The citizens left behind the banner of Rural that the peasants and peasants carried and asked the Government of Navarra not to authorize the mining project, which will destroy the pastures of Erdiz, which are one of the main lunches of Baztán for their seeds. Some of them left before the banner, such as cattle, sheep and horses.

The Byziros clearly stated that the Baztans want to decide what to do and how to live in their territories, do not accept the slimming and lifestyles that Magna and the Government of Navarra want to impose. At the end of the demonstration there was talk of the importance of extensive agriculture, environmental conservation and sustainable tourism in the valley, and it was stressed that these and the quarry intended to exploit the magnesite in Erdizen are incompatible.

Although the public institutions of the Baztan Valley had called for a consultation of the citizens for the next 23 October, as the Government of Spain did with the referendum, the Delegation of the Government of Navarra has banned the consultation.

A new session after giving up in 2008

Yesterday, many of the citizens remembered fifteen years ago the great citizen demonstration against the quarry project, also called for by the Erdiz Bizirik platform. At that time, Magna also tried to create the quarry, but in 2008 it regressed. Magna’s then-chairman of the board of directors, Dominique Bamas, said that they were not going to make the least effort to continue with the project, but it was obviously not true, and thirteen years later they are trying again.

Magna presented its new exploitation proposal in 2019, and on 7 October the Parliament of Navarra approved the project as Investment of Foral Interest, with the favorable votes of UPN, PSN and Geroa Bai (40 votes), and the votes against EH Bildu, Ahal Dugu and Left-Ezkerra (10 votes). In principle, this is a step towards its later adoption as a Supramunicipal Advocacy Plan (PSIS) and the vote makes it easier to process this path.