In 2008, the Argentine Congress passed the nation’s first-ever legislation to protect glaciers, crowning a campaign by green groups to spare Andean ice fields from mining. The next month, however, then-President Cristina Kirchner killed the bill on grounds that “governors of the mountain zone have expressed their concern” that the measure would jeopardize investment and jobs in their provinces. Kirchner’s surprise veto drew criticism not only from green advocates, but also from the general public and members of her governing party. Critics, decrying what they called the “Barrick veto,” accused her of bowing to pressure from the Canadian mining giant Barrick Gold. Barrick was operating Veladero, a huge open-pit mine at an elevation of 4,000 meters in San Juan province, and was... [Log in to read more]