Metal Mining Regulation, Elite Power, the State, and Social Movements in Central America

• In Event: Movimientos sociales, y resistencias ante las elites y los estados sobre la extracción minera y de agua en América Central y Latina

Abstract

The mining boom that Central America has experienced in recent decades, along with Latin America more broadly, has come with highly contentious anti-mining actions and social movements. These movements exist in environments of weak states, repression, neoliberal governance, and corruption. Yet, El Salvador has become the first country in the world to adopt a full, permanent ban on all metal mining. The anti-mining movements in nearby Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua have been unable to achieve anything of that scale. Current explanations of El Salvador’s regulatory success do not adequately explain why social movements against metal mining in the other cases have failed comparatively. What made the difference in El Salvador? These four cases are examined using a most similar systems design to identify and analyze the motivations and power of relevant actors. Crucial actors include the national economic elites, social movements, and the state.

Author

• Nathan A Edenhofer, Northern Arizona University