Florin Poenaru: Nature, Nationalism and Anti-Capitalism in Romania

Research Paper Series of Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung Southeast Europe No.1

In autumn 2013, Romania witnessed some of its biggest post-1989 protests. From September to about early December tens of thousands of people took to the streets in major cities of Romania. The reason was the project of an opencast mine in Roșia Montana, a small mining town located in the Apuseni Mountains. In the making for almost 16 years, the project has been mired in controversy. First, the very existence of the project and its non-transparent character raised suspicions of complicity between local politicians of all stripes and the Canadian mining firm behind the project. Allegations of conflicts of interest, illicit lobbying and top-level corruption were abundant. Long-term journalist investigations gave credence to many such views, documenting a vast network of business and
political interests, both local and global, undergirding the project. […]”

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