El Salvador’s Congress recently approved a law proposed by President Nayib Bukele that would lift the country’s seven-year-old ban on mining for metals. The law, passed with a 57 to 3 vote, allows mining everywhere except in nature reserves and sensitive watersheds. It also prohibits the use of toxic mercury in gold mining and requires private companies to enter into joint ventures with the government to open mines. Despite opposition from environmentalists and the Roman Catholic church, Bukele has called the ban on mining “absurd” earlier this year.
Archbishop José Luis Escobar Alas has raised concerns about the potential damage to ecosystems if mining is resumed in El Salvador. He urged President Bukele not to reverse the ban, which has been in place since 2017. About 100 civic and environmental activists also protested near Congress, expressing their fears about the consequences of lifting the ban. Adalberto Blanco, a member of the Permanent Roundtable on Risk Management, stated that allowing mining could result in pollution of the country’s water and land.
A poll conducted by the Central American University José Simeón Cañas revealed that a majority of Salvadorans do not believe mining is suitable for their country. Despite this sentiment, President Bukele proposed mining gold in November, suggesting that the country’s unmined gold reserves could bring significant wealth to El Salvador. Bukele estimated the country’s gold reserves to be worth $3 trillion, although it remains unclear how large these reserves actually are. Exploration has uncovered deposits of gold and silver, but there has been no large-scale metal mining in the country so far.
With Bukele’s party holding a majority in Congress and the political opposition facing challenges, the passage of the mining law was met with little resistance. The law is expected to be enacted once President Bukele gives his approval. While supporters of the law believe it will bring economic benefits to the country, opponents, including environmentalists and the church, fear the long-lasting environmental consequences of mining activities. The debate over lifting the mining ban in El Salvador continues to divide the nation, with concerns raised about the potential impact on the country’s ecosystems and natural resources.
