On June 16th, we gathered online to celebrate and show solidarity with over fifteen years of the Xinka People’s peaceful resistance to Pan American Silver’s Escobal mine, which they halted in mid-operation in 2017 when they set up a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week resistance camp that is still ongoing today. Their valiant efforts and organization strategies have successfully kept the Escobal Mine closed in their territories, as they exercise their right to self-determination and territorial autonomy.
This event was an opportunity to learn more about how the Xinka People have worked together despite efforts of criminalization and persecution. We honoured the nine years of their resistance encampment, and discussed how, in May 2025, the Xinka publicly announced that they have denied consent for the mine’s reopening, exercising their self-determination as Indigenous people as part of an ongoing court-ordered consultation process.
PANELISTS:
Daniel Orantes is a community authority representative and an active member of the peaceful resistance movement in the municipality of Casillas, Santa Rosa. As a human rights defender, Daniel has faced numerous legal and judicial proceedings as a result of his advocacy and public opposition to the Escobal mining project. Despite these challenges, he has remained committed to the defense of community rights, environmental protection, and the pursuit of justice for affected communities.
Marta Muñoz is an Indigenous Xinka woman and human rights defender from the community of San Antonio Las Flores, Mataquescuintla who was named by her community to participate in the seven-year consultation process over the future of Pan American Silver’s Escobal mine.
Marisol Guerra is an Indigenous Xinka woman and human rights defender from the community of Santa Rosa de Lima. She is the President of the Xinka Women’s Commission and was named by her community to participate in the seven-year consultation process over the future of Pan American Silver’s Escobal mine.
Dr. Alfonso Solórzano Contreras is a physician and surgeon with more than 40 years of experience in public health. Originally from Jalapa and currently living in San Rafael Las Flores, Santa Rosa, Dr. Solórzano became involved in resistance to the Escobal mining project 15 years ago, after learning about concerns related to heavy metal contamination of local water sources. While his professional background is in medicine, he has also been an active participant in the peaceful resistance movement, contributing his knowledge and experience in defence of community health, water, and territory. Now retired, Dr. Solórzano serves as the First Principal of the Xinka People of San Rafael Las Flores, an organization that emerged through a process of recovering Xinka identity, heritage, and self-identification. In this role, he represents the organization in local development and health councils.
Colectivo Chiviricuarta is a youth collective from Palencia that works at the intersection of historical memory, art, social sciences, political education, and community organizing. Their work seeks to strengthen Xinka identity, defend territory, and rebuild community ties through creative and educational processes rooted in the experiences and histories of local communities.
Derik Mazariegos is a student of Anthropology and Literature at the University of San Carlos, as well as a community journalist and researcher. He serves as President of the Chiviricuarta Association and coordinates Alboroto, an editorial project dedicated to publishing and circulating stories, ideas, and knowledge produced from La Montaña, a region that connects the northeastern part of the Department of Guatemala with the broader Xinka territory.