By Sergio de Le\u00f3n – Correspondent for EntreMundos<\/em><\/p>\n Guatemala\u2019s Pacific coast is a temperate region where only a few small patches remain of the sprawling tropical forests and natural plains that ruled from the shore to the mountains. Even in the so-called \u201cland of deer,\u201d Suchitep\u00e9quez, we no longer see deer. \u201cThe coast was a paradise,\u201d my grandfather and others of his generation would tell me. This paradise lost is today a zone of extremely unequal land distribution, high poverty rates, poorly paid workers, and food insecurity. It\u2019s no coincidence that most of the country\u2019s agro-industrial production happens there, characterized by huge monocrop plantations of African palms, sugarcane, and banana and rubber trees, along with livestock operations and the processing plants that turn these raw resources into finished products.<\/span><\/p>\n This is why national trends of more industrial monocrops and less land for small farmers are magnified on the Pacific coast. In 2003, the national agricultural census showed that 92% of Guatemala\u2019s small farmers used only 22% of cultivated land in the country, while 1.86% of large commercial operations used 57%. The 2013 agricultural census did not provide comparable data, but it did show that between 2003 and 2013, the amount of land used for annual crops (corn, beans, vegetables, etc., dominated by small farmers) fell 35% from 1,400,000 hectares to 889,700 hectares, while the amount of land used for permanent crops (African palms, coffee, sugarcane, etc.) grew 40% from 600,000 hectares to one million hectares. This means more agricultural workers rely on the minimum monthly salary of Q2,394 ($320), and, according to many reports, in many cases even less. Meanwhile, in just one year, living costs have risen 12%, in part due to the reduced production of staple crops. According to the Guatemalan government, the food required to meet basic nutrition standards for a family of five costs Q3,281 ($437) per month, and a basic family-of-five budget that includes minimal expenses for shelter, education, healthcare, transportation, and recreation costs Q5,988 ($798) per month.<\/span><\/p>\n Monoculture plantations require large quantities of the water that streams from Guatemala\u2019s Western highlands to the Pacific coast. Their unquenchable thirst causes an enormous disparity in access to water, crucial to everyday life in communities throughout the coastal region. Adding the effects of climate change and the lack of access to land for subsistence farming, water pollution and scarcity in the coastal region have grave consequences, especially for the most vulnerable communities. It also has consequences for key natural resources crucial to any future sustainable development, as well as the biodiversity that we have left in these areas. Meanwhile, Guatemala is the second largest exporter of sugarcane in Latin America and the fourth largest in the world, using 12% of its arable land to grow the crop.<\/span><\/p>\n To speak of water problems in these places is to speak of powerful economic interests, of frequent health problems caused by polluted water, of losses in the small famer\u2019s crop, of struggles to protect the environment, of peasant movements to fight the powerful economic interests, of the struggle for human rights and the fight for life in the broadest sense. It is to speak of conflict and resistance. The discontent that all of this brings is widespread, since tens of \u00a0 <\/span>thou sands are directly affected, causing mobilizations that are sometimes met with violence and that denounce violations of the basic right to a healthy environment, integral to any kind of development that seeks to treat all people with dignity.<\/span><\/p>\n are: (1) the diversion of rivers during the dry season, especially on the part of sugar plantations; during the dry season, this causes water shortages, and during the rainy season, it causes floods. Recent cases include the diversion of the Salam\u00e1 River in Retalhuleu by the sugar plantation Tulul\u00e1 in 2014 and the Coyolate River in January 2013 in Esquintla, by sugarcane and African palm plantations. These are just two of many violations of national laws that protect our natural patrimony. (2) The pollution of lakes and rivers with vinasse and other herbicides and agrochemicals that devastate local biodiversity and hurt small farmers\u2019 yields.<\/span><\/p>\n Vinasse is a byproduct of sugarcane processing, specifically of the distillation of alcohol. Its application in large quantities on sugarcane plantations makes the cane\u2019s stalks thicker, improving its yield. When it rains, the vinasse enters the rivers and soaks up the oxygen in the water, causing die-offs of fish and other aquatic organisms. It also causes gastrointestinal and skin diseases when people use the contaminated water to cook or drink, or even to wash clothing or bathe.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOfficial management of our water resources on the Pacific coast is either highly insufficient or nonexistent. This increases <\/i><\/b><\/span>vulnerability to climate change with alarming speed, which will punish most severely the poorest communities.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The list of lakes, like Jabal\u00ed, Pital, or Cotuza, and rivers, like the Kijibal\u00e1, Per\u00e1z, and Sis, contaminated by vinasse and other agrochemicals in Retalhuleu alone is long. A 2013 complaint made on behalf of 68 communities in Retalhuleu also cites air fumigation from small planes as a major problem. It says that before the arrival of this practice in their communities, a manzana<\/i> of land of sesame plants, about .7 hectares, used to produce around 735 kilos of product, while a manzana<\/i> now produces barely 230 kilos. One of the most important herbicides to sugarcane monocrops in Guatemala, widely used in aerial fumigation, is Glyphosate, Monsanto\u2019s best-selling chemical. This chemical makes cane stalks grow shorter, thicker, and higher in sugar content, but when it comes into contact with other plants, it usually has devastating effects.<\/span><\/p>\n This is why the Colombian government used the chemical in its aerial fumigations of illegal coca plantations until May, 2015. It suspended the practice after the World Health Organization labeled Glyphosate a \u201cprobable carcinogen.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Residents of the 68 communities also showed a delegation from the Ministry of Food Security and Nutrition how cacao fruits were ripening before they had reached their peak readiness due to fumigation with other growth-inducing chemicals.<\/span><\/p>\n The recent disaster in the La Pasi\u00f3n River in Pet\u00e9n is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of river and lake pollution in Guatemala. Events like this have been happening regularly for decades, as the relevant regulatory authorities, principally the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (MARN), have turned a blind eye. There may be indemnifications and compensation paid to those affected by the companies and plantations responsible in some cases, but they are insignificant compared to the frequency with which these violations occur.<\/span><\/p>\n To understand how much political power\u00a0 <\/span>is wielded by african palm companies, like Reforestadora de Palma del Pet\u00e9n, S.A. (Repsa), which apparently caused the disaster in the River La Pasi\u00f3n, we need only list the taxes they don\u2019t pay. According to a 2014 report by Plaza P\u00fablica, Repsa and 15 other major african palm companies had registered to take advantage of the Ley de Maquilas, or Law for Manufacturers, under which manufacturers are exempt from taxes on profits, tariffs, taxes on imports of raw goods for producing value-added products, and even taxes on raw goods bought internally in Guatemala. This explains the rapid expansion of african palm plantations.<\/span><\/p>\n Hundreds of communities, abandoned, forgotten by the state, have been supported by a relatively small number of organizations (The Diocese of Suchitep\u00e9quez, CODECA, CUC, or Red Manglar, for example) compared to other parts of the country. Official management of our water resources on the Pacific coast is either highly insufficient or nonexistent. This increases vulnerability to climate change with alarming speed, which will punish most severely the poorest communities and ecosystems that are already fragile. We should expect peasant mobilizations that are more demanding. And, if a meaningful dialogue isn\u2019t established, a spiral of violence in the conflict over water like that witnessed in the conflict over access to land in other parts of the country. If this is what happense, we\u2019ll all lose.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Sergio de Le\u00f3n – Correspondent for EntreMundos Guatemala\u2019s Pacific coast is a temperate region where only a few small patches remain of the sprawling tropical forests and natural plains that ruled from the shore to the mountains. Even in the so-called \u201cland of deer,\u201d Suchitep\u00e9quez, we no longer see deer. \u201cThe coast was a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2296,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[411,425,410,415,413,453,429,424,421],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alternative-economy","category-community-action-en-2","category-economy","category-environment","category-food-security","category-frontpage-en","category-health","category-politics","category-rivers"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/rios.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7ljt7-t4","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3816,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/uncategorized\/biofuels-and-climate-change-exacerbate-guatemalas-stunning-inequality-and-poor-farmers-are-fighting-back\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":1802,"position":0},"title":"On Guatemala\u2019s Pacific Coast, key drivers of migration are connected to the US","author":"EntreMundos","date":"3 enero, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The US market for sugarcane and bananas has encouraged plantation owners on Guatemala\u2019s Pacific Coast to drain rivers and grab land. This is causing land and water shortages for small farmers already struggling with intense droughts linked to climate change and corn from the US that devalues their harvests. Meanwhile,\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCommunity Action\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Community Action","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/politics\/community-action-en-2\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/catarino-lopez.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/catarino-lopez.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/catarino-lopez.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/catarino-lopez.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/catarino-lopez.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3221,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/uncategorized\/the-fight-for-the-right-to-water-on-guatemalas-southern-coast\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":1802,"position":1},"title":"The fight for water on Guatemala’s southern coast","author":"EntreMundos","date":"8 agosto, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"By Matthew Burnett-Stuart For over a decade, 13 communities of the La Blanca municipality in Guatemala\u2019s Pacific Coast have been fighting against the rapid and destructive expansion of huge monocrop plantations of African palms and banana. Guatemala is the world\u2019s third-largest banana exporter and ninth largest palm oil exporter. According\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abFood Security\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Food Security","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/economy\/food-security\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/costasurmatthew1.png?fit=560%2C372&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/costasurmatthew1.png?fit=560%2C372&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/costasurmatthew1.png?fit=560%2C372&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1786,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/economy\/1786\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":1802,"position":2},"title":"Mangroves: The last frontier of our coastal marine ecosystems","author":"EntreMundos","date":"10 marzo, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"By Carlos Salvatierra - Executive Secretary of Redmanglar International and collaborator with COGMANGLAR Trees with twisted roots that plunge into brackish waters in the tropical coasts, flocks of pelicans, seagulls and herons, fish that venture to the shores of the estuaries showing you their eyes, crabs marching through the silt.\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abAlternative Economy\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Alternative Economy","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/economy\/alternative-economy\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/4-la-belleza-de-las-raices-de-mangle-rojo-1.bmp","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/4-la-belleza-de-las-raices-de-mangle-rojo-1.bmp 1x, https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/4-la-belleza-de-las-raices-de-mangle-rojo-1.bmp 1.5x, https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/4-la-belleza-de-las-raices-de-mangle-rojo-1.bmp 2x, https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/4-la-belleza-de-las-raices-de-mangle-rojo-1.bmp 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6702,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/economy\/learning-about-cacao-production\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":1802,"position":3},"title":"Learning about Cacao Production","author":"EntreMundos","date":"27 mayo, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"By: Entremundos Jos\u00e9 Miguez Fern\u00e1ndez was born in Spain and his plan was to stay in Guatemala for two years. His life took another turn. 52 years have passed since then and he still resides in the country. Currently, he\u2019s living in the Villa Amanda farm in San Antonio Suchitep\u00e9quez.\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abAlternative Economy\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Alternative Economy","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/economy\/alternative-economy\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/cacao-si-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/cacao-si-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/cacao-si-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/cacao-si-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/cacao-si-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2564,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/economy\/food-security\/the-fourth-invasion-guatemalas-water-crisis-in-context\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":1802,"position":4},"title":"\u00abThe Fourth Invasion\u00bb – Guatemala’s water crisis in context","author":"EntreMundos","date":"25 abril, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"By Richard Brown Thousands of people from throughout Guatemala, mostly rural and indigenous men and women whose livelihoods depend on small farming or plantation labor, arrived in Guatemala City on April 22, Earth Day, to denounce increasing water scarcity and pollution, food insecurity, and inequality in access to water and\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCommunity Action\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Community Action","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/politics\/community-action-en-2\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/img_7617.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/img_7617.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/img_7617.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/img_7617.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/img_7617.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2608,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/economy\/food-security\/global-water-crisis-a-future-of-scarcity\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":1802,"position":5},"title":"Global water crisis: A future of scarcity","author":"EntreMundos","date":"4 mayo, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The March for Water arrives in Guatemala City on Earth Day, April 22, 2016. Photo by Patricia Mac\u00edas. By Richard Brown Guatemala\u2019s intensifying water conflicts may become the new global normal, according to a US diplomatic cable recently published by Wikileaks, called \u201cTour D\u2019Horizon with Nestle: Forget the global financial\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abFood Security\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Food Security","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/economy\/food-security\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/marchaagua.jpg?fit=1200%2C879&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/marchaagua.jpg?fit=1200%2C879&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/marchaagua.jpg?fit=1200%2C879&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/marchaagua.jpg?fit=1200%2C879&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/marchaagua.jpg?fit=1200%2C879&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1802"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1802\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1803,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1802\/revisions\/1803"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n