Defending Natural Resources
National Table Against Metal Mining: Press Release, January 2009
January 2009
The communities and citizen organizations of the National Table Against Metal Mining express the following:
- We are grateful to the prominent Archbishop of San Salvador, Monsignor Fernando Saenz Lacalle, for the firm position of the Episcopal Conference of El Salvador (CEDES) against the exploration and exploitation of metal mining in the country.
- We congratulate the Archbishop elect, Monsignor Jose Luis Escobar Alas, who will assume the leadership of the Catholic Church in February, for ratifying the said position in favor of the environment and life.
- In front of the legislative and municipal elections on January 18, we reiterate the suggestion, sowed by Monsignor Saenz Lacalle, of identifying the parties and politicians that supported the mining of metals and to make them responsible for the damages that this will cause.
- In this sense, we remember the attitude of each one of the political parties before the threat of mining gold and silver.
National Conciliation Party- PCN: It is the major promoter of mining. In December 2007, they presented a bill, elaborated by Pacific Rim, that would facilitate mining on a grand scale. Legislators like Orlando Arevalo, Roberto Angulo and Francisco Merino look like activists of this Canadian business.
Only the alternate Legislator Maria Julia Castillo and the mayor from Metapan, Juan Umanda Samayoa, were against the PCN position.
National Republican Alliance- ARENA: They double speak: the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) expresses doubts about the coexistence of mining but the Legislators and mayors are in favor of this industry and support the PCN’s bill. The mayors of San Isidro and Sensuntepeue in Cabanas are strong promoters of Pacific Rim.
Ex-minister Hugo Barrera rejects mining but his stance does not influence the government. According to the president of Pacific Rrim, Thomas Shrake, ARENA promises to guarantee the El Dorado mine.
Christian Democrat Party- PDC: Their position over with respect to this issue is low profile, but they favor the mining companies. The mayor of Texistepeque (Santa Ana) is one of the collaborators of Pacific Rim in the area.
Democratic Change – CD: They express doubts about the viability of these projects and sympathize with the exposition of the Catholic Church. But their deputy of the Central American Parliament, Jorge Villacorta, supports mining.
The Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front- (FMLN): Initially they were opposed to mining and supported the community resistance in the northern zone. Later they contradicted themselves with declarations from the Legislator, Benito Lara, who coincided, in a forum organized by a conservative newspaper, with Ciro Zepeda (PNC), Mario Valiente (ARENA) and Medardo Hernandez (PDC) on the possibility of permitting this industry.
Nevertheless they rectified and incorporated the prohibition of metal mining in their Legislative Proposal 2009-2012, through a reform to the Mining Law. In spite of this, candidates to the municipalities like Texistepeque, sympathize with the Pacific Rim projects.
The proposal of the National Table Against Metal Mining is not suggesting which party or candidate to vote for to citizens, but to remember their positions. So we want to ask the population to vote and to vote conscientiously thinking of the necessity of defending the environment and the lives of generations currently and to come.
Our aspiration is that the legislators and mayors that will be elected on Sunday take their positions as patriotic functionaries committed to sustainable development, complete democracy, national sovereignty and human dignity.
