Indigenous Bolivians flee homes as backlash to mining protest turns explosive

Environmental activists in Bolivia say they’ve become the targets of discrimination, death threats and even bombings after speaking out against harmful mining operations in the department of Oruro.

The activists, most of them women, have faced escalating violence this year because of their opposition to mining pollution, water scarcity and land use change near the Indigenous Quechua community collective, or ayllu, of Acre Antequera. In some cases, they’ve even been attacked with sticks and dynamite.

Now, they’re making a renewed push to raise awareness about the conflict.

“They realize that there isn’t the same amount of water anymore, that their food is being contaminated with waste from mining activity,” said Carol Ballesteros, from the Assembly for Forests and Life, an organization that has been advocating for the communities. “This is a situation in which they’re being forcibly displaced from their territory.”

The ayllu is an Indigenous territorial structure that, in this case, is made up of eight Quechua communities traditionally devoted to pastoralism and agriculture. But open-pit mining for silver, copper, lead, zinc, tin and other minerals has used up a lot of their freshwater, resulting in the desertification of the area, Ballesteros said.

Many remaining water sources are allegedly contaminated because mining — which is done approximately 400 meters (1,300 feet) underground — contaminates subterranean springs that the communities rely on.

From May to November, the dry season leaves them without enough water to raise livestock and grow crops. As life becomes harder, an increasing number of residents have chosen to relocate to other parts of the country, creating concern that many cultural practices will disappear.

“It’s not just the environmental impact,” said Beatriz Bautista, a member of Qhana Pukara Kurmi, the Association of Indigenous Peasant Peoples. “It’s also the social impact of migration by Indigenous community members. The cultural impact is totally catastrophic. Indigenous people are slowly dying without their territorial rights being respected.”

Mining operations popped up in the area in the late 1990s. Over the years, control of many operations has changed hands, making it difficult for communities to track who is responsible for the mining activity.

One of the largest operations in the area is the Bolívar mine — containing silver, lead and zinc — operated by the Canadian company Santa Cruz Silver Mining in the municipality of Antequera. It employs around 600 people, according to its website.

In many mines in the area, work is done by local unions, a majority of their members coming from outside the ayllu. But two of the unions also have their own mining companies, La Salvada and Meraki. Neither of them have finished the prior consultation process legally required to begin operating, according to the Mining Administrative Jurisdictional Authority (AJAM). Prior consultation involves meeting with residents to discuss future impacts.

AJAM and the mining companies didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Violence, threats and a slow judicial process

The harassment started in 2022 but has gotten worse this year, activists said.

This month, a group of women holding a vigil to protest the harmful impacts of mining were attacked and had their campsites burned. Later, miners allegedly followed them and threw dynamite into their homes. Miners also allegedly surrounded their homes to stop them from leaving and prevented their children from attending school.

No one was hurt in the dynamite attacks, but residents said they’ll continue to fear for their lives as long as mining is present in the area. Some decided to leave their communities until the situation is resolved.

Requests for a guaranteed safe passage back to their communities were denied this month by a department-level court. The activists also filed a complaint about the attacks with the department of Oruro, but it was rejected due to a lack of evidence. A subsequent human rights complaint filed in the capital, La Paz, with the National Ombudsman’s office is still pending.

The ombudsman’s office didn’t reply to a request for comment. But earlier this month, it released a statement expressing concern about the “defenselessness” of environmental defenders across the country and said the government is discussing ways of implementing protocols to better defend human rights activists.

But members of the ayllu think more aggressive action needs to be taken. In a statement, they called on various bodies of the U.N. — including the special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights and the special rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous peoples — to respond to the violations of their rights.

“We call on international human rights organizations … to become aware of the violation of collective rights happening in Bolivia due to the unconstitutional privileges that the Bolivian government grants to the mining sector,” it said.

Banner image: A local Quechua woman speaks to the media about threats and violence in her community. Photo courtesy of Qhana Pukara Kurmi.

Editor’s Note: This article previously referred to the Santa Cruz Silver Mining company as Mexican. It does most of its business in Mexico but is actually Canadian. 

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