International Mayan League
1201 K St NW
Washington, D.C. 20005
Phone: (202) 827-6673
Email: info@mayanleague.org
www.mayanleague.org
WE CONDEMN EVICTIONS OF THE BUENA VISTA MAYA Q’EQCHI’ COMMUNITY, EL ESTOR, IZABAL, GUATEMALA
Piscataway Nation Territory | Washington, D.C. – As the Mayan League, we denounce the violent and arbitrary evictions that occurred yesterday, May 22, 2024, against the Buena Vista Maya Q’eqchi’community in El Estor, Izabal, Guatemala Per reports by Prensa Comunitaria and Maya Q’eqchi’ Journalist, Carlos Choc, hundreds of personnel from the National Civil Police (PNC) were dispatched to carry out the eviction of 29 Maya Q’eqchi’ families. The eviction order was issued by Judge Sandra Nineth Ayala Tello of the Peace Court of El Estor The evictions began in the morning and were carried out throughout the day, ending at night and in the darkness. The families stated they had nowhere else to go and were forced intothe streets leaving women, children, and elders vulnerable to these conditions.
Per the community and the organization Comité de Unidad Campesina, the eviction order was per the request of Luis Fernando Arriaza Migoya, whose monoculture activities supplies products to Naturaceite company operating in El Estor. According to CUC’s lawyer, José Luis Puac, he “assured that the officials did not present a single legal document to proceed with the eviction.”
The families residing next to the Tzinte plantation have been living there since 2015 when they were affected by landslides in Sierra Santa Cruz, El Estor, Izabal. They were supposed to get support from the state, but such support never came through during various administrations The lands in question supposedly belong to a group of ranchers that, “by order of the judge, must be investigated for presenting various irregularities. That investigation has not progressed.”
Wearegravelyconcerned forthe wellbeingof theaffected25children,4elders,and3pregnantwomen who were expelled from their homes, including one woman who went into labor during the eviction. PerMayaQ’eqchi’Ancestralauthorities,there are 7arrestwarrantsagainstMayaQ’eqchi’community members of the Buena Vista community. The Maya Q’eqchi’ people and their territories have been increasinglyunderattack fordecadesbymultinationalcorporationsthatinclude the GuatemalanNickel Company (CGN), asubsidiary of the Solway Investment Group, and NaturAceites. These corporations act with the support of the government and the PNC who have carried out violent evictions and arrests of Indigenouspeoples.Notably,inthefallof2021and2022,respectively,MayaQ’eqchi’communities in Nuevo Chicoyou and Chapín Abajo suffered similar fate. The state-sponsored violence in El Estor,
have been condemned by international organizations such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, among others.
As the International Mayan League we express our outrage and demand the following:
● Urgent international intervention by Human Rights Experts from the United Nations and the Inter-American Human Rights System to investigate, document, and monitor this situation of gravehumanrightsviolations andensurethat theurgenthumanitarianneeds oftheBuenaVista community such as food, water, and shelter are immediately addressed.
● That the Arevalo Administration meet with Maya Q’eqchi’ leaders and Indigenous Ancestral Authorities to address the escalating conflicts to lands, territories, and natural goods of Mother Earth.
● That the Arevalo Administration develops a process with the Maya to implement the 2023 ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the case of Comunidad Indígena Maya Q’eqchi’ Agua Caliente v. Guatemala that will “ form the legal basis for rooting out the laws and policies that have denied legal protection for indigenous lands since colonial times ”
● Immediately place a moratorium on all existing eviction orders and conduct a thorough review of such orders.
● StopthecriminalizationofallIndigenousLeadersdefendingtheirlands,territories,andMother Earth.
We are not invaders in our own lands! Maawa'o aj elq' ch'och' sa' li qana'aj May 23, 2024 | 2 B’atz’
The International Mayan League is a leading Indigenous Rights organization with a distinctive focus on the intersection of Indigeneity, gender and language justice, and migration. Our initiatives extend to the development of Indigenous-led research, comprehensive data collection systems, and mapping initiatives; placing Indigenous leadership, histories, languages, and realities at the forefront, firmly rooted in Maya Cosmovision, languages, and cultures. Our work sheds light on the overlooked challenges and barriers faced by Maya Peoples who, in addition to being forcibly displaced, are frequently invisibilized and marginalized in society at large.