SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Mexican Goldman Environmentalist Prize Winner Killed in Latest Attack on Latin American Activists
'The threats Isidro Baldenegro López faced for his resistance are emblematic of those suffered by countless others who take a stand against the theft of their land and destruction of the environment'
Jan 18, 2017
A Mexican Indigenous activist who won the Goldman Environmental Prize has been shot dead, the second recipient of the prestigious award to be murdered in less than 12 months.
The Guardian reports that Isidro Baldenegro Lopez, a subsistence farmer known for his work to stop illegal logging and deforestation, was shot at a relative's home on Sunday. Baldenegro, who received the Goldman prize in 2005, had only recently returned to his community, Coloradas de la Virgen in Chihuahua, in the country's northern Sierra Madre mountain region, after spending time in exile over threats against him and his family.
A spokesperson from the prosecutor's office told the Guardian that one of the killers had been identified and not yet detained.
His murder is the latest in a disturbing trend of attacks on Latin American activists. The 2016 assassination of Honduran Indigenous rights activist Berta Caceres, who co-founded the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras and was known for her work protecting natural resources and public lands, sent shockwaves through the social justice and environmentalist communities. Caceres received the Goldman prize in 2015.
The Center for International and Environmental Law (CIEL) reported in August that Latin America is the "most dangerous region in the world" for land and water defenders, a finding that echoed a similar study published in June by the human rights group Global Witness.
Global Witness campaigner Ben Leather said Wednesday, "The threats Isidro Baldenegro Lopez faced for his resistance are emblematic of those suffered by countless others who take a stand against the theft of their land and destruction of the environment. Nowhere is it deadlier to do so than in Latin America."
"This crime must not be met with impunity, like the majority of these killings are. The Mexican authorities must act with conviction, prosecuting those responsible for Isidro's murder and protecting his family and colleagues. Failing to do so will only encourage future violence," he said.
In 1993, Baldenegro founded an NGO to fight deforestation, and in 2002 he organized a series of grassroots actions that forced the government to implement a temporary logging moratorium. But his activism incurred the wrath of local politicians, landowners, and criminal bosses, the Guardian notes, which led to his illegal 15-month detention in 2003 on false charges of arms and drugs possession.
As a boy, he witnessed the assassination of his father, who was killed for taking a stand against illegal logging. Despite the risks associated with environmental activism, Baldenegro devoted his life to the cause.
Watch the Goldman video featuring Baldenegro's work, below:
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
A Mexican Indigenous activist who won the Goldman Environmental Prize has been shot dead, the second recipient of the prestigious award to be murdered in less than 12 months.
The Guardian reports that Isidro Baldenegro Lopez, a subsistence farmer known for his work to stop illegal logging and deforestation, was shot at a relative's home on Sunday. Baldenegro, who received the Goldman prize in 2005, had only recently returned to his community, Coloradas de la Virgen in Chihuahua, in the country's northern Sierra Madre mountain region, after spending time in exile over threats against him and his family.
A spokesperson from the prosecutor's office told the Guardian that one of the killers had been identified and not yet detained.
His murder is the latest in a disturbing trend of attacks on Latin American activists. The 2016 assassination of Honduran Indigenous rights activist Berta Caceres, who co-founded the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras and was known for her work protecting natural resources and public lands, sent shockwaves through the social justice and environmentalist communities. Caceres received the Goldman prize in 2015.
The Center for International and Environmental Law (CIEL) reported in August that Latin America is the "most dangerous region in the world" for land and water defenders, a finding that echoed a similar study published in June by the human rights group Global Witness.
Global Witness campaigner Ben Leather said Wednesday, "The threats Isidro Baldenegro Lopez faced for his resistance are emblematic of those suffered by countless others who take a stand against the theft of their land and destruction of the environment. Nowhere is it deadlier to do so than in Latin America."
"This crime must not be met with impunity, like the majority of these killings are. The Mexican authorities must act with conviction, prosecuting those responsible for Isidro's murder and protecting his family and colleagues. Failing to do so will only encourage future violence," he said.
In 1993, Baldenegro founded an NGO to fight deforestation, and in 2002 he organized a series of grassroots actions that forced the government to implement a temporary logging moratorium. But his activism incurred the wrath of local politicians, landowners, and criminal bosses, the Guardian notes, which led to his illegal 15-month detention in 2003 on false charges of arms and drugs possession.
As a boy, he witnessed the assassination of his father, who was killed for taking a stand against illegal logging. Despite the risks associated with environmental activism, Baldenegro devoted his life to the cause.
Watch the Goldman video featuring Baldenegro's work, below:
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
A Mexican Indigenous activist who won the Goldman Environmental Prize has been shot dead, the second recipient of the prestigious award to be murdered in less than 12 months.
The Guardian reports that Isidro Baldenegro Lopez, a subsistence farmer known for his work to stop illegal logging and deforestation, was shot at a relative's home on Sunday. Baldenegro, who received the Goldman prize in 2005, had only recently returned to his community, Coloradas de la Virgen in Chihuahua, in the country's northern Sierra Madre mountain region, after spending time in exile over threats against him and his family.
A spokesperson from the prosecutor's office told the Guardian that one of the killers had been identified and not yet detained.
His murder is the latest in a disturbing trend of attacks on Latin American activists. The 2016 assassination of Honduran Indigenous rights activist Berta Caceres, who co-founded the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras and was known for her work protecting natural resources and public lands, sent shockwaves through the social justice and environmentalist communities. Caceres received the Goldman prize in 2015.
The Center for International and Environmental Law (CIEL) reported in August that Latin America is the "most dangerous region in the world" for land and water defenders, a finding that echoed a similar study published in June by the human rights group Global Witness.
Global Witness campaigner Ben Leather said Wednesday, "The threats Isidro Baldenegro Lopez faced for his resistance are emblematic of those suffered by countless others who take a stand against the theft of their land and destruction of the environment. Nowhere is it deadlier to do so than in Latin America."
"This crime must not be met with impunity, like the majority of these killings are. The Mexican authorities must act with conviction, prosecuting those responsible for Isidro's murder and protecting his family and colleagues. Failing to do so will only encourage future violence," he said.
In 1993, Baldenegro founded an NGO to fight deforestation, and in 2002 he organized a series of grassroots actions that forced the government to implement a temporary logging moratorium. But his activism incurred the wrath of local politicians, landowners, and criminal bosses, the Guardian notes, which led to his illegal 15-month detention in 2003 on false charges of arms and drugs possession.
As a boy, he witnessed the assassination of his father, who was killed for taking a stand against illegal logging. Despite the risks associated with environmental activism, Baldenegro devoted his life to the cause.
Watch the Goldman video featuring Baldenegro's work, below:
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.