In memory of Indigenous Nasa comrade Phanor Guazaquillo Peña, one year after his passing.
#JusticeForPhanor #PhanorIsSeed
December 10, 2024
Somos Abya Yala
Autonomies, Colombia, Statements, Defense of Territory, Continental Gathering, Extractivism-Megaprojects, Youth in Struggle
From October 25 to 29, 2024, our fourth continental gathering took place in the city of Cali, Colombia. We gathered as sisters and brothers from Indigenous, Black, campesino, and urban network communities from the following territories: El Salvador, USA, Mexico, Brazil, Honduras, Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, and Ecuador. We shared the realities of our territories and peoples, updating the sociopolitical diagnoses of our region through the lens of the pain and resistance of our collective bodies.
This act of weaving together stories of dispossession, extractivism, and militarization allowed us to highlight how the violent accumulation of capital infiltrates our family spaces, our organizations, and even poisons our hearts.
El Salvador
The current state of emergency imposed by President Bukele in El Salvador has established a chain of human rights violations at different levels and across various sectors of Salvadoran society, particularly affecting those who have dedicated themselves to defending the territory and denouncing the abuses committed under this regime. Organizations and collectives are in highly vulnerable conditions against the military power of the state, which has taken control over public life, the executive, the judiciary, and nearly all aspects of governance, creating an absolute concentration of power. The policy of criminalization has affected large segments of the population, facilitating the implementation of mining extractivism projects in specific territories. Despite this, individuals and collectives continue to organize and resist the adverse conditions in El Salvador.
USA
The migration flows of Latin American communities continue, and newly arrived groups face increasing vulnerabilities, particularly young people, children, and women. The illegalized journey to the United States represents one of the most brutal faces of violence against the racialized bodies of those who leave their homelands—already victims of extractivism and waves of violence—in search of better living conditions. Comrades shared the work that various groups and collectives are doing to support the defense of migrant community human rights, as well as educational projects aimed at young people. They also warned about the rising violence with the imminent return of the most conservative factions to federal power, represented by Donald Trump.
Mexico
The severe humanitarian crisis is being hidden by “progressive” governments that have further militarized public life. The terror experienced in various territories is linked to the expansion of large megaprojects that violate communities and exploit natural resources as mere commodities. There is a deep connection between organized crime and large corporations operating in these territories, with the complicity of local and federal governments. In recent years, Mexico has become a barrier against Central American migration, leading to grave human rights violations against our migrant siblings. The families searching for their disappeared loved ones have taken center stage in the recent struggles.
Brazil
The severe crisis in recent years has been fueled by the deforestation of forests, triggering dire climatic and social consequences. Not only the Amazon is under extractive threat; various ecosystems and territories are being attacked by the meat, forestry, and mining industries. Land defenders face grave risks of assassination, especially in regions where mining companies and agribusiness hold the most territorial control. National coalitions are mobilizing to defend ecosystems against mining and industrial agriculture, and these same collectives are organizing a People’s Summit within the framework of the upcoming COP, set to take place in Belém do Pará.
Honduras
The widespread violence in Honduras has led to a large migrant exodus, particularly to the United States. The country has been heavily plundered, and land defenders face relentless attacks from corporations and criminal groups. This dynamic ties extractivism to government corruption and the violence of local groups operating in the country, consolidating a model of accumulation with devastating consequences for communities that, despite the dangers, continue to migrate in search of survival.
Colombia
The constant threats against community leaders and land defenders persist across multiple regions. Nasa comrade Phanor Guazaquillo Peña was assassinated shortly after the violent killing of leader Manuel Carlosama. In their struggle for peace, communities, activists, and human rights defenders confront the country’s structural problems, such as the collusion of criminal groups with projects aimed at dispossessing campesinos and Indigenous peoples of their lands and resources. Criminal groups execute assassinations of leaders and activists who signed the peace agreements for these territories. This complex violence coexists with the efforts of organizations and communities working to make these struggles and resistances visible, both in urban and rural settings. The fight to preserve the memory of Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities is deeply tied to the broader struggle for lasting peace in the country.
Guatemala
Like other countries in the region, Guatemala suffers from an extractive model promoted by successive governments, leading to persecution, harassment, or forced migration of communities defending their territories. Community leaders and activists face violence orchestrated by the collusion of business elites, the government, and criminal groups. With a large migrant diaspora, local communities resist in diverse ways. There are political, social, and artistic projects dedicated to organizing resistance from within these territories, shedding light on the violence while offering alternative paths for young people in neighborhoods and communities. Indigenous communities are the primary targets of land dispossession and the structural racism perpetuated by those in power.
Nicaragua
Daniel Ortega’s regime persecutes its opponents, including community leaders, human rights defenders, activists, former combatants, and journalists. The country’s undemocratic conditions have created a state of emergency in which those resisting extractivism and corruption face severe repression and stigmatization. For many, migration is the only option, despite the extreme human rights violations faced on their journeys, particularly toward the United States.
Panama
Communities in Panama are resisting megaprojects such as mining, dams, and mass tourism. Recently, a major national mobilization successfully halted a large-scale mining project, thanks to the coordinated efforts of campesino and urban communities. However, the country continues to suffer from widespread corruption and political impunity, with ruling elites rotating power among themselves to maintain lucrative business deals. Supposed “development” has come at the cost of plundering natural resources, deepening inequality.
Ecuador
The country is experiencing a surge in violence, fueled by the interplay of state forces, corporate interests, and organized crime. Large-scale mining projects are beginning to plunder and pollute various ecosystems and natural resources, exacerbated by criminal groups seizing territorial control. Communities defending their lands face threats, criminalization, and social disintegration due to the cycle of daily violence affecting both urban and rural areas. Leaders, activists, and environmental defenders are at risk of being swept into this spiral of violence, ultimately benefiting extractivist megaprojects.
Our Projections
We reaffirm that we are a Continental Gathering Platform, grounded in the memory and ancestral legacy of Abya Yala. Our mission is to reclaim this heritage, redefine our narratives, and dismantle the colonial distortions imposed upon us. This means firmly rejecting capitalism and walking the path toward its abolition.
Symbolically, our movement seeks to unite the Condor (South of Abya Yala), the Quetzal (Meso and Central Abya Yala), and the Eagle (North of Abya Yala), overcoming imposed barriers that have divided us.
We are a Communication Platform, dedicated to debating the most pressing challenges of our time, particularly the fight against extractivism, megaprojects, militarization, and economies of dispossession.
We Declare
- We reaffirm our commitment to articulating our efforts in defense of the territory, against militarization, and for the construction of peace.
- We stand in solidarity with all comrades resisting capitalism’s attempts to destroy our cultures, ways of life, and Mother Earth.
- We dedicate this gathering and our ongoing efforts to the life and struggle of comrade Phanor Guazaquillo Peña, whose spirit accompanied us during these days.
- We embrace our diversity and recognize ourselves as one collective body of struggle, organizing together to amplify our voices.
- We reclaim our right to resist and fight for life across Abya Yala and the entire planet.
Signatory organizations, peoples, collectives, groups, and projects:
Movemento Pela Soberania Popular Na Mineração MAM Nacional – Brasil 🇧🇷
Micelio Suburbano – El Salvador 🇸🇻
Movimiento Nuevo País – El Salvador 🇸🇻
Semillas de Resistencia Seeds of Resistance – Nicaragua 🇳🇮 Mexico 🇲🇽 USA 🇺🇸
Movimiento Victoriano Lorenzo – Panamá 🇵🇦
School of Americas Watch SOAW – Honduras 🇭🇳 USA 🇺🇸
Coordinación Nacional de Pueblos Indígenas – CONPI, Colombia 🇨🇴
Coordinación Étnica Nacional de Paz – CENPAZ, Colombia 🇨🇴
Comunidades Construyendo Paz en los Territorios CONPAZCOL Colombia 🇨🇴
Asociación Afrocultural Neftalí Mosquera Colombia 🇨🇴
Frente Nacional Antiminero – Ecuador 🇪🇨
Artiis Paz- Guatemala 🇬🇹
Proyecto editorial Gatito espejo/ Revista La Sílaba- Mexico 🇲🇽