"We have to defend the rights of all people; as a church, we will always defend the right to life,'' Archbishop Jose Luis Escobar Alas of San Salvador said at the time.
Although it is the first nationwide metal mining ban, other countries already ban some mining processes, like the use of cyanide to extract gold.
Anti-mining groups praised the Salvadoran vote.
"It is amazing what this small country has achieved against tremendous odds," said Manuel Perez-Rocha of the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington. The institute, part of the International Allies coalition with the National Roundtable Against Metallic Mining in El Salvador, sees the law as "an inspiration for countries throughout the region,'' he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment