The event “Mining and the Defense of Water Rights in El Salvador” will be held at the Sidney Smith building, Room 2098, on Thursday Sept 26 from 6:00 to 8:00pm.

The event will feature Community Water Systems expert Ever Hernandez who will discuss the persecution of his colleagues, the “Santa Marta Five,” who led a successful transnational movement for a ban on metal mining, as chronicled in the award-winning 2021 book The Water Defenders: How Ordinary People Saved a Country from Corporate Greed.

Their arrest and incarceration are seen as an effort to criminalize environmental activism and suppress opposition to mining in El Salavdor. He will also highlight the global solidarity efforts supporting these water defenders, including the involvement of the UN, US Congress members, and hundreds of international organizations.

Ssponsored by: The Latin American Studies program at the University of Toronto, and the Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CERLAC) at York University.