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'Water Yes, Mining No!' - Mexican villagers protest at mining company AGM


Source: London Mining Network

The London Mining Network, London Mexico Solidarity and representatives of the community of Ejido El Bajio from Sonora in Mexico attended the Annual General Meeting of Fresnillo PLC in London on Tuesday, 17 May 2022. This followed a demonstration outside where they protested the company's plans to re-open the Soledad-Dipolos mine, the violence faced by members of the Ejido in relation to their activism against the mine, and Fresnillo's failure to comply with a court order to return illegally mined gold and to repair environmental damage done by its operations.

Fresnillo PLC, the world's largest producer of primary silver and the largest producer of gold in Mexico, has traded shares on the London Stock Exchange since 2008. The company, led by Alberto Bailléres (one of the richest men in Mexico), opened the Soledad-Dipolos de Minera Penmont gold mine in 2010, but was forced to close the operation after a series of 67 legal battles in the local Agrarian Tribunal. The final ruling in 2014 found that the company had never received proper legal permission to construct the mine. It ordered the company to repair environmental damage, leave the territory, and to repay the $420 million worth of gold that had been extracted since 2010.

The company has refused to comply with this sentence and has launched various legal actions to take ownership of the land. Since 2014, the Ejido community has reported that company officials have been linked to the use of armed force in attempts to intimidate them.

On 12 February 2018, Raúl Ibarra de la Paz disappeared and Noemí López Gutierrez was found dead. Both had been active members of the community resistance to the mine. Journalists who went to the territory to cover the story have reported being threatened by security linked to the Penmont mine. On 28 April 2021, the president of the Ejido's local assembly, José de Jesús Robledo Cruz, and his wife, María de Jesús Gómez Vega, were killed. Their bodies were found with a list naming 13 community members involved in the fight against the mining company.

Ejido community members continue to report death threats by telephone, text messages with the addresses of their relatives, and surveillance of demonstrations. The community of Ejido El Bajio has requested to be included in the Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, but no response has yet been received.

Outside the meeting, held at The Royal Aeronautical Society buildings, the assembled crowd chanted in Spanish "Water yes, Mining No! Fresnillo out of Mexico!".

Attending today's AGM to put their questions directly to the company that has brought so much suffering to their community was the next step in Ejido El Bajio's struggle for justice and recognition. Fresnillo PLC continues to trade shares despite serious allegations of Human Rights abuses and illegal mining.

LINK

London Mining Network: https://londonminingnetwork.org/

London Mining Network (LMN) is an alliance of human rights, environmental and solidarity groups, working together to support communities harmed by London-based and financed mining companies.

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