Mine-affected communities from Latin America have begun a “caravan” tour of Europe in order to make their voices heard and advocate for an end to exploitative extractivism. Mining companies in Latin America, such as Vale, have perpetrated some of the worst environmental disasters in the world, while also being accused of pocketing billions of dollars through alleged fraud, tax evasion, and other illicit financial flows. The caravan report reads as follows:

Communities affected by mining in Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, travel to Europe to amplify their voices and continue listening to both, “the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor “.(LS 49). The Churches and Mining Network and its Divest in Mining Campaign, promote this space, articulating with other Catholic organizations in Europe that accompany experiences that defend the Common Home, as CIDSE, COMECE, Misereor, DKA (Austria), Redes, in Spain, academia and many others. The advocacy agenda, desires to act from the principles of Laudato Sí, Dear Amazonia promoting a dream of fraternity and social friendship. This Latin American Caravan, integrated by community and religious leaders, represents realities martyred by mining.

The Caravan will travel through 5 countries, with the desire to reinforce the globalization of hope and North-South co-responsibility. The meetings take place to build and reinforce agendas on the implications of extractive economies in the territories from the urgency of a post-extractivist energy transition, which considers the peoples and territories as the first interlocutors.

The Caravan expresses its solidarity with the region and the victims of the war that has broken out. A situation that is a reflection of the permanent state of war in each of our countries, sustained by an extractivist economic system that generates inequality, violence and suffering. A war that continues to enrich mining companies, with the inflation in commodities, which is reflected in historic profits for transnational mining companies that have reached their maximum levels, after a year of pandemic, extremely fruitful for extractive activities. The Caravan denounces mining activities that also support the war industry.

A common world, a very unequal world, in which the effects are also unequally dispersed, we need to create processes of communion among the majorities, the majorities want peace and harmony, the logic of the market that traps us, is a logic of extracting without limits, we can only get out of this situation by creating new ties, new networks, new connections among humanity. 

We are all involved in this war, we are all involved in the construction of peace.

For more information, please see the full announcement of the Caravan here:
https://divestinmining.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/IyM-Brochure-web-INGLES.pdf