Eight thousand people sound off of the hours without doing nothing almost. They were removed from his habitat, and today they ramble by the place Bolivar of the parish Pedro Cova.

Carlos Andres Monsalve

Small miners demand a dialogue with the national authorities

The situation generated an economic paralysis in a population that depends in more on 70% of the production and extraction of gold.

Union representatives of gold show their great preoccupation. “The Manteco without gold is dead”, say who alert of a decrease that also affects the commerce, restaurants, hotels, jewelry shop and craftsmen.

Luis Almeda, Jose Luis Guzmán and France Gorrochotegui, members of the Bolivariano Front of Mining Cooperatives, has initiated a series of reclamations, so that the permissions to the small workers of gold in legal conditions recover.

“We have not received positive answers on the part of the Ministry of the Popular Power For the Basic Industries and Mining (Mibam) and the Ministry of the Atmosphere, because this last one must renew the requests of operation asked for by Mibam and to date we have understood that they have not done it”, it referred Almeda.

100% legal one
The front presented/displayed the collections to acquire the permissions, at the time of being evacuated, but similarly they did not have more option than to go away of the mines.

The most recent notification has date of 26 of June of year 2006 decree 4,633, that grants the consolidation of the mining communities, with the intention to have a low index of damages to the environment, also emphasizes the granting of 24,900 hectares, according to the mentioned thing in the Official Newspaper of the Bolivariana Republic of Venezuela Nº 5,761, for the operation of gold and diamonds in the mines already mentioned.

This to indicate some of decrees and decrees that allow the mining operation, of here the disagreement of the workers of the gold, that in spite of being protected in these norms, four months without being able take to toil, many have emigrated, others have been dedicated to another specialty, but in their majority the best thing than knows to do, is to remove material and to work the mine.

Terrible stagnation
“The miners go in the Place the Bolivars, giving returned and hoping that the national Government gives a positive answer them, them to return to his activities”, Luis Almeda declared.

According to the statistics of the same miners, the population of the Manteco counts with more than 22 thousand inhabitants, 8 thousands of them work this precious material and others depend indirectly on the operation of the mineral.

“The Manteco totally is paralyzed, the cooperatives that we make life in this place we continued fighting by the authorization, we have been respectful in the delay by supposed benefits that not yet have arrived”, added Almeda.

The trade union leader Jose Luis González stands out that the town is inert from the implementation of the Caura Plan. On the equipment destroyed during the evacuation, González indicates that it has not lacked an uprising on the part of the authorities, in spite of the denunciation interposed before the Office of the public prosecutor and the National Assembly.

12 years like miner
France Gorrochotegui is 12 years old in the mining activity, and in this time it had not known a situation similar. “As well as I depend on the mining, exist many mothers in the same condition, representation of them we requested a satisfactory answer”, indicated.

Gorrochotegui, to be able to stay in these months, receives loads to the cattle dealers and agriculturists, where it gains the necessary thing to subsist.

“I in the mine represent a company, on me depend several workers, but with this situation the progress of the Manteco has paused”, finalized.

Permissions already!

The Bolivariano Front of Mining Cooperatives raises the national Executive I reimpel of the activity in zones previously permisadas. They demand the streamlining of the operation requests; the study of the constitution of a mixed company or entirely of the State; installation of two plants processors of auriferous material; fiscal creation of one inspectoría and a national bottom of the mining development.