Denouncing a “slaughter-land” of exploitation and extraction

Water, air, and soil pollution. Destruction of ancestral livelihoods and sacred sites, and a proliferation of health problems. Deforestation. Criminalization and contempt of court against community leaders. Political favoritism and judicial complicity. Exploitation of hundreds of thousands of animals. The industrial pig production model centered in Yucatán continues to cause serious consequences in the region, and only the resistance of the Mayan peoples remains as a barrier preventing an irreversible environmental disaster from taking hold in the state.

Mayan communities of Kinchil, Sitilpech, and Santa María Chí are experiencing severe negative socio-environmental consequences from the rising number of industrial-scale pork and other animal mega-farms in their territories. These environmental defenders have been actively resisting the industry. In doing so, they have faced significant risks to their safety. These include violent disruption of protests, intimidation by local officials, legal harassment, criminalization and loss of livelihoods, rights, and even freedoms.

This photo exhibit spotlights defenders, and the lives and the natural world they are seeking to protect. Photos and text by Patricio Eleisegui, independent journalist, and Maricarmen Sordo, a cinematographer based in Yucatán. Their short film on this situation, “Slaughter-land,” recently won first place in the Yale University Environment 360 film contest. View it below.