LatinNews Daily - 14 June 2016 |
CC delivers heavy blow to Colombian gov’t economic development plans |
Development: On 13 June Colombia’s constitutional court (CC) struck down a series of resolutions approved by the national government which created ‘strategic mining development areas’ in 20 of the country’s 32 departments. Significance: The final ruling is a heavy blow to the efforts by the government led by President Juan Manuel Santos to continue to promote the development of Colombia’s increasingly significant mining sector, which in recent years has become one of the main drivers of the domestic economy. The Santos government decided to make the development of the sector one of its main priorities as a way to encourage the development of the country’s economically depressed regions and to generate more wealth and employment in support of the peace process that it has been advancing with the country’s leftist guerrillas. However, its plans are objected to by local communities and environmental groups, all of which are concerned about the dangers associated with the rapid expansion of industrial mining activity in the country.
Looking Ahead: The ruling was hailed by the national ombudsman office, which said that it reaffirmed communities’ rights to prior consultation. But it has been criticised by the Asociación Colombiana de Minería (ACM) private mining sector lobby. ACM president Santiago Angel Urdinola complained that the ruling “changes the rules of the game” and would inevitably affect mining investments, remarks that the Santos government would not be happy to hear. |