Key facts
- Indigenous communities in Latin America are defending their lands against cartels and corporations.
- Mexico and Bolivia have progressive environmental laws, but enforcement is lacking.
- Over 70% of environmental defender killings between 2012-2024 occurred in Latin America.
- Indigenous communities protect 80% of Earth's remaining biodiversity.
- Self-governance and Communal Guards are used for security and resource protection in Mexico.
- Cartels are increasingly involved in resource exploitation, sometimes in concert with private sector actors.
Indigenous communities in Latin America, such as the Nahua community in Santa María de Ostula, Mexico, are actively defending their ancestral lands against mining companies, cartels, and governments. These communities, which represent a small fraction of the global population but protect a significant portion of the world's intact forests and biodiversity, face immense violence. Despite progressive legal frameworks in countries like Bolivia and Mexico, which recognize nature's rights and grant indigenous self-governance, the enforcement of these laws is often undermined by corruption and institutional failure. Latin America has become the global environmental frontline, accounting for over 70% of the more than 2,200 killings of environmental defenders documented by Global Witness between 2012 and 2024. In Mexico, communities like Crescencio Morales have formed Communal Guards to provide security and manage their own budgets directly, bypassing corrupt intermediaries. These self-governance models aim to protect natural resources, restore social ties, and build essential community infrastructure. However, the involvement of cartels, sometimes acting in concert with private sector actors, escalates the violence, making land exploitation faster and cheaper than legal corporate processes. This climate of violence has led to Mexico being one of the deadliest countries for journalists and environmental defenders.