap-pinminusnewsorganisationotheroverviewpluspreviewArtboard 185profilerefreshIconnewssearchsecurityPathStock downStock steadyStock uptagticktooltiptwitteruniversalityweb
HRD Attack

30 Mar 2017

Rodrigo Mundaca MODATIMA

Incident date
30 Mar 2017
Date accuracy
All Correct
Male
Environmental concerns group
Death threats
Target: Individual
Location of Incident: Chile

Sources

Rodrigo Mundaca who works with Movement to Defend Water and Land Rights and the Protection of the Environment (MODATIMA) in Chile, reported death threats, allegedly related to his struggle against purportedly illegal river water extraction by avocado plantations in the province of Petorca. Privatization of water rights and "illegal" pipes that carry water to private wells have allegedly dried up Petorca's waterways, limiting water access for the locals. Rodrigo said: "They (the avocado industry, ed.) claim that my colleagues and I want to damage Chilean exports. They say that we are irresponsible and that our actions will cost many Chileans their jobs. They call us eco-terrorists, and allege that we are working against the best interests of the country. They called my colleagues too, with the same threats.  We don’t know who is doing the calling, and we have no proof. We have an idea of who may be behind them, but we have no concrete evidence, and in our experience, the police do not investigate these cases. In 2015, I was assaulted in the street in broad daylight, and the police have done nothing to investigate that case,” he says. Mundaca has an earlier conviction for slander, based on his 2015 claims in the Chilean press that plantation owners had been convicted of water theft. Several buyers, including Aldi Danmark and Dansk Supermarked, expressed their concerns. One of the avocado plantations in Chile, which has been fined for water code violations, stated: “We completely condemn the threats received by Mr. Rodrigo Mundaca’s. We consider them absolutely unacceptable. Threats of any kind are illegal and we strongly believe that if there is a discussion, it must be resolved from a legal point of view”.

Privacy information

This site uses cookies and other web storage technologies. You can set your privacy choices below. Changes will take effect immediately.

For more information on our use of web storage, please refer to our Data Usage and Cookies Policy

Strictly necessary storage

ON
OFF

Necessary storage enables core site functionality. This site cannot function without it, so it can only be disabled by changing settings in your browser.

Analytics cookie

ON
OFF

When you access our website we use Google Analytics to collect information on your visit. Accepting this cookie will allow us to understand more details about your journey, and improve how we surface information. All analytics information is anonymous and we do not use it to identify you. Google provides a Google Analytics opt-out add on for all popular browsers.

Promotional cookies

ON
OFF

We share news and updates on business and human rights through third party platforms, including social media and search engines. These cookies help us to understand the performance of these promotions.

Your privacy choices for this site

This site uses cookies and other web storage technologies to enhance your experience beyond necessary core functionality.