In Latin America, defending natural resources such as water is a deadly pursuit. According to the latest Global Witness report, 1.773 environmentalists were murdered in the last 10 years. Sebastián Alonzo, a 68 years old subsistence farmer from the Ixquisis micro-region in Guatemala, was murdered while demonstrating against the hydroelectric company that would divert the river and affect the crops which his family and community depended upon.
The Chuj and Kanjobal people inhabiting the area denounced having been promised much needed roads and electricity by the company Energía y Renovación, but were not provided. Despite the threats, the violences and the fears that the opponents of the project suffered since the beginning of the constructions, their fight succeeded for the first time in history to cause the withdrawal of the Inter-American Development Bank Invest (IDB Invest)’s fundings to the project. Yet the company has not given up its project, the murder hasn’t been solved and peace between the communities have been severely compromised.
This was the first episode in the series ‘Water Guardians’ carried out by Nicola Zolin and Paloma Dupont de Dinechin who investigated three environmental murders related to water in Latin America.
The other two episode concerned Mexico and Brazil.
Photo © Nicola Zolin
Two photo exhibitions featuring Nicola's work from this investigation were held in Italy, in Florence and in Rome.
