NEWS RELEASE about Solidarity posted on July 20, 2009 by dawn
Anti-mining group to stage 36 hour sit-in at Canadian Embassy in Mexico City
Demonstrators protesting Vancouver based New Gold Inc’s Cerro de San Pedro mine
Mexico City, July 20, 2009 – Anti-mining activists are marking the first ever Global Day of Action Against Open-Pit mining with a 36-hour sit-in outside the Canadian Embassy building in Mexico City.
The action is being planned by the Frente Amplio Opositor (FAO), a coalition opposed to Canadian corporation New Gold’s Cerro de San Pedro open-pit gold and silver mine in Central Mexico. New Gold Inc. is based in British Columbia.
“The sit-in is a nonviolent protest to demand that the Canadian government intervene in the case of New Gold’s Cerro de San Pedro mine”, said FAO member Juan Carlos Ruiz Guadalajara. “The mine is still operating despite having lost its environmental permit in a recent court ruling. We are reminding the embassy that we will continue to raise our voices against corruption, human rights abuses and environmental destruction”.
Mexican Secretary of the Economy figures reveal that more than 70% of all mining exploration, development and production projects in Mexico are owned by Canadian corporations. Canadian mining companies have benefited from legal reforms that the Mexican government adopted in order to accommodate NAFTA and draw foreign investment.
Open-pit mines, such as Cerro de San Pedro, have generated controversy due to their devastating environmental and social impacts.
“The Cerro de San Pedro mine has already left a legacy of irreversible ecological destruction”, stated FAO member Martha Rivera. “Aside from destroying a mountain, polluting the air and contaminating the water, the mine has created divisions in a tight-knit community and generated opposition in the entire region”.
The sit-in at the site of the Canadian embassy will begin at 8 am on July 21st and end at 8 pm on July 22nd. Parallel events are planned in Toronto, Montreal, and other cities worldwide.
Photo of Cerro de San Pedro by Tamara Herman.
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