Diplomacy at a Canadian Mine Site in Guatemala

Enhancing corporate standing, shifting blame: An examination of Canada's Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act

“…On the basis of the above analysis we see that ESTMA's terms prompt reporting by firms that may indeed be useful to the advocacy community and thus broader struggles for equality. Yet the patchy additional documentation it makes available to those affected by extractive sector activities requires inordinate analysis from corporate monitors, producing information that is just as notable for its absences as for what it reveals ( Weisbart 2018 ; see also Watts and Zalik, this issue). Above we identified key limitations to the ESTMA that may render it an example of 'audit culture transparency' ( Gilbert and Zalik 2019 ) – where limited oversight by government bodies means that reporting becomes an end in itself, and where financial requirements for corporate risk management trump substantive social regulation and disclosure.…”

“…In 2014, claims were brought against the El Escobal project to British Columbia (B.C.) courts in a civil case by Guatemalan protesters seriously injured when the firm's security shot unarmed community protesters at its gates in 2013 ( Weisbart, 2018 ). The El Escobal project has also been the subject of a Publish What You Pay (2018) case study, which notably had to be re-released following complaints from the firm that the initial PWYP report did not use language they consider acceptable to describe charges against them.…”

The moral economy of defence of territory and the political economy of extractivism in the Polochic valley, Guatemala

“…the heart of DOT conflicts throughout Guatemala (e.g., Costanza, 2016;Henighan & Johnson, 2018;Urkidi, 2011;Weisbart, 2018) and Latin America in general (e.g., Bebbington et al, 2019;Haslam, 2018;Horowitz, 2002;Le Billon & Sommerville, 2017).…”

“…Due to the large volume of surface material that needs to be processed, open‐pit mining is associated with a vast array of environmental impacts, including deforestation in the mined area and contamination of hydrological resources both above and below ground (see, for example, Bianchini et al, 2015; Bundschuh et al, 2021). Different forms of open pit mining have been at the heart of DOT conflicts throughout Guatemala (e.g., Costanza, 2016; Henighan & Johnson, 2018; Urkidi, 2011; Weisbart, 2018) and Latin America in general (e.g., Bebbington et al, 2019; Haslam, 2018; Horowitz, 2002; Le Billon & Sommerville, 2017).…”