Politician abandons hard-fought policy that once had 80% public support: 'There is a need to turn to protest'

In El Salvador, the president is siding with the local mining industry over risks associated with polluting the country's waterways. 

What's happening?

Until recently, El Salvador had a law on the books that prohibited mining metals. In 2017, it became the first country in the world to have such a law. But recently, the nation's leaders voted to overturn that ban, spurred on by President Nayib Bukele, who has championed throwing out environmental regulations if it means the country can make money.

Bukele is staunchly pro-mining, according to the Guardian.

"We are the only country in the world with a total ban on metal mining, something that no other country applies. Absurd!" Bukele wrote on his X account recently. "This God-given wealth can be harnessed responsibly to bring unprecedented economic and social development to our people."

Now, the Salvadoran government has total say over any potential mining opportunities in the country with no oversight, other than concerned, motivated citizenry speaking up.

Why is the government's decision to reverse the mining ban important?

The people of El Salvador stood up a couple of decades ago after seeing their beloved rivers run red with toxic mining tailings. They protested and lobbied and eventually won arbitration disputes in 2011 and 2016 against powerful mining companies at The International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes, a World Bank tribunal. According to the Guardian, at the time, 80% of the population of El Salvador supported a mining ban.

Metal mining threatens to poison the country's waterways. The country's Lempa River supplies 70% of the drinking water for San Salvador, the nation's most populous city. If toxic mining pollution reaches the Lempa, it would devastate the country.

"The Lempa River could disappear as we know it," environmental biologist Cidia Cortes told the Guardian. "This river needs intensive care to survive agrochemicals, mining, and stone extraction, as well as the four hydroelectric plants located within the watershed."

What's being done to stop the mining?

Unfortunately for the people of El Salvador, there is little they can do politically. Bukele rules the government with an iron will. But just as they've done for decades, many people plan to protest — and they'll demand change.

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"There is a need to turn to protest because it is the only way they'll listen," Luis Parada, who once represented the people of El Salvador against mining interests in an international court, told the Guardian. "People are speaking out on social media, and there will be street protests soon."

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