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Rolando López of AJ'CHMOL, the Maya Association for Integrated Development
Rolando López will speak about Mayan communities’ resistance to gold mining in San Marcos, Guatemala.
In the past months, AJ'CHMOL has been working with communities in organizing referendums proving overwhelming opposition to the environmentally and socially destructive effects of mining operations.
A recent internal World Bank evaluation heavily criticized the World Bank’s support of the Canadian/U.S. operated Glamis Gold mine in San Marcos. Due to serious health risks & extreme environmental degradation (deforestation of old growth, cyanide leaching into rivers), open-pit mining is now banned in the U.S. The governments of several countries, including Guatemala, have recently suspended new mining licenses.
The Mayan Integral Development Association AJ'CHMOL (ADIMA) is an indigenous rights organization whose name means "the one who weaves" - for ADIMA meaning the weaver of history and life for the Maya Mam and Sipakapense people. AJ'CHMOL works to strengthen organizing initiatives on the community level and to defend and promote indigenous rights. Recently, AJ'CHMOL has been focusing its efforts on accompanying community resistance to gold mining in San Miguel Ixtahuacan and Sipicapa, San Marcos, Guatemala.
In June, members of the community development councils of Sipicapa organized a consultation with residents in 13 communities who voted according to traditional ways against having mining operations in the area. AJ'CHMOL observed the process, supports the communities' right to decide and is advocating on behalf of the communities to ensure that the results of the consultation are legally binding citing the 169 convention on Indigenous Peoples and new decentralization laws.