The National Roundtable against Mining Rejects the Public-Private Partnership Bill

In the context of the discussion surrounding the Public-Private Partnership Bill and the recent ratification of the Partners in Growth Agreement with the United States, the National Roundtable against Mining rejects these new efforts to privatize public services and states:

The proposals made in the Public-Private Partnership Bill and Partners in Growth Agreement with United States seem, clearly, to be the continuation of neoliberal policies that promote the privatization of public services and which would affect the economic, social, cultural and environmental rights of the Salvadoran population.

The participation of the private sector, as established by the bill, happen through concessions of goods and projects that are public domain or through concessions for the execution of an activity of public interest. The proposal also allows for the possibility that a company can use its own goods to sell a public service. As part of the organized social movement we ask ourselves: What is the difference then-if there is one-between public-private partnership contracts and the privatization of services? Or is this actually a disguise that attempts to hide the plans of institutions like the International Monetary Fund.

The human and material loss that have affected our country in recent years have been ccurately reflected in a UN 2010 report that shows: In El Salvador almost 887% of the territory is susceptible to natural disasters and approximately 95.4% of the population lives at risk of being affected by a natural disaster (UNCAD 2010). Taking into account these conditions and the certainty that the country is already seeing the grave effects of other neoliberal policies (the privatization of some services, the privatization of the banking system, dollarization, the signing of the Free Trade Agreement, etc.)  it is worrisome that we will be repeating policies that have already been proven to be wrong.  Much of the vulnerability resulting from climate change that our country in facing is a result of not being able to control the vicious attitude of the market, that in the end, looks for profits and not the well being of the people. How many times has this fact been proven?

Another questionable aspect that forces us to reject the Public-Private Partnership is the possibility of passing the costs for services directly on to the users. The proposed idea of the “self sustaining contract” seems like an effort to continue to protect the interests of the private sector, giving them the flexibility to set prices by only taking into account the profitability and not the economic possibilities of the majority of people for whom the service will become more expensive.

Along those lines, it is worrying that the bill establishes that if the Legislative Assembly does not give a concession for services to a company, the government should return the expenses for the elaboration of the project proposal or other expenses incurred as a form of compensation. This compensation will come from a fund set up through the National Development Bank which will be at the disposal of private enterprise.

As the National Roundtable Against Mining, in representation of the participating communities and organizations, we state our extreme worry over the fact that this new legal document could be used as a tool to approve mining projects in our country. It has been clearly shown that the mining industry is one of the most harmful for the environment, however, it can not be ignored that the economic elite are looking to active metallic mining, forgetting that his industry is not viable in El Salvador from any point of view. With the most recent damages caused by the tropical storm 12-E it has been shown that El Salvador is an extremely vulnerable country and it would only be a matter of time before mining made the situation worse, if it were to be included in the public-private partnerships. We are sure that mining does not represent a strategic development opportunity for our country.

After examining past experiences we have had with neoliberal policy which have reduced the ability of the government to offer public services and that have made the Salvadoran economy more and more dependent on loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB), etc., we state our energetic rejection of the Public-Private Partnership Bill.

Using the logic of environmental sustainability, we demand that government authorities and decision makers, instead of prioritizing the IMF and WB programs, prioritize with the same importance and swiftness the agreements and legislation that defend life and the rights of the people. From this perspective, we propose the implementation of Public-Community Partnerships for the sustainable use of watersheds, forests and protected areas, etc. The Constitution of the Republic and different international agreements like the Biodiversity Agreement of the Central America Integrations System, Resolution 169 of the International Labor Organization, The Rio Convention of 1992, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights all recognize the right of the population to participate and decide how the natural resources in its territory are used. This principle, apparently, is contrary to the Public-Private Partnership but is our preferred mechanism for building a different model of development.

No to the Public-Private Partnership!

National Roundtable Against Mineral Mining

San Salvador, November 15th 2011