Guatemala Indigenous Leader Awarded Top Environmental Prize for 43-Year Anti-Mining Struggle

[Judi Lynn]

Published 24 April 2017 (4 hours 20 minutes ago)


“When they make a leader disappear, 10 more rise up," said Rodrigo Tot.
When Rodrigo Tot talks about his land, his eyes light up.

The Indigenous leader of the Agua Caliente "Lote 9" community in El Estor, in Guatemala's eastern department of Izabal, has called the fertile farmlands his home for decades. But the resource-rich region is also coveted by corporate mining interests for the nickel and gold deposits that lie beneath.

For his 43-year struggle against these mining corporations, Toto was named this year’s winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize, one of six winners of the award that honors grassroots environmental leaders from around the world.

The Goldman Foundation praised Tot for his "intrepid leadership of his people and the defense of his ancestral land," despite having enduring multiple hardships in his struggle, such as the assassination of his son five years ago.

More:
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Guatemala-Indigenous-Leader-Awarded-Top-Environmental-Prize-for-43-Year-Anti-Mining-Struggle--20170424-0015.html