Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
San Salvador (Agenzia Fides) - "We are very concerned about the government's announcement of the reintroduction of mining in our country and therefore reiterate our position that we firmly reject the repeal of the law banning mining approved in March 2017," said the Bishops of El Salvador, who have publicly opposed the plan of the President of the Republic Nayib Bukele to resume precious metal mining in the country, banned since 2017, in order to stimulate economic growth.
That year, the smallest country in Central America was the first in the world to ban mining and even then the Catholic Church had spoken out in favor of this decision to protect the small country's water resources from pollution (see Fides, 30/3/2017). Bukele himself had advocated a ban on mining in 2019 during his first campaign for the presidency. However, after being re-elected for a second term on February 4 of this year, the Head of State recently promised a "modern and sustainable" form of mining that would be environmentally friendly.
"Our objection is motivated solely by the well-being of the people, without contradicting the president or favoring the political opposition. We wish the best for everyone and are firmly opposed to mining in the country," says a communiqué from the Bishops' Conference of El Salvador (CEDES).
The twelve bishops who signed the communiqué expressed their "great concern" about the "possible resumption of mining." People's health is worth more than all the gold in the world. "The practice of any type of mining" would lead to "irreversible consequences for the health and life of the population," emphasizes the Bishops' Conference, chaired by the Archbishop of San Salvador, Jose Luis Escobar.
"El Salvador is the country with the second greatest environmental destruction in the entire American continent. It follows that mining would have very serious impacts on our country's scarce water resources, the health, lives of Salvadorans and biodiversity," said the bishops, who pointed out that the resumption of mining "would contaminate groundwater, including the Lempa River," the largest river in Salvadoran territory, which supplies water to at least 50% of the population.
"In a small and populous country like ours, the negative impacts would multiply, which is why we are firmly opposed to mining," stressed the bishops, including Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chavez, the first Salvadoran bishop to be named cardinal by Pope Francis in 2017. "We are in favor of economic development, but the greatest wealth of a people is the life of its people and their health," they add.
In early December, Bukele urged Salvadorans to trust their government if it allowed precious metal mining again, and recently announced that he would ask Congress to lift the ban because, according to a study, the country has gold deposits worth $131 billion, equivalent to "380% of GDP."
It is estimated that 30% of El Salvador's population lives below the poverty line, seven out of ten workers are informally employed, and public debt represents 80% of GDP. (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 18/12/2024)
