Demonstrators protest against Canada during a visit by Governor-General Michaelle Jean in San Cristobal, Mexico, on December 9, 2009.
With the final day of her Mexican state visit marked by protests and shouts of "Canada, get out," Governor-General Michaëlle Jean has condemned last month's high-profile murder of an anti-mining activist who had opposed a Canadian mining development.
About 50 supporters of slain protester Mariano Abarca Roblero gathered yesterday in the colonial town of San Cristobal de Las Casas, where Ms. Jean was visiting a women's collective. The protesters, who were kept about 200 metres away from Ms. Jean, wore paper cutouts of skulls over their faces, and carried signs bearing Mr. Abarca Roblero's photo.
Mr. Abarca Roblero was gunned down in front of his home on Nov. 27 and publicly opposed a Mexican barite mine owned by Calgary-based Blackfire Exploration and located about five hours away from the town Ms. Jean visited. Three men charged in his death have ties to the Canadian company, which has strongly rejected any suggestion of involvement in the death.
Ms. Jean stepped into the fray yesterday, calling the death "deplorable, inexcusable."
"We will be following this situation closely with the firm hope and conviction that justice will be served," Ms. Jean said.
Since the death, controversy has swirled around the mine. Citing environmental concerns, Mexican authorities temporarily shut down the project this week.
Blackfire president Brent Willis said the mine was closed because it wasn't properly removing dust from the roads and didn't have proper permits. He expected the mine to reopen by Monday.
"We're running our company ethically and to Canadian standards and we're following all the environmental guidelines," he said.
Of the three men arrested in Mr. Abarca Roblero's death, one is a former employee, one worked as a contractor doing dust control on the roads and one is currently employed as a supervisor at the mine.
Mr. Willis denied that any of the men had ever acted as security for the company, and called the death a tragedy.
"Our employees do not get involved with protesters."
Family and supporters of Mr. Abarca Roblero had requested a meeting with the Governor-General, but Peter Kent, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, who joined Ms. Jean in Mexico, said it was impossible to schedule. One of the signs carried yesterday read "Minister Peter Kent take the mine Blackfire away!"
"I think that the time schedule simply being what it was, it didn't work out," Mr. Kent said yesterday, adding there are more than 2,000 Canadian companies currently operating in Mexico.
"In many cases our companies are held up and recognized as virtual models of corporate social responsibility," he said.
Ms. Jean's spokeswoman, Marthe Blouin, called the trip a "very successful state visit to Mexico." Ms. Jean arrived in Guatemala last night for a four-day state visit to the country.