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San Miguel Ixtahuacán is a
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
in the
San Marcos department San Marcos is a department in southwestern Guatemala, on the Pacific Ocean and along the western Guatemala-Mexico border. The department's capital is the city of San Marcos. History Colonial period The Spanish conquest of Guatemalan Highl ...
of
Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
. It comprises 19 villages, and the population is about 39,000 people. The majority of people are ethnically
Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...
- Mam and speak the Mam and
Spanish language Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...
s. Most inhabitants subsist by farming, growing crops of corn, beans, vegetables and fruits, irrigated from the Cuilco River and its tributaries.


History


Spanish colony

In 1690, Tejutla had a large area and included the modern municipalities of Comitancillo, Ixchiguán,
Concepción Tutuapa Concepción Tutuapa () is a town and municipality in the San Marcos department of Guatemala. It had a population of 49,363 according to the census of 2002 and of the 2018 census there is a total population of 68,148. History Spanish colony ...
, Sipacapa, Sibinal, Tajumulco, Tacaná and part of what is now San Miguel Ixtahuacán. According to the historical writings from ''Recordación Florida'' of Francisco Antonio de Fuentes y Guzmán, Tejutla belonged to Quetzaltenango Department and it was a "prosperous land with rich weathers and comfortable forest with enough water". Tejutla was an important commercial and religious center; in August 1767, Joseph Domingo Hidalgo described Santiago Tejutla as "El Curato" -i.e., the focal center of commerce of all the towns that were around it− in the ''Gaceta de Guatemala'', the official newspaper of the times. Then, in the last quarter of the 18th century, bishop Dr.
Pedro Cortés y Larraz Pedro Cortés y Larraz (Belchite, Zaragoza, 6 July 1712 - Zaragoza, 7 July 1787) was Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Guatemala, Archbishop of Guatemala between 1767 and 1779 and bishop of Tortosa between 1780 and 1786. Biography Early life Grad ...
, who arrived from
Cuilco Cuilco is a municipality in the Guatemalan department of Huehuetenango. It is located in the Cuchumatanes mountains in the south-western portion of Huehuetenango. Description The municipality covers a total area of . The dirt road connectin ...
in 1770 as part of the inspection he was doing of the Guatemalan dioceses, called Tejutla "Santiago en la Cima del Monte" (English: Santiago at the top of the hill" and reported that there were "sixty four families who lived very well" in the area.


After independence from Spain

The Central American United Provinces constitution from 11 October 1821, showed Tejutla under modern San Marcos jurisdiction for the very first time. In 1870 Tejutla reached "Villa" category and, due to its development, its authorities requested to the House of Representatives of Guatemala to be named a Department capital. The department was going to have the municipalities mentioned above, along with the modern municipalities of
Cuilco Cuilco is a municipality in the Guatemalan department of Huehuetenango. It is located in the Cuchumatanes mountains in the south-western portion of Huehuetenango. Description The municipality covers a total area of . The dirt road connectin ...
, Santa Bárbara and San Gaspar, Huehuetenango, from the modern Huehuetenango Department. Besides, in those days, Motocintla, Cacahuatán and
Tapachula Tapachula de Córdova y Ordóñez, simply known as Tapachula, is a city and municipality located in the far southeast of the state of Chiapas, Mexico, near the Guatemalan border and the Pacific Ocean. Economically, it is one of the most importan ...
—which would go definitively to
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
in 1892 due to the Herrera-Mariscal treaty— were under the jurisdiction of the
Mercedarian The Royal, Celestial and Military Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of the Captives (, abbreviated O. de M.), also known as the Mercedarians, is a Catholic mendicant order established in 1218 by Peter Nolasco in the city of Barcelon ...
convent located in Tejutla. Furthermore, Tejutla even had House representatives of its own in those days. But power shifted when the conservatives led by Field Marshal
Vicente Cerna Vicente Cerna y Cerna (22 January 1815 – 27 June 1885) was president of Guatemala from 24 May 1865 to 29 June 1871. Loyal friend and comrade of Rafael Carrera, was appointed army's Field Marshal after Carraera's victory against Salvadorian lea ...
were defeated by the liberal forces of generals Miguel Garcia Granados and
Justo Rufino Barrios Justo Rufino Barrios Auyón (19 July 1835 – 2 April 1885) was a Guatemalan politician and military general who served as President of Guatemala from 1873 to his death in 1885. He was known for his liberal reforms and his attempts to reun ...
−who was a San Lorenzo native; once the liberals were in power, the expelled the regular clergy from Guatemala leaving Tejutla without their main administrative and leadership support, the
Mercedarians The Royal, Celestial and Military Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of the Captives (, abbreviated O. de M.), also known as the Mercedarians, is a Catholic mendicant order established in 1218 by Peter Nolasco in the city of Barcelo ...
. In fact, Barrios government confiscated monasteries, large extensions of farm land, sugar mills and Indian doctrines from the Mercedarians and other regular orders and then distributed it to his liberal friend and comrades, who became large landowners in the area.


21st century: Gold extraction

In 2004,
Goldcorp Goldcorp Inc. was a gold production company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The company stood among the largest gold producers in the world, employed about 15,800 people worldwide, engaged in gold mining and related activit ...
, a
Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
- owned
mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...
corporation based in
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
,
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
, began construction of Marlin Mine. Marlin Mine is a
gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
and
silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
mine located on the border between San Miguel Ixtahuacán and the neighboring municipality of Sipacapa. Approximately 80% of the mine is located in San Miguel Ixtahuacán. There has been controversy over Marlin Mine, owing to accusations by some community members that they were not properly consulted prior to the construction of the mine, as required by national Guatemalan law and international law. There has been ongoing violence in San Miguel Ixtahuacán, both against mining property and against mining opposition. In a 2009 press conference, the
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
Diocese of the department of San Marcos presented the results of a two-year study they carried out of the quality of surface waters surrounding Marlin Mine. The press conference was held in
Guatemala City Guatemala City (, also known colloquially by the nickname Guate), is the Capital city, national capital and largest city of the Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala. It is also the Municipalities of Guatemala, municipal capital of the Guatemala Depa ...
, and was attended by environmental activists, human rights activists, mining personnel, and members of the public. The study found that surface water used by community members in San Miguel Ixtahuacán for crop irrigation, herd animals, and human consumption, has been contaminated by heavy metals such as arsenic and copper. The levels of these heavy metals exceed Guatemalan standards, international
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...
standards, and standards set by the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency may refer to the following government organizations: * Environmental Protection Agency (Queensland), Australia * Environmental Protection Agency (Ghana) * Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland) * Environmenta ...
for drinking water. The study explained the specific steps taken to test the water, and has bee
published online
in Spanish, and i
English
However, the study did not compare its findings to historical metals levels in the rivers, which were shown in the baseline study to have naturally high metals levels, which exceeded guidelines for certain uses, including drinking water, prior to the existence of the mining operation. Officials from Goldcorp and from the Guatemalan Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MARN) who attended the press conference accused the Catholic Diocese of using flawed methods that are unscientific. They have posted videos on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
, in Spanish, demonstrating the strategies they use to test surface waters. The results of the MARN tests have not been released to the public, but
Goldcorp Goldcorp Inc. was a gold production company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The company stood among the largest gold producers in the world, employed about 15,800 people worldwide, engaged in gold mining and related activit ...
reports thei
monitoring annually on their website
A subsequent 2010 study carried out under the initiative of the Diocese reported that, with the exception of aluminum content in one sample, samples of river water were all within "US Benchmarks"; and that all drinking water sampled had metals content below limits set in the US EPA's National Drinking Water Regulations.Toxic Metals and Indigenous Peoples Near the Marlin Mine in Western Guatemala Potential Exposures and Impacts on Health
Niladri Basu, MSc, PhD and Howard Hu, MD, MPH, ScD, with the assistance of the International Forensic Program of Physicians for Human Rights, May 2010 This study, and the ongoing environmental monitoring are described in more detail in the article on the Marlin Mine.


Communities

The municipality has nineteen villages and forty settlements. The villages with their respective settlements are:
It also has the following open fields: Alen, Chumaj, Estancia, Jolvoch, Moxman, Síchvil, Chumay, Exnubé, Lámaca, Sacumuj, Sugual, Bramadero, Chumbel, Ixmuchipeque, Las Escobas, Sacabjlé, Tanán, Campana, El Pito, Limoná, Saquilá, Tujxux, Cancelá, El Potrero, Jatzmap, Maniajá, Satla, Tzalé, Chililá, y El Recreo.


Climate

San Miguel Ixtahuacán has template climate (
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''Cwb'').


Geographic location


See also

* * *
La Aurora International Airport La Aurora International Airport (, ) serves Guatemala City, Guatemala. It is located south of Guatemala City's center and from Antigua Guatemala. It is administered by the General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics (Guatemala), General Directora ...
* Tapachula International Airport


Notes and references


References


Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:San Miguel Ixtahuacan Municipalities of the San Marcos Department