CONTESTING DISCOURSES: Indigenous resistance contesting dominant discourses of powerful actors in the case of the Marlin Mine, Guatemala

Abstract

In this thesis, the authors look into the issue of indigenous resistance against large-scale mining projects in Latin America. It is based on three months of qualitative fieldwork in San Miguel Ixtahuacán, close to the Marlin Mine, Guatemala. The thesis exposes the ways in which the indigenous communities contest the dominant discourses of powerful actors: Montana Exploradora and the Guatemalan state with regard to gold mining, development, resistance, closure, and impacts of mining. It provides a unique perspective because it 1) in contrast with most literature, focuses on a long-established mine, including the subject of mine closure and 2) equally pays attention to the way Montana Exploradora and state actors shape their discourse. The authors find that in the case of San Miguel Ixtahuacán, it is impossible to speak of a discourse of the indigenous community as a whole; different groups exist that shape their discourses differently, and are not exclusively negative about mining. They conclude that the main issue that from the beginning stood in the way of an honest dialogue between the two sides, has not been environmental destruction, contamination, or the method of working of the company, but the existence of uneven power relations and the patronizing way in which the mining company approaches the indigenous population and the municipality.