The country faces a battle similar to those of other African nations.
When the powers set their eyes, their capital and their influence on the wealth of weaker and more dependent nations, it is the moment when these nations cease to be such and become supplier colonies and swell the patrimony of others. This crude and undisguised colonialism, which our peoples resist from their weak positions, sweeps away everything, including the very concept of sovereignty. The examples of the exploitation of incredible natural treasures in the great African continent – with the consequent destruction of its political systems – should be an eye-opener for societies better endowed with resources.
But this is not happening. The political-economic system to which our continent has been condemned and which has led to the elimination of leaders, the imposition of extreme right-wing dictatorships (obvious or disguised) and misery for the great majority, has been perfected to such an extent that its consequences go unnoticed behind the hackneyed arguments of “foreign investment” as the great panacea for development. This fallacy is repeated in all discourses, covering the full extent of the political spectrum.
The El Estor scenario in Guatemala is one of the most representative examples of this scenario of raw and unmitigated exploitation. The mining area is militarised, a state of siege is established, all community action is criminalised, the press is repressed and the unconditional support of the security forces is dedicated to the task of “clearing the land” to avoid inconveniences for the Swiss and Russian companies that have taken it over, with the full collaboration of the three branches of government.
The images of the exploitation and plundering of the “rare earths” of El Estor are terrifying. But this is neither new nor unknown in other regions of that country, characterised by its incredible landscapes and enormous natural resources. Guatemala has been hijacked by its business elite with the complicity of a political caste as rotten as those who condemned Africa to be an example of misery, death and annihilation of its heritage. The search for valuable minerals represents a death sentence for one of the most beautiful countries on the continent. But that’s not all: this colonisation by large corporations leaves nothing for the owners of wealth; it only leaves the prostitution of their political entities and a society dumbed down, fearful and subjected to daily violence.
In the social networks, the National Civil Police – a repressive force that does not provide security for the citizens, as it is another of the most corrupt entities – has been seen trotting like trained dogs alongside the mining company’s enormous gondolas, while in the rest of the country the gangs and criminal organisations operate as they please. The performance of the authorities, starting with the weakest, most immoral and corrupt of the region’s presidents, is focused on plundering what little is left in Guatemala after a long chain of administrations characterised by criminal behaviour.
The people of El Estor – which, by the way, is one of the most beautiful places in the Central American nation – live in an atmosphere of repression and fear for simply opposing the destruction of their environment, the blatant theft of their resources and the unjust repression imposed by the government. Protected by a ruling of the Constitutional Court, which in 2020 has declared the suspension of the mining company’s operations, the community of El Estor is rightfully demanding the withdrawal of the mining company and the cessation of the repressive operations imposed by the government in an unconstitutional manner. It is important to note that the operation of these companies is apparently based on an illegal and illegitimate agreement, the sole purpose of which is to increase the ill-gotten wealth of the president and his gang.
The only thing the mining operations will leave behind is destruction, more misery and less water.
