Last year, the World Bank refused to adopt the standards recommended by its own review of its mining and oil lending. The review found that, although fighting poverty is the World Bank’s stated mission, its extractive industry loans often harm the environment and human rights while failing to help the poor.

How’s it going since? Not so well, according to a recently leaked World Bank ombudsman report on the first major mining project approved since, a gold and silver mine in rural Guatemala. The board of directors of the Bank’s private sector lending arm, the International Finance Corporation, wondered at the outset whether the $261 million project was worth it, as it would create only 160 long-term jobs and pay Guatemala only 1% of its revenues.

Guatemalan Catholic clergy have also advocated against the mine, educating parishoners about its environmental risks. Bishop Alvaro Ramazzini received death threats after leading a January protest against the mine. In a later protest, one person was killed, and dozens injured, in clashes between local Mayans and company security forces.

September 2005