Berta Cáceres (1971-2016) worked to improve human rights and to end environmental abuses in Honduras.
Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know -- but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Leading Ladies, Activists, STEMinists, Hometown Heroes, and many more. Encyclopedia Womannica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.
Encyclopedia Womannica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Liz Smith, Cinthia Pimentel, Grace Lynch, and Maddy Foley. Special thanks to Shira Atkins, Edie Allard, and Luisa Garbowit.
We are offering free ad space on Wonder Media Network shows to organizations working towards social justice. For more information, please email Jenny at jenny@wondermedianetwork.com.
This episode is brought to you by Blinkist. With Blinkist, you get unlimited access to read or listen to a massive library of condensed non-fiction books -- all the books you want and all for one low price. For a limited time Blinkist has a special offer just for our audience: Go to Blinkist.com/encyclopedia and try it free for 7 days and save 25% off your new subscription.
Follow Wonder Media Network:
Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I’m Jenny Kaplan and this is Encyclopedia Womannica.
This month, we’re talking about Activists, women who stood up and fought against injustice and for a better world.
Our Activist of the day worked to improve human rights and to end environmental abuses in Honduras. She fought against major corporations and her country’s government to protect indigenous lands, even though that fight put her in mortal danger. Despite the fact that her life ended tragically and far too soon, she made a lasting impact on a fight to ensure the livelihoods of the Lenca people. Let’s talk about Berta Cáceres.
Berta Cáceres was born in 1971 in La Esperanza, Honduras. Basically from infancy, Berta’s mother, Austra Flores instilled in her children a sense of moral obligation to make the world a better place. She took care of refugees fleeing El Salvador. She was also a member of the largest indigenous group in Honduras, the Lenca.
Her mother’s dedication to activism clearly rubbed off on Berta. While at university, where Berta studied education, Berta co-founded an organization called the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras. The group organized to fight infringements on the rights of Lenca people. The indigenous group was often at the center of humanitarian and environmental challenges.
In 2006, Berta was asked to investigate a bunch of construction equipment that appeared on Lenca land. Berta discovered that a plan was in motion to build a dam on the Gualcarque River without the Lenca’s knowledge. The river was and is extremely important to the people living in the area, serving as a supply route for water, food, and medicine. It was, and is, also a place of spiritual importance for the Lenca people.
Berta’s fight to stop the dam construction had international legs. It’s actually against international treaties that govern the treatment of indigenous populations to build a dam without local knowledge or consent.
Still, a partnership made up of a Chinese company and a Honduran company was attempting to start construction.
Berta and the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras wrote letters, started peaceful protests in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, and organized local meetings to make clear that the Lenca people had not had their say and did not approve of the construction. They reached out to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank.
Still, the local and national government paid no heed and determinedly continued pushing the project forward.
Government support for the project was further bolstered by a regime change in 2009. That year, there was a military coup that removed President Manuel Zelaya . The new government formed in the aftermath of the coup had U.S. political, military, and monetary support. That support directly impacted the dam project. Previously, the construction site had been guarded by contractors. After the coup, the site was guarded by American-trained soldiers. And this particular site wasn’t the only dam planned for construction. After the coup, the new government planned for mining operations on 30 percent of the country’s land. That would require significant energy, leading to plans for the construction of hundreds of dams around Honduras.
After the coup, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights called for Berta to be protected. The group said that she was under threat due to her activism.
In April 2013, Berta and her fellow activists in the movement decided to take action at the site itself. They organized a blockade at the construction site of the dam in question. The blockade lasted for over a year.
Late in 2013, the Chinese company backed out of the dam project. The International Finance Corporation also withdrew its funding.
In 2015, Berta won the Goldman Environmental Prize, an extremely prestigious award in the field of environmental activism for her work in blocking dam construction and additional environmental initiatives. While this was a huge honor, it was not without risk- That same year, Global Witness wrote that Honduras had the most “environmental and land defenders” killed per capita of any country in the world.
On March 3, 2016, a friend and Mexican environmental activist, Gustavo Castro Soto, came to stay with Berta. He was in town to help Berta think about alternative solutions for powering the proposed government mines. He heard a loud noise and shouting, before running out to find four men with guns. They shot Berta multiple times and Gustavo twice. Berta died in Gustavo’s arms.
Berta’s death was initially attributed to a robbery, but international uproar led to further investigation. Five men were arrested, two of whom had worked for the dam construction company and one of whom was a member of the military. In 2018, a Honduran court ruled that executives at the Honduran dam building company had ordered Berta’s murder. The president of the company was arrested.
While the perpetrators clearly intended to silence Berta Cáceres at any cost, her murder did the opposite. It brought more international attention and halted the dam project. The organization Berta co-founded, the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras, continues the fight. Her legacy lives on.
All month, we’re talking about Activists. For more on why we’re doing what we’re doing, check out our newsletter, Womannica Weekly. You can also follow us on facebook and instagram @encyclopediawomannica and you can find me directly on twitter @jennymkaplan.
Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator.
Talk to you tomorrow!