This paper examines some of the tensions between the model of economic development that the States legitimately promote and the respect of human rights in Latin America. Accordingly, it refers to the role that the Inter-American Human Rights protection system has played in this filed and the way in which it has confronted those tensions. Particularly, it addresses the principal cases where the Inter-American Human Rights Commission has granted precautionary measures to protect indigenous and/or rural communities against the effects of projects related to energy infrastructure or extractive activities.