After a total lack of positions in favor of true climate justice at the United Nations climate negotiations, representatives of MOVIAC El Salvador highlight the importance of the International Conference on “Climate Change, Territories and Social Movements” to be held on November 5 and 6 in El Salvador. Nearly 500 delegates of five continents will participate in the conference to demand the governments radical changes of their environmental and social policies.

Francisco Pineda, member of MOVIAC and advocate of the mining struggle in Cabañas department, El Salvador, is very positive about the upcoming International Conference organized by Friends of the Earth and other networks and movements working on climate change from a critical perspective.

Pineda is a member of the Environmental Committee of Cabañas (CAC). Cabañas is a Salvadorean department that has been the center of the resistance to metal mining, since they have the richest metal resources in Central America. The members of CAC have been victims of constant death threats since 2009.

After the conference, Friends of the Earth International is organizing a tour that will include activists, media, human rights defenders to the region of Cabañas and to several Guatemalan departments to express their solidarity with the victims of extractive industries and climate change.

The Conference will be a space “to show the authorities that we are not alone in our concern over mining concessions and global warming”, said Pineda three weeks before the Conference.

“The fact that many organizations are demanding a policy change will have a great impact and will send a message to the authorities”, he said. Pineda won the Goldman Prize in recognition of his struggle. He also talked about the possibility for exchange, to build alliances and to meet with other organizations from 70 countries in El Salvador, where the main voices will be those of the people affected.

Real World Radio will cover the conference, including a live streaming of the different presentations and of the general debate from the University that will host the event.
The event faces the challenge of going from being a diagnosis to direct action, said Pineda. “We hope to create a bigger alliance in the short term among all the participants”.

Interview by Josefina Ramírez, of the communications tema of CESTA-Friends of the Earth El Salvador.