Berta Cáceres was born on March 4, 1971 in La Esperanza, Honduras. She was an environmental activist, indigenous leader, and co-founder and coordinator of The Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH).
Cáceres was born into the predominant indigenous group, the Lenca people. She was able to experience first-hand the hardships of her people while growing up during the civil unrest and violence of Central American in the 1970s.
As a student activist, she co-founded The Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras. The organization advocated for the territorial rights of indigenous people in Central America, included Honduras. She excellently coordinated many campaigns in her country including protesting illegal logging, plantation owners, and the presence of US military base on Lenca Land. Honduras has faced huge growth in environmental destructive projects harming many indigenous communities. Many of these projects were in effect by huge powerful companies having the authority to do so by their government.
Cáceres’ biggest and successful campaign was against Agua Zarca Dam, a joint project of a Honduran company, DESA, and the world’s largest dam developer from China. If this was not stopped, the dam would have cut off the supply of water, food, and medicine for many indigenous people. Their rights would have been violated and would have to live off their land. She filed many complaints to government authorities, organizing local assemblies, and leading many protests all while remaining peaceful. She was able to bring her campaign to the international community. It was a success since she successfully kept construction equipment out of the proposed dam and then by 2013 the contract was terminated for the project.
In 2015, she won the Goldman Environmental Prize, a prize awarded to grassroots environmental activists.
“We must answer their call. Our Mother Earth, militarized, fenced-in, poisoned, a place where basic rights are systematically violated, demands that we take action. Let us build societies that are able to coexist in a dignified way, in a way that protects life. Let us come together and remain hopeful as we defend and care for the blood of this Earth and of its spirits.”
– Berta Cáceres in her Goldman Environmental Prize acceptance speech
It is shown that more people are killed in Honduras per capita than any other country as a result of their efforts to defend land and the environment, according to an article from The Guardian. This is because there is an increase competition over natural resources. In Honduras, the government has made many investments in forestry, mining, agribusiness and hydroelectric dams a top priority. Many companies were exploiting land with little regard for the people who live on it. This has caused an increase amount of violence against activists. Those who challenge these companies and the government found themselves as targets for murder. Cáceres was fully aware of this and knew she would likely be killed. That never stopped her, she knew what had to be done
With such a powerful voice, came with some consequences. Unfortunately, she was murdered in an attempt to silence the fight for environmental justice and land rights in Central America. She had become an important figure in the growing Latin American movement of indigenous people. More than 3,000 people attended her funeral in the streets of her hometown, La Esperanza. Her town is now filled and shines with art declaring “Berta Vive”. Her legacy never ended with her death. She had opened many doors to continue the fight to protect her people and land.
Work Cited:
“Berta Cáceres.” Goldman Environmental Foundation, 4 Aug. 2020, www.goldmanprize.org/recipient/berta-caceres/.
Environment, UN. “Berta Cáceres.” Champions of the Earth, www.unep.org/championsofearth/laureates/2016/berta-caceres.
“Berta Cáceres.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Jan. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berta_C%C3%A1ceres.
Honduras is world’s number one for killing environmental activists. (2015, April 22). Retrieved February 28, 2021, from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/andes-to-the-amazon/2015/apr/22/honduras-worlds-number-one-killing-environmental-activists
Prepared by Maria Perez
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This was so interesting to read and learn about Berta Cáceres. I did not know about Berta Cáceres before reading the biography, I was so glad to have read and learn about how she used her voice to speak up for the people that couldn’t. You met all the requirements with the image, five different links, and the work cited. I personally can’t think of anything to suggest because this was a great biography, you did an awesome job.
I really enjoyed reading and learning about Berta Cáceres. She was truly doing amazing work and I was saddened to hear that she was murdered because of her perseverance to protect the environment. My only suggestion would be for you to include another quote. I think including this one, “They are afraid of us because we are not afraid of them” is perfect. It really shows her character! Other than that, you did a great job. (:
Reading and learning about Berta Caceres was very eye opening. I didn’t know about Berta before reading this but I’m glad that I do now. She helped people who didn’t have a voice and inspired many women to do the same. You met all the requirements and I believe that you don’t have to change anything.
I very much enjoyed creating my bio on Berta Cáceres and learning about how much of an amazing woman she was. Even though I am Latina myself, I rarely know much about other Latin countries besides Mexico. I had no clue what was going on in Honduras and really how powerful you must be to take a stand. When creating her bio, I was not sure if I wanted to include the investigation of her death. It went back and forth on deciding who her killers were, later to be proven that they were hired by the powerful company that she was protesting against. I did not want this to overshadow my bio that just explained her huge accomplishments. But at the same time throughout this investigation a lot of her supporters showed up to defend and stand by her. And they still do now. That really shows how much of an important figure she was too many people. The only thing that I would have done differently if I had more time was really spend time in exploring and going in depth about all the work she has done and how she was able to do it.
This bio does include all the requirements which makes it easy to read and understand. The bio is also interesting because it included interesting details about Cáceres’s life and her great achievements. I was not familiar with Cáceres, I had never heard about her until now. Despite multiple threats to her life, I admire her courage in fighting for the rights of her people and environment. I do not have feedback for this author, they gave great reasoning and explanations about this person.