(Vancouver) Today, a group of concerned citizens in Vancouver delivered a petition with over 6,000 signatures to the headquarters of mining company Pan American Silver calling for CEO Michael Steinmann to respect the Xinka Indigenous people’s clear decision to deny consent for the re-opening of the Escobal mine in southeastern Guatemala. 

Since the Xinka People announced their decision in early May, Pan American Silver has ignored their denial of consent to reopen the mine, failing to report it to shareholders and mischaracterizing the consultation process as a negotiation toward re-opening the mine.

“We traveled to Canada twice in the last six months to share our struggle in defense of our territory and demand that Pan American Silver respect the Xinka People’s decision. They must stop trying to delegitimize our right to decide over what happens in our territory, considering that our decision has been clear. We are grateful and very pleased with the letter presented with the support of 6,000 signatures demanding respect for our decision," said Marisol Guerra and Marta Muñoz, two Xinka women leaders who were named as representatives of their communities to the consultation process, and represented the Xinka People during two delegations to Canada in 2025.

The petition signatories are calling on the company to publicly report on the results of the Xinka consultation process, and respect the Xinka people’s decision by permanently closing the mine. 

“After engaging seriously and in good faith in a seven-year consultation process, the Xinka have unequivocally said no to the Escobal mine once again. Pan American Silver must publicly acknowledge their decision and accept that the mine must be permanently closed out of respect for Xinka self-determination,” remarks Aidan Gilchrist-Blackwood, Coordinator of the Canadian Network for Corporate Accountability, which unites over 40 human rights, environment, labour, faith, international cooperation, and grassroots solidarity organizations from across Canada, collectively representing over 3 million Canadians. 

The petition and action were initiated in solidarity with the Xinka People after delegates Marisol Guerra and Marta Muñoz toured British Columbia, the Maritimes and Ontario in May and September of this year to raise awareness about their struggle for self-determination and the health of their communities in the face of the Escobal mine.

“The message we heard from the Xinka people during their visit here in May was clear and consistent: they will not allow the Escobal mine to re-open in their territory. ” says Ruth Leckie of the Mining Justice Alliance. “Not only does the mine threaten their rights to a healthy environment, water and culture, but reopening it also threatens to re-ignite the violence that marred the early years of the project when community leaders experienced intense repression.”

The citizen group informed Pan American Silver ahead of time about the petition delivery and invited a company representative to receive it in person. Since the company indicated it would not send a representative to receive it today, the group delivered the petition directly to Pan American Silver’s reception counter where it was reluctantly accepted by a staff person and they were then promptly ushered out. Security guards then set up barricades outside of the building while the group handed out flyers to passersby.  

Angus Wong is one of the citizens who delivered the petition to the company’s headquarters today in Vancouver. “This is not the first time Canadian allies have had to come in person to the company's headquarters to ensure Pan American Silver cannot ignore the message from the Xinka people,” he said. “The Xinka People have said no to the mine and to characterize the process as a negotiation of any kind is untrue and undermines Xinka efforts to assert their inherent rights."

Media contacts: 

• Miriam Shaftoe, miriam@miningwatch.ca, 514-348-7200

Endorsed by:

Mining Justice Alliance; BC Casa-Cafe Justicia; Codevelopment Canada; Central American Student’s Association (CASA), UBC; Victoria Central America Support Committee (VCASC); Victoria Peace Coalition; Mining Justice Action Committee, Victoria, BC; MiningWatch Canada, EarthWorks, Institute for Policy Studies - Global Economy Program, Americas Policy Group coalition (APG); Canadian Network for Corporate Accountability (CNCA); Common Frontiers; CoDevelopment Canada; NISGUA (Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala); Mining Injustice Solidarity Network (MISN); Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network; Trent University Global Development Studies department; Trent University Human Rights and Global Justice department; Institute of Political Economy, Carleton University; Observatory on Violence, Criminalization and Democracy, University of Ottawa