History of Manaure

Industrial exploitation and processing of salt in Manaure began in the 1920s when the government gave concessions to individual investors for the exploitation of the salt mine and until the 1940s the mode of collection went from artisan to industrial, when the Bank of the Republic took over the Manaure salt mines. By 1948 salt production in Manaure was between 20,000 and 30,000 tons a year. In 1970 the concession of Manaure salt mines was transferred to the IFI-Concesión Salinas which intensified the production to one million tons a year.

The Wayuu began to claim the area as their ancestral land and historical owners of Manaure. In 1991 the government recognized the claim by the Wayuu and agreed to reorganize production and work conditions under a mixed economy, in which the indigenous would have 25% of the stocks in the company. The accords were not met and the Wayuus sued the government in 1994. The court ordered the creation of Sociedad Salinas de Manaure, SAMA based on the original agreement and linked to the then Ministry of Development. The Wayuu would have 25%, but once again the agreements were not met due to legal problems. In 2002 Law 773 of the same year reestablished the creation of the SAMA, distributing earnings among the Ministry of Development (51%) the indigenous Association "Sumain Ichi" (25%) and the municipality of Manaure (25%)