PBI-Guatemala accompanies the Peaceful Resistance of the Poqomam People at “plantón” against sand mining

Published by Brent Patterson on March 7, 2025March 7, 2025

PBI-Guatemala has posted:

“Today #PBI accompanies the women of the Peaceful Resistance of the Poqomam People in their stand-off/sit-in against the sand mills operating in #Chinautla. Extractive activity causes earth movements, health problems and is killing white mud, one of the raw materials and livelihoods of women potters.”

PBI-Guatemala has previously explained:

“In 1997, the State began to issue mining licenses in the area, without taking into account its inhabitants, and therefore ignoring the right to prior, free and informed consultation contained in Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO), ratified by the Congress of the Republic on March 5, 1996.

The mining exploitation [has] strong negative impacts on the population: pollution of the environment that causes, among others, respiratory diseases; landslides and infrastructure collapses; [and] cracks in houses.

The absence of a response to these problems has made the situation in Santa Cruz de Chinautla unbearable, leading the indigenous authorities of Chinautla to start a sit-in on June 27, 2022, to stop the illegal operation of the sand companies.

With the beginning of the sit-in, located at the entrance of the Piedrinera San Luis company at km 12 of the road to Chuarrancho (where trucks constantly pass carrying tons of stones and sand destined for the construction sector), our accompaniment and our visits to the encampment intensified.

Since the sit-in began, the security situation has worsened, increasing threats against people in the Resistance. All this keeps the population in fear and worry.”

We continue to follow this.

PBI-Canada travelled to Poqomam territory, met with the community, observed some of the mining activities, and visited the plantón on May 1, 2023.