Tulane University

The Stone Center for Latin American Studies, the Environmental Studies program, Tulane’s Office of Multicultural Affairs the Newcomb College Institute and the local organization, Amigos de Nuestra América are pleased to present a lecture by Olivia Marcela Zúñiga Cáceres, the daughter of Berta Cáceres the Honduran environmental activist assassinated in 2014. Zúñiga Cáceres will discuss her mother’s legacy and plans to continue work on environmental issues in Honduras particularly among indigenous people.

In a country with growing socioeconomic inequality and human rights violations, Cáceres rallied the indigenous Lenca people of Honduras and waged a grassroots campaign that successfully pressured the world’s largest dam builder to pull out of the Agua Zarca Dam. Cáceres grew up during the violence that swept through Central America in the 1980s. In 1993 she confounded the National Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) to address the growing threats posed to Lenca communities by illegal logging, fight for their territorial rights and improve their livelihoods. Death threats to Cáceres continued until March 3, 2016 when she was killed by gunmen in her home. Her death sparked international outrage. Dutch development bank FMO and FinnFund have since suspended their involvement in the Agua Zarca project.

Free and open to the public. Presentation will be in Spanish with interpretation in English provided. For more information, call 504.865.5164.