Rural Communities Push El Salvador Towards Ban on Mining
Rural Communities Push El Salvador Towards Ban on Mining
By Edgardo Ayala
SAN ISIDRO, El Salvador , May 29 2014 (IPS) - Mining is not viable in this country, say Salvador Sánchez Cerén – who will be sworn in as the new president of El Salvador on Jun. 1 – and his team of environmental advisers.
The struggle waged by many rural communities affected by mining lies behind the position taken by the left-wing president-elect.
One of the highest profile cases is the town of Llano de La Hacienda, in central El Salvador, whose 1,200 inhabitants mainly grow maize, beans and squash, and graze cattle – but who more recently have also been dedicated to fighting gold mining.
Local residents were the first line of resistance against Pacific Rim, the Canadian corporation that sued the Salvadoran state in 2009 for refusing to grant it a permit for the El Dorado gold mine.
The town is in the mountains of the municipality of San Isidro in the department or province of Cabañas, 65 km northwest of San Salvador. The mine is its unwanted neighbour.
More:
http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/05/rural-communities-push-el-salvador-towards-ban-mining/
