Guatemala Under Greenwashed Displacement

Indigenous peoples living in the natural reserve Parque Nacional Laguna del Tigre find themselves in danger. It is a crisis on the rise that remains silenced. Why? This area happens to be a small epicentre of extraction, displacement, militarization, and drug trafficking. How do indigenous peoples react to being cornered? Many are fleeing into Mexico, but they don't want to be treated as refugees, they only demand to live peacefully on their land.

As many other cases involving indigenous land rights, the issue is generally presented as a battle between invaders and conservationists; however, this article pinpoints the interests behind targeting local communities in the name of environmentalism.

Dichotomies never paint the bigger picture

Living in the natural reserve are 37 local communities that claim their land rights to call the area their home. Just at the beginning of this month, 700 have been reported to forcefully flee into Mexico.

The intersection of interest is dangerous and not at all promising for indigenous peoples. The area is of high interest for oil extraction, agribusiness, including biofuel production, tourism, and also drug trafficking. 

The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples has repeatedly called for actions to stop the violation of indigenous' rights in the name of conservation. In a strong report presented to the United Nations last year, she explains that forced evictions are a common plight experienced by indigenous communities globally, ignoring the increasing number of studies that show that territories owned by indigenous peoples have been significantly better conserved than the adjacent lands.

Then why does the Guatemalan government greenwash militarization in the name of conservation? All the details in this piece.