As is almost usual, dozens of protesters held a sit-in in front of the National Library (Binaes), the Metropolitan Cathedral and in the surroundings of the Gerardo Barrios square, against the government’s plans to reactivate mining extraction.
A statement from the University Student Front and the Popular Rebellion and Resistance Block (BRRP) denounced that the government seeks to reverse popular conquests to make way for extractive corporations.
El Salvador is a highly vulnerable country in the environmental issue, with a deep water crisis, and mining will only accelerate ecological and social collapse, something contrary to what the defenders preach. “It is not development, it is destruction,” the document stressed.
“The State is responsible for the ongoing ecocide and the dispossession of territories in communities. We do not swallow their lies. We are not intimidated by their repression,” said the text, which reflects the feelings of hundreds of young people, environmentalists and social groups participating in the protests.
Water and life are defended with struggle and organization, the message stressed.
¨The protest called by young university students reiterates this fight against mining, knowing that it is a regrettable situation for all Salvadorans,” said Andrea Hernandez of the Salvadoran Student Force, of the University of El Salvador.
Among the participants was Ricardo Navarro, president of the Salvadoran Center for Applied Technology, who thinks that metal mining in El Salvador is not viable and that the government’s claim that the country has 65 percent of the world’s gold is a lie. That, he said, is pure fiction.
Meanwhile, representatives of the BRRP indicated that they are demonstrating against the “strategic dismantling of the political system and social deterioration.”
The first peaceful protest promoted on social networks by organized youth groups took place on January 19.
In recent days, Catholic churches throughout the country rang their bells at noon in unison as part of a day of fasting and prayer called against mining.
The bishops called on the Salvadoran church and the people in general to push for the rejection of the mining law approved by Congress on December 23.
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