On April 1 the community of Nuevo Carrizalillo, in Eduardo Neri municipality in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero, signed a 22-point agreement with Salvador Garcia Ledesma, general operations director of the Luismin mining company, to end a blockade the community had maintained at the Los Filos-El Bedmejal gold mines at various times since Jan. 8. The company agreed to pay the community an annual rent of 13,500 pesos (about $1,234) for each of the 970 hectares of land used for the mines. Luismin also agreed to rehire 60 laid-off miners; to pay the community 2.5 million pesos ($228,312) for losses due to the conflict; to rehabilitate the community's childcare center and basketball court; to create a computer center; and to provide 14 scholarships for community children. Luismin is the Mexican mining division of the Vancouver-based Goldcorp Inc.

After the signing Nuevo Carrizalillo celebrated with a dinner with the participation of two other communities from Eduardo Neri municipality, Mezcala and Xochipala. On April 8 Mezcala representatives announced that their community would demand payment at the same rate as Nuevo Carrizalillo for the 300 hectares that Mezcala rents to Luismin. Currently Mezcala is receiving 1,400 pesos per hectare. Mezcala is also planning to start an action against Nuevo Carrizalillo in the Unitary Agrarian Court; it claims that 170 hectares of the 970 hectares Nuevo Carrizalillo is renting to Luismin actually belong to Mezcala. (La Jornada, April 2, 9)

From Weekly News Update on the Americas, April 29

See our last posts on Mexico, Guerrero and the anti-GoldCorp struggle.