Crumbling political support for Tahoe Resources in Guatemala
Crumbling political support for Tahoe Resources in Guatemala
By Jennifer Moore | September 14, 2015
If the militarized security strategy that Tahoe Resources has used to put its Escobal silver mine into operation isn't enough to raise questions about the ethics of the company's operations in Guatemala, the recent resignation of Guatemalan President Otto Pérez Molina should be. Pérez Molina stepped down on September 2 after Congress voted to strip him of his political immunity. A week later, he was indicted on charges of illicit association, customs fraud, and bribery for his involvement in a customs network that robbed tens of millions of dollars of taxpayer money.
Rewind to July 2013, when former President Otto Pérez Molina made a personal site visit to the Escobal mine located in San Rafael las Flores in the department of Santa Rosa. The visit took place just a few months after Tahoe's head of security was arrested for his role in the shooting of seven peaceful protesters and a subsequent month-long military state of siege was imposed on four municipalities in the area. While at the mine, Pérez Molina mingled with workers and filmed a national television address affirming support for the project.
Today, Pérez Molina is accused of heading the “La Linea” customs fraud ring that is said to have benefited transnational companies by offering lower import taxes in exchange for handsome pay-offs to politicians. Vice-president Roxana Baldetti has also been indicted on the same charges and over a dozen cabinet ministers potentially implicated in the fraud scandal have resigned, including Minister of Energy and Mines, Erik Archila. Archila approved Tahoe's exploitation license in April 2013 without taking into consideration over 250 individual complaints filed against the license for potential impacts on water and health of the local population.
While it is unclear if Tahoe or other North American mining companies such as Goldcorp benefited from the fraud ring, the company's cozy relationship with Otto Pérez Molina's scandal-ridden government has been well documented. During his administration, state-sponsored repression plagued communities in resistance to Tahoe and has facilitated the imposition of the Escobal mine against the will of the local population.
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