The latest in a seemingly never-ending series of social
conflicts over mining and oil sector projects in Peru occurred
this week in the region of Arequipa. Reports have emerged that despite the
Peruvian Interior Ministry ordering an additional 2,000 police officers to the
region, protestors clashed with police, who used tear gas and rubber bullets to
disperse the crowds. According to the local police chief, the protestors
numbered between 600 and 700, while protest leader Juan Carrasco said there
were more than 3,000.
In other mining-related news, Jesús Álvarez Quispe, the
director of mines for the Regional Directorate of Energy and Mines in Puno, confirmed that, so
far, 25 miners have completed the formalization process in Puno, the most of
any of the regions in Peru. He explained that the rate of formalizations had
been slowed by the previous general director for formalization, who wouldn’t
allow miners to change their registered location. Quispe believes that, under
the new director, 600 to 700 miners will complete the process this year in
Puno.
In the Peruvian oil sector, Juan Castillo, a senior leader
of the workers union in the Peruvian state oil company Petroperú, told Reuters
that the Peruvian government wants to cancel Petroperú’s 25% share in oil
blocks 3 and 4, that it had planned to develop with oil conglomerate Grana y
Montero. According to Castillo, Minister
Rosa María Ortiz, is behind the decision, as she believes that partnering in the
development of blocks 3 and 4 would violate a law that requires Petroperú to
prioritize upgrading its Talara refinery.
Reuters noted that if this were true, it would mark a
reversal on Peruvian president Ollanta Humala’s campaign promises to allow
Petroperú to participate in oil production for the first time in over 20 years.
This is part of a larger strategy to transform Petroperú into a regional oil
player like Brazil’s Petrobras and Colombia’s Ecopetrol.
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