Red Emma’s

“Broad and Cavanagh are masterful storytellers. The words, deeds, and stories of people in El Salvador come alive so vividly in these pages to reinforce what we in the Poor People’s Campaign . . . know well: the most powerful defenders of water, of the environment—of justice across the board—are poor people.” —Rev. Dr. William Barber II, national cochair of the Poor People’s Campaign

In their acclaimed book The Water Defenders, Robin Broad and John Cavanagh told the story of activists in San Isidro, El Salvador, who fought multinational mining corporation OceanaGold and won—protecting their drinking water and environment from irreparable harm—despite great personal danger. Now, Jon Sack’s captivating graphic adaptation brings the story to new audiences and with new urgency, as environmental progress and human rights remain under assault around the world. The book is also updated to address Salvadoran dictator Nayib Bukele's ascent and the subsequent arrests of five water defenders. Initially excited by the company’s promises of jobs and prosperity, farmer Vidalina Morales, brothers Marcelo and Miguel Rivera, and others soon realized that the trade-off was catastrophic contamination of El Salvador’s main source of fresh water. Facing corporate machinations and violence, the ordinary people of San Isidro and surrounding communities built a transnational coalition that prevailed over powerful adversaries to score an environmental victory with worldwide repercussions. Broad and Cavanagh draw on over a decade of research, interviews, and experience as allies and experts in international development to recount the harrowing saga. A blueprint for civic bravery and local-to-global activism, as well as a rich history of Central America’s political conflicts and people’s fights against environmental and economic exploitation, this

Robin Broad is a two-time MacArthur fellow and won a Guggenheim fellowship for her work surrounding mining in El Salvador. A research professor at American University, she served as an international economist in the US Department of the Treasury, in the US Congress, and at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Broad and her husband, John Cavanagh, helped build the network of global allies that spearheaded the fight against mining in El Salvador. They have coauthored several books together.

John Cavanagh is senior advisor for and former director of the Washington, DC–based Institute for Policy Studies, an organization that collaborates with the Poor People’s Campaign and other dynamic social movements to turn ideas into action for peace, justice, and the environment. Previously, he worked with the United Nations to research corporate power. Cavanagh and his wife, Robin Broad, helped build the network of global allies that spearheaded the fight against mining in El Salvador. They have coauthored several books together.

John Duda is an independent researcher and communications strategist working to advance a more democratic economy. He has worked extensively at the intersections of digital media, software development, and left politics, as well as serving for nine years as Communications Director for The Democracy Collaborative, an international research institute working to develop practical models for a post-capitalist economy. He has written extensively on left organizing, history, and economic alternatives, and received his PhD from Johns Hopkins University in Intellectual History. He is a co-founder of Red Emma’s, a worker-owned radical bookstore and restaurant in Baltimore, which he calls home.