Even the people in the small town of Cajamarca, Colombia understand that water is life- and that’s likely the reason that they rejected a $35 billion gold mine project, choosing instead to put people and the Earth before profit. “Around 98 percent of the residents in Cajamarca said no to the mine due to concerns over the environment and water pollution,” good for them.
(Protestors in Peru also said no in the video above.)
The South African company, AngloGold Ashanti, wanted to build the gold mine (La Colosa) in Central Colombia. It was on tap to be the biggest gold mine in South America with the national government in favor. However, residents of Cajamarca, where the mine would be located, overwhelmingly rejected the project in a recent referendum. In fact, the BBC reports that of the 19,000 people that live in the town, only 76 locals voted in favor of the gold mine while 6,100 voted against. I’d call that the will of the people.
From the article:
“Local 21-year-old student Camila Méndez told Mongabay before the results were in, ‘I voted no for the future generations. I have two nephews of seven and three years old. Even though they do not live in Cajamarca, I know that I want them to enjoy the little I’ve been able to enjoy so far, as it concerns the countryside. If we win…we’d show the complete world that Cajamarca is able to defeat a huge multinational enterprise, a mining monster as AngloGold Ashanti.'”
