The Santa Marta Economic and Social Development Association (ADES), a community organization, urged the Congress deputies this Saturday not to repeal the law that bans mining in El Salvador, given the possibility of a new regulation that would allow such practices in the Central American country.

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“On the eve of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, we ask our honourable Members of Parliament not to repeal the Mining Prohibition Act. It is a betrayal of the poorest and most vulnerable people, a betrayal that has roots in greed to the detriment of natural resources,” the ADES said in a X statement.

In early December, the Salvadoran president, Nayib Bukele, asked the Salvadorans to trust his government to allow metal mining, banned since 2017, because “we will do it well and we will not care for the environment, we will improve the environment”.

Furthermore, the organisation highlighted that it is there is no mining that does not affect, there is no responsible mining, the damage is irreversible, especially in a territory as small as our El Salvador.

The deputy Christian Guevara, of the official New Ideas (NI), entered on Friday night at the request of the government, a piece of correspondence from the General Law of Metal Mining to be studied by the commission of Technology, Tourism and Innovation.

The proposal will be known this Saturday by the members of that commission, also dominated by officials. The president of the Legislative Assembly, Ernesto Castro, called for a plenary session on Monday, but it is unknown whether the law will be approved during that session.

Social and environmental organizations, the Catholic Church and the state-run Universidad de El Salvador (UES) have called for the anti-mining law not to be repealed and for this practice not to be allowed in the country because of its effects on rural communities and the environment.

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