By Juana Toledo, Director of Consejo de Pueblos Wuxhtaj, and member of Consejo del Pueblo Maya/CPO en Guatemala, and Ivette González, Strategic Engagement and Advocacy Director at PODER.

A history of corporate exploitation and community resistance

Latin America has suffered centuries of extractivism, colonialism and racist, patriarchal violence at the hands of governments and corporations of the Global North. This legacy persists today: the region’s subordinate political-economic status allows the exploitation of cultural, social, and natural common goods. Transnational businesses operate without restraint, leading to significant degradation of life.

At the same time, the region has a long history of collective struggles - both by groups directly affected by corporate rights abuses, and by the many human rights defenders and civil society organisations that work alongside them to seek accountability from private companies and states.

Notable cases of human rights violations

Throughout the continent, fighting against corporations from many different industries has been a struggle for survival. In Guatemala, for instance, the mining industry, palm oil agriculture, and hydroelectric projects have caused devastation in our communities. This includes eviction of our Indigenous Peoples from their lands, risking their disappearance, as well as criminalisation and even murder of land defenders.

One example of this is the Marlin mine, owned by a subsidiary of the Canadian company Goldcorp. The mine, on Mayan territory, was closed in 2017 but its destructive legacy lives on in rivers contaminated with leachate, dried springs, damaged houses and health impacts in the local community, including children traumatised by tremors and loud noises from the mine which operated throughout the night. The company said it continued to "meet our post-closure commitments and obligations and will do so until they are completed.”

Similarly, the spill of 40 million litres of toxic waste into the Sonora and Bacanuchi Rivers in 2014 by Grupo México caused severe health and environmental impacts, and violated the human rights of around 22,000 people without reparations or justice.

Finally, a toxic mud tsunami from the catastrophic collapse of the Vale mine dam in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, Brazil, in 2019 left more than 270 dead while devastating the region's flora and fauna.

Particular impact on women

Women in the region, particularly Indigenous women, are disproportionately affected by these companies’ abuses, such as pollution and depletion of the rivers to which they must travel long distances in search of water. Women also face discrimination and abuse when trying to defend their lands, communities and rights. It is often seen as unacceptable for women to lead these struggles, and even in the rare cases where there are protective laws, they are not enforced.

Tragically, across many territories in Latin America, women human rights defenders face violence and even murder as they try to stand up against corporate abuses. The high-profile killing of Berta Cáceres in Honduras in 2016 is just one such example. Many women in the region, like her, are a strong force and seek justice through these and other processes.

And it is women who are leading the charge – in their own territories, at regional forums, and on the international stage - to advocate for the development of a legally binding treaty that regulates transnational enterprises and capital flows and demands respect for human rights, including reparations for prior abuses and prevention of future harms.

You can read part 2 of this piece here.