Opposition to El Salvador gold mining led by local groups, says Oxfam America

“First a Gold Rush, Then the Lawyers” (a news article in the June 26 edition of the New York Times) captures very well the social divisions and opposition that have emerged in El Salvador around large-scale gold mining.

Contrary to the article, however, this opposition is led by local groups and communities, not by Oxfam America, writes Raymond C. Offenheiser, the president of Oxfam America.

We are one of several international organizations supporting local communities and organizations in El Salvador and other countries to exercise their rights and voice their opinion on whether and how mining and other extractive industries are appropriate in their backyards, Offenheiser adds in a letter to the Times.

Original source: New York Times