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The Mining Administrative Jurisdictional Authority (AJAM) assured that it did not grant any permit for the exploitation of minerals in protected areas such as Madidi Park, La Paz.
The director of said instance, Brenda Lafuente, indicated this Monday that no permit for mining operations was delivered and that the granting of a “right” over protected areas is granted by the National Service of Protected Areas (Sernap).
“Clarify that the granting of a protected area right depends on the issuance of a certificate of compatibility of uses, which is issued by the Sernap. It is very important to clarify that the AJAM has not granted any right to work in protected areas, nor any authorization to exploit minerals,” Lafuente said at a press conference.
Last week, legislators from the Citizen Community protested what they consider to be an abuse of the country’s natural reserves and announced an inspection.
Lafuente accused the opposition of “hindering” the work of the AJAM by seeking to put on “a political show.” He pointed out that the opposition’s statements are “irresponsible” and that they seek a “political arena.”
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“We as AJAM immediately became aware of this illegal exploitation in the Madidi (Park), we have immediately taken the corresponding legal actions (…). All this work that we have been carrying out has been hampered by the irresponsible statements that the opposition has made to the media last week,” the authority said.
He stressed that the actions of the state entity “is not improvised” and that it must comply with several steps, including “eye inspections” and “situational evaluations”; In this framework, he warned that, due to the statements of the opponents, those who are dedicated to the illegal exploitation of minerals, now “are warned.”
“All these steps must be reserved precisely because of the strategic nature of illegal mining. It is for this reason that previously we have not disclosed these steps and in any case this work has been hampered by the irresponsible statements made by the opposition because now the people who would be committing this crime are warned,” he asserted.
In this context, Lafuente explained that there is a formal complaint before the Public Ministry about illegal mining in the Madidi National Park with reports obtained in the inspections prior to the operations that were prepared, which were suspended, he assured, due to the statements of the legislators. of CC.
