PBI-Canada attentive as Mesoamerican Caravan learns about the Canadian Aura Minerals “Era Dorada” mine in Jutiapa, Guatemala
Photo: “With the celebration of a mass with the Franciscan brothers of Asunción Mita Jutiapa concluded the Guatemala chapter of the Mesoamerican Caravan, with the route to El Salvador.” Photo by AGIMS Asociación Grupo Integral de Mujeres Sanjuaneras.
The Assembly of the Indigenous Peoples of the Isthmus in Defense of Land and Territory (APIIDTT) announced on October 12, that the Mesoamerican Caravan for Climate and Life began its journey from Mexico to Brazil for the United Nations COP30 climate summit that begins on November 10.
The APIIDTT further notes: “We call on civil society throughout the region and the world to remain attentive to the route of this caravan. …We call on human rights organizations to observe, denounce and document the abuses and violations we face at the border crossing and in every community criminalized for defending life.”
Peace Brigades International-Canada has responded to that call and is attentive to the Mesoamerican Caravan’s journey.
On October 19, Prensa Comunitaria reported: “After several days of touring the country, the Mesoamerican Caravan for Climate and Life concluded its passage through Guatemala with a symbolic act in Jutiapa, which brought together communities and organizations around a common agenda of territorial defense and climate justice.”
That article then highlights:
“The choice of Jutiapa as the final point of the Mesoamerican Caravan for Climate and Life was no coincidence. This department is home to Asunción Mita, the epicenter of one of the most emblematic socio-environmental struggles in the region: the resistance against the Cerro Blanco mining project, a gold mine located near the border with El Salvador.
The central concern is the threat it poses to the transboundary basin of the Lempa River, a vital source of water for more than 4 million people. The closing ceremony in this territory was both an expression of faith and a political statement in solidarity with the communities defending their right to water, health and to decide over their own territory.
At the beginning of 2025, the Canadian company Aura Minerals completed the purchase of Bluestone Resources, the previous owner of the deposit, and renamed the project ‘Era Dorada’ [Golden Era]. However, the change of hands has not implied an ethical or technical transformation: the project continues to be surrounded by serious legal, environmental and social questions, while seeking to advance its open-pit exploitation despite massive popular rejection.
Aura Minerals is no stranger to controversy. In Honduras, it has been singled out for acts of desecration and criminalization of communities. At the San Andrés mine, located between Copán and Chiquimula, the company reportedly exhumed bodies from a community cemetery to continue extracting gold from underground. Complaints for these events are still open and many people remain criminalized.”
That Prensa Comunitaria article also notes: “Before arriving in Jutiapa, the Mesoamerican Caravan for Climate and Life arrived on October 12 along the southern border from where it traveled through the west and the Guatemalan capital, articulating its passage around four central axes: militarization and megaprojects, forced migration, commodification of life and water crisis.”
We continue to follow the progress of the Caravana.
Photo of rally in Guatemala City by AGIMS Asociación Grupo Integral de Mujeres Sanjuaneras. The Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project accompanies the Maya Ch’orti’ Indigenous Council of Olopa.
The Mesoamerican Caravan and defenders
The Mesoamerican Caravan was agreed to at the conclusion of the Global Meeting for Climate and Life: ANTICOP 2024. The final statement from that Global Meeting noted: “Activism in defense of land, territory, water, and nature is dangerous, and many of our comrades face stigmatization, harassment, repression, criminalization, and even murder. Since the signing of the Paris Climate Agreement, over 1,500 environmental defenders have been killed around the world—the vast majority in Global South countries. We demand safe spaces for activists, where they can heal and protect themselves physically, emotionally, and legally. We also propose creating networks and support mechanisms for legal, communication, technological, psychological, and physical and digital security for human rights defenders, land defenders, and environmental activists in the most vulnerable territories.”
Further reading
PBI-Canada remains attentive to the continuing journey of the Mesoamerican Caravan as it meets with COPINH on Lenca territory in Honduras (PBI-Canada, October 22, 2025)
PBI-Canada attentive to the journey of the Mesoamerican Caravan for Climate and Life from Mexico to Brazil (PBI-Canada, October 13, 2025)
Caravan for the Climate and Life set to travel from Mexico to Brazil for the UN COP30 climate conference (PBI-Canada, February 27, 2025).
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