Workers, security guards, office employees, drivers and others linked to the local bauxite mining operation lit candles along the main roads in Pedernales on Tuesday evening, 1 September 2015. They are demanding that the government extend the deadline for the closure of operations at the nearby bauxite mine that is set for October as announced by the Minister of Energy and Mines, Antonio Isa Conde.
Residents associations and women’s groups joined the protest against the closure of the mine by DOVEMCO in Las Mercedes, in the southwestern border province.
The protesters told Listin Diario reporters of their concerns about finding work as they wait for the announced start of tourism development in Pedernales to take off.