23 September 2025, 1:00pm EDT

Xinka Leaders Call on Canada to Respect their Self-Determination over a Canadian-owned Mine in Guatemala

Pan American Silver Guatemala Impact on Communities Indigenous Rights
Source:
MiningWatch Canada and Earthworks

(Ottawa) Today, two delegates from the Xinka Parliament of Guatemala held a press conference on Parliament Hill calling on the Canadian government and Vancouver-based mining company Pan American Silver to respect the Xinka People’s decision to seek the permanent closure of the Escobal mine in accord with their rights to self-determination under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN Declaration). 

On May 8, the Xinka People announced their unequivocal refusal to consent to the mine’s reopening in the culmination of a seven-year, court-mandated process. Yet Pan American Silver — the Vancouver-based mining company that owns the Escobal mine — continues to ignore the Xinka people's decision to deny consent and is misrepresenting the consultation process as a dialogue between the company, Guatemalan authorities and the Xinka people to reopen the mine. 

“This is not and has never been a negotiation process. ” said Marisol Guerra, President of the Xinka Women’s Commission. “The Xinka People participated in good faith in the consultation. We decided that we don’t need the mine; we need clean and abundant water, land, health and peace in our traditional territory.” 

In the face of the company’s blatant disrespect for the Xinka decision, Xinka leaders have returned to Canada for the second time this year to sound the alarm about the company’s bad faith engagement, and meet with parliamentarians, Indigenous leaders, and civil society organizations in Halifax, Fredericton, Toronto, Peterborough, and Ottawa. 

“We are calling on Canadian authorities to publicly express support for our right to self-determination and our decision to deny consent for the Escobal mine,” said Marta Muñoz, a delegate to the consultation process. “Canada must also implement the Voices at Risk guidelines in favour of our safety and security as land, territory and environment defenders. Now more than ever, we fear reprisals due to our decision to protect our land and water.”

“The culmination of this historic consultation process comes at a time when Indigenous peoples rights in Canada and globally are increasingly under threat from a new push for fast-tracking and de-regulation in the mining industry”, said Viviana Herrera, Latin America Coordinator with MiningWatch Canada. “Yet pushing ahead with mining projects against the will of Indigenous nations is a recipe for long term conflict, which is exactly what we are seeing in Canada with the ongoing resistance encampments in the so-called Ring of Fire and major protests against the provincial Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, and the Federal Building Canada Act” 

The court-ordered consultation has faced numerous obstacles, including the co-optation of the country’s justice system, as well as persistent harassment, threats, and attacks against Xinka leaders and community members. Notably, the last President of the Xinka Parliament and his family fled the country late last year, along with others who have left out of fear for their lives. 

”The Canadian government has an international duty to protect Indigenous rights and a responsibility to hold Canadian companies accountable when they infringe upon those rights. The government must take a firm stance in support of Indigenous self-determination by affirming that Pan American Silver must respect the clear denial of consent from the Xinka people and close down its operations at the Escobal mine permanently,” said Aidan Gilchrist-Blackwood at the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability.

“The decision by the Xinka people is clear: the Escobal mine, owned by the Canadian company Pan American Silver, must be shut down. I stand in solidarity with their efforts. We will never accept that a Canadian company continues to violate the human rights of the Xinka people, and pose grave environmental risk to the ecosystems near the mine,” said Green Party Leader Elizabeth May.

Watch the full press conference here. 

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