MAC: Mines and Communities

Latin America Update: World Bank President Not Welcomed In Guatemala

Published by MAC on 2006-04-29


Latin America Update: World Bank President Not Welcomed in Guatemala

29th April 2006

In Guatemala, social organizations will demonstrate today to reject the visit of the president of the World Bank, as they claim that Wolfowitz’s intention is to “promote mining exploitation”.

In Honduras, the residents of Nueva San Andrés, San Miguel, Plantanares and Azacualpa are being evicted one by one from their villages. "We are surrounded by the company and our towns are stagnant, the natural resources are running out, people are afraid to say what is happening, but there will be nothing here when the mining company leaves," said the president of the Council of San Andrés, Quintín Miranda. According to residents, the company is not providing relocation, just their removal. Between the cost and the benefits, the majority of the residents urge the government to review the mining permits.

Also in Honduras, mining company Entre Mares, subsidiary of Glamis Gold Ltd. (the one supported by the World Bank in Guatemala for its Marlin gold mine) is accused of evasions to avoid paying $120 million lempiras for restoration. To Pedro Landa, coordinator of the Tegucigalpa Diocese, this operation is a ruse pulled by company executives in order to dodge their responsibility to restore the damaged lands.

In Perú, the public hearing organized by the Ministry of Energy and Mines and Newmont subsidiary Yanacocha Mining was thwarted by the withdrawal of support of community members of San Ignacio, who consider that the mining company intended to deceive them. The director of the Group of Formation and Intervention for Sustainable Development (GRUFIDES) indicated that these meetings are solely formalities in which campesinos are used in order to gain approval the studies without having the right to really give their opinions.

We also include the "Declaration of La Guajira", dated May, 2005, taken from CENSAT's website (http://www.censat.org), as it is a key document to understand the impact of energy projects and mining activities in that part of Colombia.

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