Abstract
This chapter explores anti‐extraction movements as a global phenomenon resisting environmental abuse and livelihood loss, focusing on the Santa Marta Five case in El Salvador. The resistance against extractive mining, led by environmental activists, secured a legislative ban in 2017 but now faces new threats under the far‐right government of Nayib Bukele, which has aligned with transnational corporations and persecuted environmentalists. The analysis highlights the global nature of anti‐extraction movements, which advocate for the cancellation of natural resource extraction and employ various tactics across different contexts. These movements, often led by indigenous groups, challenge global capitalism's destruction of nature and offer imaginaries for a collectively livable world. However, they face severe violence and repression from political and corporate powerholders. The chapter underscores the unsustainable patterns of resource extraction, which pose a threat to humanity, particularly to marginalized communities, and calls for scrutiny of the political economy of global capitalism to address the environmental emergency. The chapter delves into Marxist theory, explaining how capitalism relies on the perpetual externalization of nature's resources to sustain competitive profit‐making. This dynamic compels capital to exploit untapped landscapes, leading to conflicts over dwindling resources and environmental collapse.