Elizabeth Caceres

Peruvian environmental activist who halted a major mining project threatening Amazonian communities

Elizabeth Caceres (1928-2001) was a Peruvian indigenous rights leader whose 1970s campaign against the Yanacocha mining project became a landmark case in environmental justice. Born into the Asháninka community, she witnessed the devastating effects of unchecked resource extraction. When the Peruvian government granted a concession to a US mining company in 1972, Caceres organized a coalition of 17 indigenous groups to oppose the project. Her grassroots campaign combined legal challenges with international publicity efforts, including a 1975 UN petition that drew global attention. Though the mining project eventually proceeded, her efforts led to landmark protections for indigenous consultation rights in Peru's 1979 constitution. Her story is preserved in the Amazon Watch archives and documented in the book 《Amazonian Defender》. Modern environmental activists cite her as a pioneer of community-based resistance strategies.