There are reports that Vancouver-based Fortuna Silver is again trying to install a water system for their gold and silver mine in San Jose del Progreso, Mexico. The Council of Canadians and Blue Planet Project have joined with this community to demand that the mine, which has been in operation since September 2011, be closed. On March 15, Bernardo Vásquez, an opponent of this mine, was shot to death in his car, and two others were injured in the gunfire. On March 21, Blue Planet Project organizer Claudia Campero Arena participated in a protest against his killing and the mine outside the Canadian embassy in Mexico City. On June 1, 400 people gathered at the Maritime Labour Centre in Vancouver for the opening public forum of ‘Shout Out Against Mining Injustice’, a conference dedicated to Bernardo Vásquez and all water justice/ mining injustice activists who have lost their lives in this struggle. For more, please see http://canadians.org/blog/?p=15638.
Photo: The town of San Jose del Progreso continues to resist the Fortuna Silver mine. At the funeral for Bernardo Vásquez, a friend of his said, “They can cut a flower, but they cannot stop the Spring.” Photo by Jonathan Treat, University Services and Knowledge Networks of Oaxaca.
