Bertha Zúniga
General Coordinator, Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras
she, her, hers
“I imagine a world where human dignity takes priority over individual economic interests, a world built with greater democracy, participation, respect among people, and more trees and rivers running freely. I see happier communities free of violence.”
Bertha Zúniga is a human rights defender in Honduras and a community advocate for the Lenca people, the country’s largest Indigenous group. She has led training schools for the Lenca people to share their culture and defend their territorial land rights, has participated in community radio campaigns, Lenca culture, and women’s rights, and has worked for the Honduran government to recognize the historical possession of ancestral lands of the Lenca people. Through her work, she also helps Lenca communities access education, health care, and basic infrastructure.
In 2017, Bertha was elected general coordinator of Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH), which fights for the environmental, healthcare, economic, and educational rights of the Lenca people. Bertha grew up participating in COPINH activities with her family and after the 2016 murder of her mother, the environmental defender and Indigenous rights advocate Berta Cáceres, she fought for a thorough and transparent investigation into her assassination. As coordinator of COPINH, Bertha has continued social and environmental advocacy, including work that opposes industrial developments that threaten the economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights of the Lenca people. Today, she is working on constructing an alternative model of life for her people.
Bertha believes that Indigenous and peasant communities in Honduras must confront the systemic injustices that have historically excluded them. By focusing on the interrelated inequalities of race, gender, and economic status, it is possible to build a model of life that is rooted in justice, sustainability, and respect for Indigenous communities’ autonomy.