The Heart of Our Earth

Aim

We want to create a new book and website to tell the stories of Latin American communities resisting the mining industry

Across Latin America, mining has expanded massively in recent decades. Vast landscapes have been stripped to feed the factories of Europe, North America and Asia – and not only in traditional mining regions, but also in hitherto pristine areas in places like Argentine Patagonia, the Amazon Rainforest and the Guatemalan Highlands.

But communities aren’t taking this lying down. All over the region, hundreds of affected communities have been fighting to protect their land, their water, and their traditional ways of life – and in some cases have achieved some remarkable victories, with lessons for social movements and environmental activists everywhere.

For example?

Following years of environmental degradation and acute water stress, El Salvador – a tiny Central American nation about the size of Wales – made history in 2017 when it became the first country to completely ban mining for metals. This was only possible thanks to years of grassroots activism involving social movements, community groups, environmental activists, the Catholic Church and others.

And in recent months, tensions have been rising in Chubut, Argentina, as the government hopes to relax the provincial mining law. Thanks to community resistance, open-pit mining has been banned in Chubut since 2003. But now, with the Covid-19 pandemic making organisation difficult, the government is pushing for mining in an area home to Mapuche indigenous communities. Locals fear that once the companies get a foothold, it will be impossible to remove them. 

Why does this matter?

Mining is one of the dirtiest, most destructive industries in the world. It consumes massive quantities of water and generates vast amounts of toxic waste. It devastates biodiversity and is one of the sectors most to blame for the global climate emergency. With life-changing impacts on communities who live close to operations, opposition is inevitable. But all too often this is met with harassment, threats and violence.

In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, governments have designated mining an “essential activity”, despite clusters of the disease developing at mining sites, with consequences not only for the health of workers, but also local communities already suffering from mining-related health conditions. Moreover, there is mounting evidence that mining companies are using the pandemic to bulldoze opposition and secure regulatory changes in their interest.

As the principal barrier to further mining expansion, it is vital we support frontline communities.

Hence our plan for a new book and website, entitled The Heart of Our Earth: Community Resistance to Mining in Latin America.

Image: Viviana Sánchez/Diego Baravelli

What will the project consist of?

• A book. In compelling, straightforward language you don’t need to be an expert to read, it will chart the activities of multinational mining companies in Latin America, the effects on local communities, and the ways in which they are resisting and fighting back.
• A website. This will provide a space for additional reading, multimedia material, and comment, continuing long after the original book has been published. We will also encourage the affected communities to contribute.
• Other advocacy materials. With our partners in the project we will prepare material on mining and communities directed at policymakers, companies, investors, and the general public.

Who is the project for?

• Students and academics working in disciplines such as geography, development studies, anthropology, Latin American Studies, and others.
• Journalists, NGOs, and businesses doing work in the region, particularly on mining and other extractive industries.
• Activists, campaigners, and members of social movements everywhere who wish to learn from the Latin American experience.
• Investors concerned with understanding what their money is used for.
• Social movements and activists in Latin America, so they can link up and share their experiences.

What will my donation help to fund?

We want to raise £10,000. This will help pay for the following:

• Research and writing of a printed book entitled The Heart of Our Earth: Community Resistance to Mining in Latin America.
• Setting up the website and posting content on it.
• Preparing advocacy and awareness-raising materials in collaboration with our project partners.

We need your support to amplify the voices of those on the frontline of the struggle. So please donate to the project, and be sure to tick the Gift Aid box - this adds 25% to the value of your donation at no cost to you. We have some great rewards to say thank you.

Who is working on this?

We are Latin America Bureau (LAB), a registered charity (No: 1113039) and non-profit publisher, providing independent news and analysis on the region’s people, politics, and society. Since the 1970s, we have been amplifying the voices of Latin Americans fighting for social justice and have published more than 150 books, including Voices of Latin America (2019), Amazon Besieged (2018) and Rosa of the Wild Grass (2016).

Our project partners include London Mining Network and Mines and Communities, both of which work to represent mining-impacted communities all over the world – not least in Latin America.

Finally, please click this link and tell us how we can spread the word further. It only takes a minute.

Thank you!

With a very special thank you to Francisco Elías Prada and Angela Rodríguez Torres (Ojos Ilegales Red), Tatiana Garavito and Eduardo Vidal for the video.

This project successfully funded on 22nd December 2020