Mining resistance on line

Now in San Miguel Ixtahuacán with the people involved in the resistance to transnational mining companies -- above all, the infamous Marlin Mine, operated by the Canadian company Goldcorp. We are here in the headquarters of ADISMI, the Asociación por el Desarollo Integral de San Miguel Ixtahuacán, together with the various petitioners who make up the umbrella group FREDEMI (Frente en Defense de los MIguelenses -- the Front for the Defense of the people of San Miguel).  We are now listening to the lawyer who is the chief legal adviser for the case currently in the Interamerican Commission of Human RIghts, talking about the use of the internet to maintain the flow of information.

So, it seems appropriate to blog while this is going on. Now a discussion about the utility of the internet among other mechanisms.  The lawyer's group that is helping with the case, Plurijur, maintains a blog that has updates on the Mina Marlin case. I will put a link here so in case if any of you are interested in looking more into the matter.  

The blog of Plurijur

An interesting issue: not everyone here has internet access. Yesterday I read in the paper that 16% of the population has access to the internet. I'm not sure what that means. In nearly every town there is an "internet" -- some small storefront with a handful of computers. Here, for example, in the headquarters of ADISMI, there are several computers that are online.  However, it seems that people are a bit doubtful of Carlos' (the lawyer) arguments about the importance of this.  Now Carlos is explaining how he documents the movement on the blog, also on Facebook.

Plurijur on Facebook

Lack of access to the media, to the internet, is real. However, as Carlos was saying, people can come to ADISMI, they can ask their children or grandchildren, or some of the younger people involved in the resistance, for help in accessing the internet.