El Salvador: Bukele’s new mining law faces backlash among young people

The recent approval of the mining law by Bukele’s government in El Salvador, which overturns a 2017 ban on all metal mining in the country, has generated a strong reaction, especially amongst the youth, rural communities and environmental activists. A good part of the Salvadoran youth, now conscious of the severe implications that this law has on the environment, have taken to the streets to reject this destructive project. This could become a decisive conflict between Bukele and a large portion of Salvadoran society.

[Originally published in Spanish at elcomunista.org]

Youth protest against mining

On Sunday 19 January, hundreds of mostly young people responded to the call by Voces del Futuro to gather in front of the architectural symbol of the Bukele regime: the modern, gigantic National Library of El Salvador (BINAES), recently built with Chinese donations. This might not have been the biggest demonstration against the illegitimate president, but we can affirm that it was, by far, the most organic, self-organised and combative demonstration that Bukele has faced.

The attempt to bring mining back to the country has evoked a strong reaction, not only amongst the youth. According to a survey organised by Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas (UCA), from December 2024 – before the government approved the law – 59 percent of the population of the country opposed the reintroduction of mining in El Salvador.

It is unsurprising that Bukele’s decision has been so unpopular, considering that most of the Salvadoran population live in conditions of water scarcity. This same survey reveals that people are highly aware that there is a water crisis in the country, and people correctly relate further mining exploitation with the worsening pollution of water sources.

A new atmosphere of struggle among the youth

The demonstration on 19 January resonated with young people, and an energetic and revitalised mood could be felt on the streets. For more than three hours, various speakers captured the attention of the audience. Vibrant, agitational speeches were given by people from different communities that had been affected by mining exploitation and exploration in the past. Along with them spoke religious figures, young radicalised people, and environmental activists who had participated in historic struggles in the country. The atmosphere on the steps of the BINAES was marked by greater political consciousness than we’ve seen at past protests.

To date, the government has not issued any major response to the protest. For the army of bots, content creators, and government-paid media, it has been difficult to discredit the demonstration. Weeks before, Bukele tried to buy silence by forgiving a month's electricity debts for the poorest people in the country. However, this has not removed the issue of mining from the political spotlight.

The consequences of mining exploitation in El Salvador

El Salvador already has a long history of mining. Artisanal mining has been practised in the country since the beginning of the 19th century. By the end of the century, mining had been industrialised.

The most emblematic case was the mine of San Sebastián in the department of La Unión, which polluted the city’s river. In 2006, the Salvadoran government had to suspend mining permits due to the irresponsible manner in which the mining company operated.

A century of mining in San Sebastián brought irreparable consequences for the entire community. It is estimated that some 400 families were affected, facing health problems and losing access to water. This raised the cost of water to high prices. According to a 2016 article in La Prensa Gráfica, a cubic meter of water for a family in the city used to cost $0.25, but rose to $4.25.

The magazine Gato Encerrado documented testimonies from families who are still suffering the consequences of the mine in San Sebastián: “‘Today, the majority are being affected by the metal thing; that water turns yellow and emits a cyanide-like odour and it affects us a lot,’ says Don Luis with concern. Cyanide is a potentially lethal chemical substance [used in mining extraction].”

The struggle against mining

The environmental movement waged an intense struggle to stop mining exploitation and exploration in El Salvador. This struggle reached its climax in the late 2010s. Activists faced persecution, threats and even death. At least four environmental activists were killed in the northern part of the country, with the complicity of the state.

Despite repression, grassroots organisations succeeded in banning mining exploitation and exploration in 2017. This victory was the result of the community's common fight in the streets, and shows what can be achieved through struggle. Nonetheless, this triumph also demonstrates that, under capitalism, reforms or laws are not permanent. What is achieved through struggle can easily be reversed at any moment for the benefit of big capital. Therefore, the struggle must go beyond simple laws or reforms; it must be a revolutionary struggle against capitalism.

The return of mining and the international background

The only role left to countries like El Salvador on this international chessboard is to offer up their natural resources for plunder by the imperialists / Image: Trump White House Archived, Flickr

The re-opening of mining in El Salvador is a direct consequence of the global crisis of capitalism, a system that always seeks new sources of raw materials to exploit. The imperialist struggle for control of natural resources directly affects the most vulnerable countries, bringing misery and death to millions. The Bukele regime is desperately looking around for a way to adapt to the changing world. In this environment, the regime will not hesitate to hand President Trump, or any imperialist power, the raw materials they are looking for.

In the first days of this year, Trump’s threats to annex the Panama Canal and Greenland demonstrated that he will go all out in pursuit of raw materials and to claim key strategic areas for global trade for the benefit of US capitalism. In the context of this struggle over raw materials, the only role left to countries like El Salvador on this international chessboard is to offer up their natural resources for plunder by the imperialists.

Lie after lie

Bukele is looking to present himself before his voters as the head of a government that wants to promote industrial development to benefit the poorest. It is true that, for a time, the investment of international mining companies in El Salvador could create jobs for those who live nearby; the economy could even grow and gain a certain stability. But this could not be maintained indefinitely.

These jobs are not long-term. They will exist only while the land has resources to exploit. When the extraction is finished, people will be left without jobs and, therefore, with no income. The economy would contract again, and could even go into crisis. Not only that, but the environmental effects would return, including water pollution. These jobs would also bring with them serious health issues, exposing the workers to the dangers inherent in the industry.

Proponents of mining talk about the technological advancements that exist today in the mining industry. But the truth is that, despite these advances, El Salvador, due to its geography and limited resources, cannot avoid serious environmental consequences. The destruction of a forest, even a small amount, would upset the local ecological balance, which in turn would increase the risk of flooding and disrupt the natural cycle of rainfall. The mining law does prohibit the use of arsenic, but it leaves open the possibility of using other chemicals, such as cyanide, which are highly polluting. It does not take a genius to understand that large companies do not care about the environment or human life; when they want to profit from something, they will do so at any cost.

The truth is that mining extraction, far from bringing benefits to El Salvador, will only bring depredation and poverty. Bukele has said that the state will have an important role to play in the mining business. However, we already know how mining companies operate wherever they are in the world: they take everything and leave countries in ruins. This is the law of capitalism. If this was the case in periods of global economic stability, what makes us think that today it will be any different?

The plundering by mining companies in different latitudes is widely known. It is enough to review statistics from countries in similar geographic conditions to El Salvador to realise that the government is leading us towards the edge of a cliff and not to progress, as they claim. The Congo, exploited for its vast mineral resources, has, in return, been mired in poverty, misery and war. Closer to our country, there are the struggles against mining in Peru, where the police regularly deploy force against demonstrators who reject mining. There are many such examples, and all of them show that the only thing Bukele is seeking with this new crusade is to benefit big, foreign capital, and then collect some of these crumbs to financially stabilise his government.

The bourgeois state as a tool of the rich

As an institution at the service of the ruling class, the state will take the side of transnationals. Defending nature will only be possible through the organised struggle of those fighting to preserve human life. Only a change of system will be able to stop the fate to which the planet is condemned under capitalism.

Under the Bukele government, persecution of activists in the northern part of the country has resumed / Image: public domain

Under the Bukele government, persecution of activists in the northern part of the country has resumed. For more than a year, several leaders of the Santa Marta community, belonging to the Association for Economic and Social Development of Santa Marta (ADES), were victimised in a political trial. Though acquitted at the time, the state recently ordered the case to be reopened. This attack seeks to weaken those who played a crucial role in the struggle against mining, eliminating them as obstacles to further investment and exploitation with the help of the state.

The role of youth in the revolutionary struggle

For the struggle against mining exploitation in El Salvador, we must rescue the traditions of struggles of the past, organise discussion and action groups, develop local, departmental and national assemblies that can discuss plans of action for the repeal of the law. In this process, the movement can unify the struggles that afflict us all: the housing problem, the reduction of our rights, the problem of education, the cost of living, among others. Together that is a programme of joint struggle to end the repressive government, and replace it with a government of the oppressed.

The role of the youth is key to stopping capitalist barbarism. Salvadoran youth can play a revolutionary role if they organise, and understand that only a revolution can end capitalist mining. It is not only a problem of exploitative mining. This is only one expression of a general problem: capitalism as a system.

Young people must know that there is an alternative to capitalism: communism. This is the only system that can, today, replace irrational capitalism and create a rational world, where natural resources are managed by the working class and used for the common benefit of society.

A country in transition to communism would establish control of industry and production, planning according to the real needs of society. Natural resources, factories and everything related to the economy and government, would be in the hands of the workers, who, in a democratic way, would make the most important decisions in society. It would be a society without the rich or exploitation.

But before this, we must organise to dispossess the ruling class of what belongs to us: the land, the factories and the natural resources. Without a doubt, this will have opposition. But we must remember that there are many more of us who suffer oppression than there are rich people, who live like kings. The unity of our struggles is the only force that can end capitalist misery. The world can only change through revolutionary transformation.

Let's put an end to capitalism: the alternative is communism

The future of El Salvador is at stake. If we do not rise up now, the damage will be irreversible. The struggle is not only for the environment; it is for life itself. It is time for the youth and the exploited masses to unite so we can defend what belongs to us: the water, the land and our future. The only viable option is revolution. The only solution is communism.

The struggle for water, for land and for a dignified future cannot be an isolated effort. Only through organisation and revolutionary struggle will we be able to eradicate the system that allows the exploitation of our natural resources. The youth have a fundamental role in this process: to unite, organise and take control of their future is the path to true freedom.

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