( Spanish) –– The National Roundtable Against Metallic Mining, a network of Salvadoran environmentalists, said this Monday be concerned about the interest that President Nayib Bukele shows in mining, banned in the country since 2017.
Activists, including several community organizations, research centres, NGOs, academic and religious groups who oppose mining exploitation, warn of the risks of the industry resuming, as they believe that the country is on the verge of water stress.
“Implementing metal mining would be the death knell for our environment. We all know that no economic, political and social project is viable if the environment is not viable,” Omar Serrano, vice chancellor of Social Projection at the José Simeón Cañas Central American University, said in a press conference.
Environmentalists have raised alarm bells because Bukele reiterated on Sunday that El Salvador could attract more investment if it exploited mining resources. “Doesn’t it seem a little strange to you that the only country in the world that prohibits mining is El Salvador,” he said during the inauguration of a highway in the east of the country.
on Wednesday in your X accountthe president had described the ban as absurd. According to Bukele, El Salvador has “50 million ounces of gold, valued at US$131,565 million” and that this wealth could be used responsibly to generate unprecedented economic development in the Central American country.
Bukele asked the population for “trust” in his speech this Sunday and said that technology would allow environmental costs to be low. He gave as an example countries that take care of their ecosystem but allow mining such as Canada, Switzerland and Norway. “If we want to live well we need to do what they do,” justified the president, although he has not said whether he will request the repeal of the law that prohibits mining in the country.
Current legislation prohibits exploration, extraction, exploitation and processing, whether open pit or underground. However, Nuevas Ideas, President Bukele’s party, has control of the Assembly and could eliminate that ban at any time.
The Catholic Church of El Salvador asked the national authorities this Sunday to “rethink” and not repeal the law. In addition, the Episcopal Secretariat of Central America on Friday asked the governments of the region to adopt responsible, sustainable policies that do not allow mining exploitation to protect natural resources and the most vulnerable communities.
Add Comment