Mining and the Defense of Water Rights in El Salvador

Event Summary

A solidarity event for Water Defenders in El Salvador

Event Details

The event will be held at the University of Toronto’s Sidney Smith building, Room 2098, on Thursday Sept 26 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm, and it will feature a Community Water Systems expert Ever Hernandez who will discuss the persecution of his colleagues, the “Santa Marta Five”.  Their arrest and incarceration are seen as an effort to criminalize environmental activism and suppress opposition to mining in El Salvador. He will also highlight the global solidarity efforts supporting these water defenders, including the involvement of the UN, U.S. Congress members, and hundreds of international organizations.

For those interested, background and context for this appears in this 2023 report, authored by members of a recent delegation to El Salvador.   The history of the resistance to mining in El Salvador is captured in this award winning 2021 book.

The event is being hosted by the University of Toronto’s Latin American Studies, and York University’s Centre for Research on Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CERLAC).

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