Peru’s Path Forward: Navigating Political, Economic, and Global Dynamics

LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR

LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR

A daily publication Of the dialogue

January 22, 2025

Will El Salvador Be Able to Grow its Mining Sector?

Salvadoran lawmakers last month reversed a seven-year ban on the mining of metals. A quarry in the Central American country is pictured. // File Photo: Salvadoran Government.

Q

A

Rose J. Spalding, professor of political science at DePaul University: “Last November, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced on X that his country’s national ban on metallic mining was ‘absurd’ and that ‘responsible mining’ would support El Salvador’s future development. Citing an unsourced report a week later, Bukele announced that El Salvador’s gold deposits were worth an eye-popping $3 trillion. While acknowledging that El Salvador’s previous experience with mining brought little benefit to the country and left behind costly damage, Bukele dismissed environmental concerns. Bukele’s pro-mining proclamations fly in the face of previous studies by local and international experts. Spanish environmental consulting firm TAU Consultora Ambiental completed a Strategic Environmental Assessment of mining viability in El Salvador in 2011, with oversight by an international blue-ribbon committee. Their report described in detail the regulatory deficiencies of the Salvadoran state and the challenges associated with managing…”

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