Peruvian farmer Máxima Acuña has been hospitalized after an attack by private security guards allegedly working for mining companies Newmont and Buenaventura.
For years, these same companies have been working together to build a giant gold and copper mine on Máxima's land. Thanks to Máxima’s heroism they failed. But she has paid a price -- she’s been hospitalized by security guards and sued by the companies.
SumOfUs has supported Máxima’s fight against these mining giants time and time again -- and her heroism has been recognized, she won the “Green Nobel” for her leadership to stop the gold mine a few months ago.
We need to make sure that Newmont and Buenaventura stop their bullying, so we are going after them where it will hurt them most: their pocketbooks. That’s why we are asking Larry Fink, CEO of the world’s largest investment firm, to denounce the violence now and divest from the companies.
Ask BlackRock CEO Larry Fink to cut ties with Newmont and Buenaventura over the companies' record of abuse of Maxima.
Fink is the CEO of BlackRock Investment, a fund that owns huge portions of Newmont and Buenaventura. He has championed long-term value creation versus short-term greed in recent interviews. There is no better time for Fink to put action behind his words and divest from Newmont and Buenavenutra.
This isn’t the first time Newmont have come under scrutiny -- Newmont Mining has a history of intimidation and has gone after Máxima before. The Peruvian courts have sided with Máxima in the past against its dirty tactics. And just last month, Newmont's own contractors released a report saying Newmont's subsidiary ignored international human rights standards, violating internal protocols during its campaign of intimidation and violence.
The campaign we are most proud of at SumOfUs is supporting Máxima in her fight against the big mining companies. Over 160,000 people have asked Newmont to leave Máxima alone after repeated harassment in the last two years. We have raised resources for her support and legal fund. We all cheered and stood by Máxima as she won the "Green Nobel". Now we’re worried for her safety, and we need to take action.
We need to make sure these attacks against Máxima cannot happen again. Please take action now and ask BlackRock CEO to divest from Buenaventura and Newmont Mining now.
Máxima is an incredibly tough woman -- but she stands less than 150 cms (less than five foot tall), and is heading into her later years. These attacks are absolutely heartbreaking and SumOfUs is going to do what we can to keep her safe by looking into security measures. If you could contribute to this campaign, please go here: https://actions.sumofus.org/a/we-ve-just-heard-bad-news-about-maxima-but-you-can-help?
More information
Goldman Environmental Prize.
Earthworks. 28 September 2016.