Thank you very much. I'd like to thank my colleague Araceli for her presentation and to thank you for offering us this opportunity to speak to you about the crisis of human rights that is happening in Mexico.
My name is Gustavo Lozano. I represent the Mexican Network of Mining Affected People.
From outside Mexico, you might think that the issue of violence that we're experiencing is an issue that only affects Mexicans. Perhaps that's true in some cases, but it is not entirely true. There are some issues that cannot be explained entirely by the internal relationships that we have created in Mexico.
For example, there's the issue of mining. Large-scale mining operations have a huge impact on many areas of Mexico. There are megaprojects that lead to environmental devastation, but that also lead to serious breaches of human rights for people who live in those areas.
Let me give you some numbers so that you can be more aware of the links between mining and human rights and you will know why it's important in Canada. There are 1,327 mining projects in Mexico, and 850 of them actually have Canadian capital invested. The Mexican government can sell mining concessions to individuals—either Mexicans or people from abroad, such as Canadians—and these concessions mean that these individuals can explore the substrate of the territory. that can be done without the consent of the owners of that area. Very often, those owners are farming communities or indigenous communities.
Once these mining companies have the concessions, Canadian companies, for example, enter into contact with these farming and indigenous communities, and these communities find themselves in an economically disadvantaged situation. They're living in poverty. The companies negotiate with these communities in order to extract the mining resources that are in the ground.
There are people who are trying to defend human rights and land rights, but every situation is unique. Sometimes we're talking about indigenous communities, and other times we're talking about a lot of farming communities that start trying to defend their own rights to this land.
Over the last few years, we have succeeded in documenting 54 murders and disappearances of individuals who have refused to allow mining companies to access their land. These people mobilize their communities to resist the invasion of mining companies, and it is not only indigenous communities and farming communities that are affected by the mining activities. The Mexican Network of Mining Affected People has noticed that people who are helping to resist have many difficulties because of this. My colleagues and I have been threatened. We have had to leave our homes. We have had to leave and go and live in other cities where there is less risk.
Finally in this context, the Canadian embassy in Mexico is part of the problem and not part of the solution, because the embassy played an active role in exerting an influence on the adoption of Mexican legislation that would actually help Canadian mining companies. It has also played a role in delivering permits for ad hoc projects, permits that are given out by municipalities and other organizations.
We believe that the Prime Minister must better realize what is going on in Mexico and discuss it with people on the ground.
Thank you.