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The Water Defenders: How Ordinary People Saved a Country from Corporate Greed
The David and Goliath story of ordinary people in El Salvador who rallied together with international allies to prevent a global mining corporation from poisoning the country's main water source
In a time when countless communities are resisting powerful corporations-from Flint, Michigan, to the Standing Rock Reservation, to Didipio, Philippines, to the Gualcarque River in Honduras--The Water Defenders presents the inspirational story of a community that took on Big Gold at seemingly insurmountable odds and won two historic victories.
In the early 2000s, many people in El Salvador were at first excited by the prospect of jobs, progress, and prosperity that the Pacific Rim mining company promised. However, farmer Vidalina Morales and brothers Marcelo and Miguel Rivera soon discovered that the river system that supplies water to the majority of Salvadorans was in danger of catastrophic contamination. With a group of unlikely allies, both local and global, they committed to stop the corporation and the destruction of their home.
Based on over a decade of research and their own role as international allies of the community groups in El Salvador, Robin Broad and John Cavanagh unspool this untold story, replete with corporate greed; a transnational lawsuit at a secretive World Bank tribunal in Washington, DC; violent threats; murders; and, surprisingly, victory. The husband-and-wife duo immerses the reader in the lives of the Salvadoran villagers, the journeys of the local activists who sought the truth about the effects of gold mining on the environment, and the behind-the-scenes maneuverings of the corporate mining executives. The Water Defenders demands that we examine our assumptions about progress and prosperity, while providing valuable lessons for other communities and allies fighting against destructive corporations in the United States and across the world.
In a time when countless communities are resisting powerful corporations-from Flint, Michigan, to the Standing Rock Reservation, to Didipio, Philippines, to the Gualcarque River in Honduras--The Water Defenders presents the inspirational story of a community that took on Big Gold at seemingly insurmountable odds and won two historic victories.
In the early 2000s, many people in El Salvador were at first excited by the prospect of jobs, progress, and prosperity that the Pacific Rim mining company promised. However, farmer Vidalina Morales and brothers Marcelo and Miguel Rivera soon discovered that the river system that supplies water to the majority of Salvadorans was in danger of catastrophic contamination. With a group of unlikely allies, both local and global, they committed to stop the corporation and the destruction of their home.
Based on over a decade of research and their own role as international allies of the community groups in El Salvador, Robin Broad and John Cavanagh unspool this untold story, replete with corporate greed; a transnational lawsuit at a secretive World Bank tribunal in Washington, DC; violent threats; murders; and, surprisingly, victory. The husband-and-wife duo immerses the reader in the lives of the Salvadoran villagers, the journeys of the local activists who sought the truth about the effects of gold mining on the environment, and the behind-the-scenes maneuverings of the corporate mining executives. The Water Defenders demands that we examine our assumptions about progress and prosperity, while providing valuable lessons for other communities and allies fighting against destructive corporations in the United States and across the world.
211 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 23, 2021
21 people are currently reading
1464 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
January 24, 2025
Residents of San Isidro, a poor provincial town in El Salvador, fight off for over a decade a Canadian mining corporation greedy to possess the gold deposits beneath their home.
Told by the authors who were also community allies, this is the account of that harrowing and impassioned community battle against the mining company’s ‘legal extortion’ resulting in two main astonishing victories for El Salvador:
(1) versus the suing mining company at an international arbitral court in 2016. This was a global legal system with structural advantage created for corporations, and so, has historical records on deciding in favor of profit, not people, and
(2) the world’s first countrywide comprehensive metals mining ban passed in 2017
Even with prior knowledge of the concluding win, inside the narrative I did feel my chest pounding.
Besides the inspiration from the Salvadorans’ triumph that they continue to protect up to today, another great reason to wade into this story is to realize that the water defenders’ concrete actions amidst threats and struggles held key to advancing to their coveted goal; what the water defenders and heroes in other parts of the world could take from.
—
Some select quotes,
On the dubitable existence of international legal systems,
Felt a brief kind of pang I did not see coming from a politics & society-type of read,
A pervasive myth dispelled,
—
Supplementary reading on how the same gold mining company has been operating in the Philippines:
• A Philippine community fights a lonely battle against the mine in its midst by mongabay.com, 2019
• Today I Learned: One of the Country’s Largest Gold Mines is in Nueva Vizcaya by Esquire Magazine PH, 2024
Told by the authors who were also community allies, this is the account of that harrowing and impassioned community battle against the mining company’s ‘legal extortion’ resulting in two main astonishing victories for El Salvador:
(1) versus the suing mining company at an international arbitral court in 2016. This was a global legal system with structural advantage created for corporations, and so, has historical records on deciding in favor of profit, not people, and
(2) the world’s first countrywide comprehensive metals mining ban passed in 2017
Even with prior knowledge of the concluding win, inside the narrative I did feel my chest pounding.
Besides the inspiration from the Salvadorans’ triumph that they continue to protect up to today, another great reason to wade into this story is to realize that the water defenders’ concrete actions amidst threats and struggles held key to advancing to their coveted goal; what the water defenders and heroes in other parts of the world could take from.
—
Some select quotes,
On the dubitable existence of international legal systems,
'Should not the Salvadoran government be rewarded, not punished, for putting its people and its environment first? How could a corporation that does not yet have a mining license sue? How could such a corporation possibly sue for the fuzzy concept of future profits forgone?' p.96
'Why did a panel of [...] arbitrators [...] get to decide whether El Salvador's mining law, with its requirements for land ownership or permission to mine, was legal? Why should a panel of of three de facto judges from other countries, using biased set of rules, get to decide whether a sovereign nation's laws were legal?'
'Countries agreed to create and continued to maintain this system; they agreed to sign bilateral and multilateral trade and investment treaties giving power to these tribunals.'
'But [...] all of Latin America had voted against [International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes]'s creation in the infamous Tokyo No vote of 1964.' p.150
Felt a brief kind of pang I did not see coming from a politics & society-type of read,
[W]hile unwavering in her [El Salvador’s Minister of Environment] certainty that [the President] would not cave in and allow a deal [to permit mining], she admitted to being almost certain that El Salvador would lose the [legal] case [vs the mining company]. One had only to look at El Salvador’s past history, she expounded: “El Salvador always loses. Our country has never been very good at defending itself.” Why would [this case] be any different? p.148
A pervasive myth dispelled,
The poorer people cannot afford to care as much for the environment as wealthier people. The evidence from northern El Salvador is to the contrary. It is the poor who often care most, in part because the precious land and water and natural resources that surround them are vital to their survival. The water defenders had many middle-class and some wealthy allies, but their core was rooted in poorer communities. p.189
—
Supplementary reading on how the same gold mining company has been operating in the Philippines:
• A Philippine community fights a lonely battle against the mine in its midst by mongabay.com, 2019
• Today I Learned: One of the Country’s Largest Gold Mines is in Nueva Vizcaya by Esquire Magazine PH, 2024
March 4, 2021
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. It's well written and it is engaging. While some sections did have a tendency to drag on, the story is succinctly described without the need for additional research on the part of the reader (unless so desired).
November 28, 2022
This book filled half of me with despair & rage, and the other half with inspiration & hope that impossible things can be achieved through courage in the face of looming darkness.
I initially thought it would be about the Philippines, but, though often mentioned, it's really a story of how ordinary people of El Salvador won over a mining megacorporation destroying their sacred lands and contaminating their water. A David-and-Goliath tale where the giant is defeated through genuine solidarity, never ceasing hardwork, and sheer courage in the face of a mighty enemy and numerous adversaries.
This book, through the author's direct encounter with the people involved and contribution in attaining this unprecedented triumph, chronicles El Salvador's legal battle against a mining corportation, Pac Rim, whose operations did and would further destroy their water, and the subsequent legislation of a nationwide mining ban.
Water is life.
Mining (gold, etc) is harmful in many various ways. From polluting waters, destroying the soil, killing fishes and farm animals, leaving toxic waste that will remain toxic for decades and may leak, it seems like the only "positive" side to it are the temporary jobs to locals who may later get sick after exposure to toxic chemicals and the profit of the corporation involved. For capitalists, it's always profit over people. That was apparent in here.
Through compelling writing and detailed recounting, we're taken through the water defenders' mighty pursuit to protect their country from corporate greedㅡ starting from the arrival of the white men in suits surveying the lands for possible mining sites, the start of operations, the gradual spread of awareness through communities, one influental water defender's disappearance and murder which sparked both fear and determination to keep going, threats received by many activists and more assassinations, the efforts to produce a science-based report on the effects of mining in their villages, the lawsuit, small wins and bigger defeats, to the victory at the tribunal in World Bank headquarters, the struggles in convincing politicians to pass a country-wide ban on mining, and the ultimate triumph of water over gold, people over profit, solidarity in local and international communities over life-destructing corporate greed.
Pac Rim mined gold in El Salvador. Negative effects were observed in the waters near the mining sites, such as the waterways turning into rusty coloration. Operations were ceased as the government investigates the complaints by the activists. Pac Rim sues the El Salvadoran government in an international court. Chaos ensues. I didn't even know corporations are allowed to file a lawsuit against a whole country. Goes to show how the global legal system is structured at the advantage of corporations.
The way Pac Rim got the initial approval of the communities reeks of deceit. They promised jobs and improvement of living conditions, but the ill effects of such operations they kept buried. They willingly trade long-term environmental destruction to short-term profiting opportunities. It's appalling how blind they are to the consequences the communities would later suffer from, they see all the positives but none of the negativesㅡor maybe they do, they just don't really care.
El Salvador's massive win for environment inspires environmental activists throughout the world. This is particularly relevant to the Philippines, which was mentioned many times in the book, as a Filipino governor gave a crucial testimony against gold mining. Nueva Vizcaya's Carlos Padilla flew to El Salvador to show their government's Environment Committee the experiences of his province under a mining agreement with another mining giant OceanaGold as an example of how mining does more harm than good. I feel somewhat ashamed... That another country utilized our experiences to win this big fight while our own countrymen suffer from the toxic effects of mining and operations still continue. El Salvadorans saw in the Philippines what could've been their dark future and they made sure not to get there. That dark future is our fellow Filipinos' present reality and they have no other choice but to live it.
Just several months ago, an open-pit mining was given permission to operate in South Cotabato. People protested and demanded for the permit to be revoked. People won. In other countries, similar battles are being fought by large movements/organizations which consist of ordinary people who see the need to advocate against environmentally-destructive businesses. In the period where we're facing a major climate crisis, why are we, humans, causing more harm to our already hurting nature? As of February 2022, there are 55 operating mining sites in the country.
One of my major takeaways here was the significant role artists played in their struggles. Art is a form of resistance that shouldn't be undermined. The water defenders of El Salvador used various forms of art like theatre, songs, radio soap opera, murals, etc... They needed to make their scientific findings about the harmful effects of mining accessible to both the youth & the elderly members of their communities. They understood that people need quality information to make informed decisions but they can't do that by info-dumping people with scientific jargons. It's art which connects people to issues and with each other, it's stories that reaches depths in the heart that technical and scientific data can't.
These water defenders are made up of ordinary people who worked together for a cause they believed in and learned as they go, building solidarity & gaining unlikely allies all for the people's right to the most basic of all resources: water.
There is no first move to following El Salvadors footsteps except: caring. We need to care even if we're far away from where mining corporations operate in the country and we're far away from toxic by-products that can cause long-term health issues. When we care, I believe the immediate next step would be the urge to learn more about these issues and share them to the next person. Corporate greed is defeated through solidarity of many various people coming together in spite of differences against big, life-threatening issues. The El Salvadoran water defenders' triumph is nothing short of phenomenal and is a significant example of what we can achieve through collective action, even if it's giant corporate evils we're up against.
5🌟 for being a highly engaging & informative read
-
water is life ✊
i have no words yet to articulate the utter significance of this book so rtc...
but yeah, what a set of phenomenonal characters who set out to save their water and did just that: they won the against a giant mining corporation who sued the country for not being able to mine (first of all, i'm appalled that this is even something possible??? freakin international laws that favor the interests of wealthy nations and big corporations😤😤) & achieved a world-first nationwide ban on mining, in spite of tragedies along the way. inspiring, admiring, very important book!
I initially thought it would be about the Philippines, but, though often mentioned, it's really a story of how ordinary people of El Salvador won over a mining megacorporation destroying their sacred lands and contaminating their water. A David-and-Goliath tale where the giant is defeated through genuine solidarity, never ceasing hardwork, and sheer courage in the face of a mighty enemy and numerous adversaries.
This book, through the author's direct encounter with the people involved and contribution in attaining this unprecedented triumph, chronicles El Salvador's legal battle against a mining corportation, Pac Rim, whose operations did and would further destroy their water, and the subsequent legislation of a nationwide mining ban.
Water is life.
Mining (gold, etc) is harmful in many various ways. From polluting waters, destroying the soil, killing fishes and farm animals, leaving toxic waste that will remain toxic for decades and may leak, it seems like the only "positive" side to it are the temporary jobs to locals who may later get sick after exposure to toxic chemicals and the profit of the corporation involved. For capitalists, it's always profit over people. That was apparent in here.
Through compelling writing and detailed recounting, we're taken through the water defenders' mighty pursuit to protect their country from corporate greedㅡ starting from the arrival of the white men in suits surveying the lands for possible mining sites, the start of operations, the gradual spread of awareness through communities, one influental water defender's disappearance and murder which sparked both fear and determination to keep going, threats received by many activists and more assassinations, the efforts to produce a science-based report on the effects of mining in their villages, the lawsuit, small wins and bigger defeats, to the victory at the tribunal in World Bank headquarters, the struggles in convincing politicians to pass a country-wide ban on mining, and the ultimate triumph of water over gold, people over profit, solidarity in local and international communities over life-destructing corporate greed.
Pac Rim mined gold in El Salvador. Negative effects were observed in the waters near the mining sites, such as the waterways turning into rusty coloration. Operations were ceased as the government investigates the complaints by the activists. Pac Rim sues the El Salvadoran government in an international court. Chaos ensues. I didn't even know corporations are allowed to file a lawsuit against a whole country. Goes to show how the global legal system is structured at the advantage of corporations.
The way Pac Rim got the initial approval of the communities reeks of deceit. They promised jobs and improvement of living conditions, but the ill effects of such operations they kept buried. They willingly trade long-term environmental destruction to short-term profiting opportunities. It's appalling how blind they are to the consequences the communities would later suffer from, they see all the positives but none of the negativesㅡor maybe they do, they just don't really care.
El Salvador's massive win for environment inspires environmental activists throughout the world. This is particularly relevant to the Philippines, which was mentioned many times in the book, as a Filipino governor gave a crucial testimony against gold mining. Nueva Vizcaya's Carlos Padilla flew to El Salvador to show their government's Environment Committee the experiences of his province under a mining agreement with another mining giant OceanaGold as an example of how mining does more harm than good. I feel somewhat ashamed... That another country utilized our experiences to win this big fight while our own countrymen suffer from the toxic effects of mining and operations still continue. El Salvadorans saw in the Philippines what could've been their dark future and they made sure not to get there. That dark future is our fellow Filipinos' present reality and they have no other choice but to live it.
Just several months ago, an open-pit mining was given permission to operate in South Cotabato. People protested and demanded for the permit to be revoked. People won. In other countries, similar battles are being fought by large movements/organizations which consist of ordinary people who see the need to advocate against environmentally-destructive businesses. In the period where we're facing a major climate crisis, why are we, humans, causing more harm to our already hurting nature? As of February 2022, there are 55 operating mining sites in the country.
One of my major takeaways here was the significant role artists played in their struggles. Art is a form of resistance that shouldn't be undermined. The water defenders of El Salvador used various forms of art like theatre, songs, radio soap opera, murals, etc... They needed to make their scientific findings about the harmful effects of mining accessible to both the youth & the elderly members of their communities. They understood that people need quality information to make informed decisions but they can't do that by info-dumping people with scientific jargons. It's art which connects people to issues and with each other, it's stories that reaches depths in the heart that technical and scientific data can't.
These water defenders are made up of ordinary people who worked together for a cause they believed in and learned as they go, building solidarity & gaining unlikely allies all for the people's right to the most basic of all resources: water.
There is no first move to following El Salvadors footsteps except: caring. We need to care even if we're far away from where mining corporations operate in the country and we're far away from toxic by-products that can cause long-term health issues. When we care, I believe the immediate next step would be the urge to learn more about these issues and share them to the next person. Corporate greed is defeated through solidarity of many various people coming together in spite of differences against big, life-threatening issues. The El Salvadoran water defenders' triumph is nothing short of phenomenal and is a significant example of what we can achieve through collective action, even if it's giant corporate evils we're up against.
5🌟 for being a highly engaging & informative read
-
water is life ✊
i have no words yet to articulate the utter significance of this book so rtc...
but yeah, what a set of phenomenonal characters who set out to save their water and did just that: they won the against a giant mining corporation who sued the country for not being able to mine (first of all, i'm appalled that this is even something possible??? freakin international laws that favor the interests of wealthy nations and big corporations😤😤) & achieved a world-first nationwide ban on mining, in spite of tragedies along the way. inspiring, admiring, very important book!
Read
July 2, 2025A very accessible retelling of the amazing success of Salvadoran organizers and their allies in stopping a planned mine in Cabañas, winning a case at ICSID, and winning new legislation blocking mining. Written by two of the U.S. activists involved in this and many other struggles. Focused on the global campaign (particularly IPS) but also describes some of the local fight. It is a great introduction and does go into some of the alliance building and strange bedfellows in a way that went beyond what I knew at the time as a supporter of the campaign.
I’m glad John and Robin wrote this book and hope lots of people read it for inspiration and to learn strategies to put to use in other people-powered struggles.
Plus I love seeing the references to the fabulous Rachel Nadelman’s research and to other wonderful people who have taught me about mining and El Salvador.
I’m glad John and Robin wrote this book and hope lots of people read it for inspiration and to learn strategies to put to use in other people-powered struggles.
Plus I love seeing the references to the fabulous Rachel Nadelman’s research and to other wonderful people who have taught me about mining and El Salvador.
November 27, 2024
Reading about social and economic Justice is not the initial genre of books I tend to pick up. But I’m happy that I was able to read this, it’s a well told story about the constant battle the Water Defenders have with mining companies. The authors own integration and activism within the movement displays how simply ordinary people can come together to fight against exploitation. Was an easy read for big politics.
August 11, 2025
very informative, it was particularly useful for research on accountability and environmental protection in arbitration courts, in this case, the world bank group's ICSID. at some points it did feel like it dragged on, explaining details which did not contribute to the plot directly and did not add layers of nuance either. that being said, this was a quick read and packed a lot of important information.
May 27, 2021
This book will appeal to two types of readers: (1) readers who are interested in social and economic justice who will be buoyed by a David-trounces-Goliath saga, and (2) readers who like a good story well told.
If you think you may not be entranced by a book about big-corporation gold mining in El Salvador potentially ruining the country, then you're in for a happy surprise. This book is an adventure story and a legal thriller.
Gold mining is a major problem in many developing countries because the process typically destroys the water supplies. This book is about El Salvador but the fight plays out in many resource-rich developing countries. And, as in this book, local people are beginning to have more success in protecting and preserving their own lands. Just this month (May 2021), a Brazilian court ordered the federal government to remove all illegal gold miners from an Indigenous reserve in the Amazon.
Before I read The Water Defenders, I knew very little about the true economic and social costs of gold mining. If only learning were always so interesting and enjoyable!
If you think you may not be entranced by a book about big-corporation gold mining in El Salvador potentially ruining the country, then you're in for a happy surprise. This book is an adventure story and a legal thriller.
Gold mining is a major problem in many developing countries because the process typically destroys the water supplies. This book is about El Salvador but the fight plays out in many resource-rich developing countries. And, as in this book, local people are beginning to have more success in protecting and preserving their own lands. Just this month (May 2021), a Brazilian court ordered the federal government to remove all illegal gold miners from an Indigenous reserve in the Amazon.
Before I read The Water Defenders, I knew very little about the true economic and social costs of gold mining. If only learning were always so interesting and enjoyable!
June 2, 2021
This is a truly fascinating account of mining, environmental activism, and real, concrete ways to build coalitions and make meaningful change -- even (or especially) when the goal seems too risky, far-fetched, and impossible to achieve. Broad and Cavanagh have clearly done a tremendous amount of research and spent years on the ground in El Salvador working with water defenders, politicians, lawyers, and activists from across the globe to bring about what became the world's first and only country-wide ban against all metal mining. I didn't know the extent of the environmental devastation brought about by gold mining and will never look at a cell phone or a piece of jewelry the same way. The authors are pragmatic and realistic -- there's no preaching or pretending we can live in a world without using metals at all. But in tracing the history of how El Salvador's unlikely mining ban came to be, they show how ordinary people can fight back against corporate greed and create a different kind of future. The story told here is truly riveting, and even though I knew the outcome of the ban, it was deeply moving to see how it all came about and more fully appreciate the blood, sweat, and tears that went into this historic victory.
January 30, 2025
This is a great story, but I didn't find the book as engaging as I might have hoped. Not sure if it was because I listened to it as an audiobook, though that's not usually an issue for me, but I felt it jumped around in time more than necessary and made it harder for me to follow the story. A lot of the jumping around was related to "then we [the authors] met with this key person in the story", then jumping to the person's story. Overall there was a lot more about the authors' process of locating/meeting people, attending events, and elements like that which didn't really move the story forward, than really served the story. Several of my family members who read the book appreciated it opening their eyes to a part of the world we rarely hear about. I agree with that, but just felt the actual writing and storytelling here wasn't spectacular.
March 31, 2021
Disclaimer - I won this book through a Goodreads contest. This book tells the story of how the people of El Salvador we’re able to stand up to a major global corporation and win, despite all the odds. This story is a real page-turner even though you go into the book understanding the outcome. It tells the story of the brilliant organizing the activists did, introduced an international court system that many of us know nothing about, and centered the story on how regular people pulled off this incredible feat. This book will make you angry at the systems we’ve created that our corporate interests over the basic human rights of people and it will inspire you to think differently about your community and how to solve problems.
May 28, 2021
This extraordinary book is riveting, compelling and a tremendous contribution to the study of social movements. In a breathtakingly beautiful way, this very human-centered story captures how an intermingling of events across continents led to an extraordinary social movement victory. Clearly great care was devoted to research, and the concluding section on "lessons learned” offers vital elements for undertaking such a concerted, strategic, multi-layered and successful advocacy campaign. In honoring the centrality of the water defenders, their agency, and their martyrs, this book has a power all its own. Totally inspiring!
May 29, 2021
Stories of Davids beating Goliaths are so rare that when they happen, they ought to be painstakingly studied and ransacked for lessons. Robin Broad and John Cavanagh have done precisely that in the case of El Salvador’s historic ban of the mining of all metals in The Water Defenders. A work that is likely to serve as a handbook for future Davids fighting corporate or political Goliaths. That the book unfolds as a riveting, suspenseful narrative while not sacrificing substance will ensure a varied audience of activists, academic specialists, and ordinary readers in search of a real-life account of the good guys winning over the bad guys.
September 13, 2025
This book taught me many things about environmental pollution caused by mining, focusing specifically on gold mining and its possibility in El Salvador. It taught me about the deception and greed on the part of the mining company proposing to do this mining. Most importantly, it taught me about the hard work and bravery of ordinary everyday people who fought the miners to keep their water sources clean and safe. Despite the frustration of the real world presented, I am very happy to have taken this journey through a well-written book.
Read
April 27, 2021The two authors did a good job in telling this compelling and important story. It could have so easily gotten bogged down in details that would have made it less interesting (I’ve not finished many books of that sort) but they kept all the players straight and the story moving. As one who loves to cross boundaries and make connections, I really appreciate highlighting the unlikely alliances with unexpected collaborators.
January 17, 2022
Very timely and a must read. More than a narration of events, the book is a call to action. The lessons from El Salvador's struggle against mining to preserve water reinforce the idea that the masses, united, have the power to meaningfully change society. Let us continue to struggle to do the same in the Philippines---ban mining on a national level and hold those corporate assholes accountable for plundering our environment!
November 9, 2023
This is a vitally important topic and they've drilled down assiduously into the story, but it's a tough slog.
(Goodreads neglects to name John Cavanagh as co-author)
They've put their hearts into it, devoted years of their lives to it, but by the middle of the book I felt it was like doing homework every night. Too bad; this malfeasance of the World Bank needs a brilliant expose, like Carl Perkins brought us in "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man."
(Goodreads neglects to name John Cavanagh as co-author)
They've put their hearts into it, devoted years of their lives to it, but by the middle of the book I felt it was like doing homework every night. Too bad; this malfeasance of the World Bank needs a brilliant expose, like Carl Perkins brought us in "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man."
April 12, 2021
A twisted ode of colonialism: how the advanced Whites have helped the primitive and helpless Brown people from stupidly destroying their own environment. In the end the story turns out not to be about those people, but about glorifying Western bureaucrats like Broad: pay your taxes because Broad expects to hire more nieces and nephews on good wages just as his.
April 16, 2024
Great intro to the challenges and inner workings of water defense with an optimistic bend. Unfortunate that there has been more repression of the organizers highlighted since the 2021 publication. This was part of my awesome States of Extraction class !
March 8, 2021
The book was engaging and well documented. It's a fast-paced read that presents you with lively and profound real-life-characters who teach you a lot about what we can do to protect the environment.
Want to read
March 22, 2021requested ebook 3-22-2021
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June 13, 2021
What a (true) story!
February 15, 2023
After more than a year when this book was in storage awaiting shipment to me, I finally was able to finish. The lessons for us all are so important.
January 2, 2024
Fascinating and important story about the fight against corporate greed
Read
January 5, 2025it was for school.
September 26, 2025
Introduction to Salvadoran Politics and Grassroots Organizations in the Early 2000s
I read this book as part of my ongoing effort to become familiar with El Salvador. By presenting the "David vs. Goliath" story of El Salvador's decision to stand up to "Big Gold" and pass the world's first-ever total ban on metals mining, it certainly paints an interesting and optimistic picture of Salvadoran civil society and government in the years immediately preceding Nayib Bukele's presidency. I found the following elements most compelling:
*I was pretty stunned to learn about the ISCID branch of the World Bank, which offers a forum for corporations to sue sovereign governments that deny them access on the basis of "future profits lost." It's nonsensical, and casts a light on the agency capture carried out by corporations on multilateral institutions and treaties. Even after it eventually "won", El Salvador "had suffered over seven years from this case. The cash-strapped government had been forced to spend roughly $13 million defending itself during a period of financial crisis. Top government officials ... had endured the paralysis of not being able to speak out or take action to regulate mining for fear of retribution." And note that this follows EVERY Latin American country voting "no" to the creation of the ISCID in 1964. Crazy stuff.
*I also quite liked the bits about the Cabanas water defenders getting smart on mining and mobilizing a truly grassroots campaign to educate the country about the risks mining posed to their water supply. If you're looking to skip to the most relevant "lessons learned" bit, I recommend jumping ahead to the epilogue in which the authors outline tips for other grassroots organizations looking to thwart big business.
*As a student of El Salvador, I also found this book an interesting (though one-sided, very much featuring the FMLN as "the good guys") introduction to modern Salvadoran politics, especially from 2009 - 2017. This span of time featured the election of the the first-ever FMLN president and the contentious politics between FMLN and ARENA representatives. Again, I found these insights into pre-Nuevas Ideas El Salvador quite interesting.
Also, the scenes leading up to the ICSID decision and the Legislative Assembly vote both got my heart pumping like a good courtroom thriller. I recommend this book as a supplement to those who want to learn more about El Salvador's modern history from an international labor/environment/grassroots organization perspective.
I read this book as part of my ongoing effort to become familiar with El Salvador. By presenting the "David vs. Goliath" story of El Salvador's decision to stand up to "Big Gold" and pass the world's first-ever total ban on metals mining, it certainly paints an interesting and optimistic picture of Salvadoran civil society and government in the years immediately preceding Nayib Bukele's presidency. I found the following elements most compelling:
*I was pretty stunned to learn about the ISCID branch of the World Bank, which offers a forum for corporations to sue sovereign governments that deny them access on the basis of "future profits lost." It's nonsensical, and casts a light on the agency capture carried out by corporations on multilateral institutions and treaties. Even after it eventually "won", El Salvador "had suffered over seven years from this case. The cash-strapped government had been forced to spend roughly $13 million defending itself during a period of financial crisis. Top government officials ... had endured the paralysis of not being able to speak out or take action to regulate mining for fear of retribution." And note that this follows EVERY Latin American country voting "no" to the creation of the ISCID in 1964. Crazy stuff.
*I also quite liked the bits about the Cabanas water defenders getting smart on mining and mobilizing a truly grassroots campaign to educate the country about the risks mining posed to their water supply. If you're looking to skip to the most relevant "lessons learned" bit, I recommend jumping ahead to the epilogue in which the authors outline tips for other grassroots organizations looking to thwart big business.
*As a student of El Salvador, I also found this book an interesting (though one-sided, very much featuring the FMLN as "the good guys") introduction to modern Salvadoran politics, especially from 2009 - 2017. This span of time featured the election of the the first-ever FMLN president and the contentious politics between FMLN and ARENA representatives. Again, I found these insights into pre-Nuevas Ideas El Salvador quite interesting.
Also, the scenes leading up to the ICSID decision and the Legislative Assembly vote both got my heart pumping like a good courtroom thriller. I recommend this book as a supplement to those who want to learn more about El Salvador's modern history from an international labor/environment/grassroots organization perspective.
April 16, 2021
I won this book in a giveaway.
A timely and compelling case study on the Water is Life movement in El Salvador. However, it seems like the authors couldn’t decide if they were writing for the general public, or for a more academic audience.
A timely and compelling case study on the Water is Life movement in El Salvador. However, it seems like the authors couldn’t decide if they were writing for the general public, or for a more academic audience.
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