El Salvador: Citizens who are no strangers to revolution take on the mining firms
El Salvador: Citizens who are no strangers to revolution take on the mining firms
Claire Provost , Matt Kennard
CHALATENANGO, EL SALVADOR
Sunday 09 November 2014
The hills of Chalatenango, in northern El Salvador, were once home to one of central America's leading revolutionary movements. During the country's 1980-1992 civil war, thousands of campesinos (peasants) took up arms against a government backed by the military and the US. Chalate, as this area is lovingly called, was a key rebel stronghold and, in turn, the site of vicious government attacks.
Reminders of this history are everywhere in San José Las Flores, a municipality in the highlands: in the town square, old weapons from the civil war sit within a fenced pen by a bust of Che Guevara; murals record memories of massacres and the initials of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) are carved into stone flowerpots.
Today, this area is a hotbed for resistance in another national struggle, this time against international mining companies eager to exploit the land in search of precious metals underground. Chalatenango is at the centre of what could be one of the world's most portentous battles against the mining industry.
"They know what riches we have, but they don't care about our health," says Zaila Arely Menjivar, a local resident. "We know mining is a process that comes and destroys our territory, and we are in defence of life. We're fighting for pure air and clean water, for the life of our children."
More:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/el-salvador-citizens-who-are-no-strangers-to-revolution-take-on-the-mining-firms-9849251.html