Cultivators: Berta Isabel Cáceres Flores

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hello. I'm Malia Agudello, a production assistant at Wonder Media Network,
and I'm so excited to be guest hosting this episode
of Womanica. This month, we're talking about cultivators, women who nurtured,
cross pollinated, experimented, or went to great links to better
understand and protect the natural world. Today, we're talking about

(00:24):
an environmental activist who dedicated her life to her community
and protecting the land they depended on. She had a
gift for cultivating coalitions to oppost powerful and violent interests.
Let's talk about Bertha isauel Cassires Flores. Betha was born

(00:48):
in nineteen seventy one in western Honduras into the indigenous
Linka community. Her mother was a midwife, local politician and activist.
She took in refugees and supported leftist grow groups from
El Salvadora during the nineteen seventies and eighties when the
political violence was sweeping across Central America. Her activism came
at a price. Bertha's mother was once kidnapped by an

(01:11):
army colonel and their home was monitored by Hunduran intelligence
services for more than ten years. Even though her childhood
had taught her the risks. Bertha still became an activist herself.
In nineteen ninety three, she helped create the National Council
of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras. The council worked
to advocate for local indigenous communities, helping them attain land

(01:34):
titles and resist territorial threats like illegal logging. Bertha's community
depends on the Guaycakie River, which originates in the nearby mountains.
The river is also considered sacred as the birthplace of
the female spirit in Lanca mythology. It's a source of
food and water for Bertha's community, providing fish, crop irrigation,

(01:55):
and traditional medicinal plants. In two thousand and six, neighboring
community members came to Erta and the Council for help.
They had noticed construction equipment and other heavy machinery being
brought into town, and they feared for the river and
their livelihoods. What they didn't know was that a major
dam project had been approved for construction on the Guaiicotke

(02:16):
River without the communities required consent under international law. The
dams would choke off the river, endangering the community's survival
and violating the rights of the Lanca people, Beretha and
the council filed complaints with local and international authorities. Betha
brought community members as representatives to the capital and organized

(02:37):
the local Assembly where community members could gather and formally
vote against the project. Regardless, the endoring company backing the
dam project forged on, benefiting from ties to and support
from national and local governments. They even falsified documents to
make it seem like Beertha's community had been made aware
of the project and agreed to it before it began.

(02:58):
Despite the company's efforts, Bertha and the council fortified their strategy.
They doubled down on their organizing and intensified their spiritual
practice of visiting and thanking the river, which strengthened the
solidarity of those fighting against the dam. Meanwhile, Bertha was
also involved in efforts on the national level to get
a referendum on the ballot demanding a new constitution. But

(03:20):
in two thousand and nine, just before the referendum was scheduled,
Honduras experienced a military coup of the democratically elected president.
They installed a right wing replacement. In Honduras experience in
escalation and violence, The new government began approving more and
more mining projects. This in turn created a massive demand
for energy and an explosive growth of approved dam projects

(03:42):
like the one affecting Bertha's community. In twenty thirteen, Bertha
organized a peaceful road blockade to impede the dam company's
access to the site. The Lanka community maintained the roadblock
for over a year by barricading with boulders and occupying
the site. Friends and family took turns camping out at
the blockade for weeks at a time, despite harassment, death threats,

(04:03):
violent attacks, and eviction attempts from Honduran armed forces and
militarized personnel hired by the damn company. This violence escalated
until a member of their community, Domas Garcia, was shot
and killed during a peaceful protest. Later that year, the
Honduran dam company lost its contract in funding with international backers,
citing concerns over the escalating conflicts of the local community members.

(04:27):
The dam project could not move forward. In twenty fifteen,
Betha was awarded one of the highest honors in environmental activism,
the Goldman Environmental Prize, as a recognition for successfully organizing
against the construction of the dam what betth Thau flew
to California to accept the award, she said this, the
situation in Honduras is getting worse. When I am in

(04:49):
Washington later this week to meet with US government officials,
the President of Honduras will be in the very next room,
hoping to obtain more than one billion dollars for a
series of mega projects that will further threaten to put
our natural resources into private hands through mindes, dams, and
large wind projects. At the time, violence in Honduras was

(05:10):
escalating and the country had just been named the most
dangerous in the world for environmental and land activists. Even
after the dam project was stopped, Bertha continued to receive threats.
Men and unmarked cars followed her. She received anonymous menacing texts.
Rumors circulated that she was on a hit list. In
December of twenty fifteen, months after she accepted the Goldman Award,

(05:31):
Bertha texted her sister, the messages never stop. The harassment
never stops. They have me under surveillance. In February of
twenty sixteen, Bertha reignited the fight for the Guaicake River
when the Damn Company tried to simply move the dam
project to a different location on its shore. Strange ominous
threats continued, with armed men showing up at the council

(05:53):
offices looking for Rephtha when she wasn't there. She was scared,
but she continued her work in the community, organizing workshops,
participating in demonstrations, and talking to the press. In early March,
Bertha hosted an old friend in Mexican activist Gustavo Castro,
who came to teach a workshop on alternative energies for
the council. Late one night, after a long day of

(06:14):
working together in the community, Gustavo heard noises in the house.
He heard Bertha ask who's there from her room, just
before his door was kicked in. Armed intruders had entered
the house. Within moments, they shot Bertha, and as Gustavo rose,
the man at his door shot at him too. The
bullet grazed him but was not fatal. Once the man left,

(06:34):
he ran to his friend, bleeding out in the other room.
Berta did not survive the attack. She was only forty
four years old. Berta's murder, as well as the murder
of another council member days later, sparked international outrage. In
twenty eighteen, a Honduran court ruled that the Damn Company

(06:55):
had ordered her assassination. Several men were found guilty of
bertha murder and sentenced to decades in prison, but the
investigation into the plot against Bertha is still ongoing. Her
friends and family continue to push for justice, not only
for Ertha, but for all Indigenous peoples. For more information,

(07:18):
find us on Facebook and Instagram. I will manage the
podcast special thanks to co creators Jenny and Liz Caplan
for letting me guest host. Talk to you Tomorrow

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Cultivators: Berta Isabel Cáceres Flores