Peru sends in the army as anti-mining protests spread

The social conflict that started as a small-scale protest over the Tía María copper mining project has spiraled completely out of control. The protests have spread across Peru and become more generalized, turning into a wholesale rejection of the Peruvian mining industry. On Tuesday, the Peruvian government announced that it would deploy the country’s army to the regions of Apurimac, Ayacucho, Cajamarca, Cusco, Moquegua, Puno, and Tacna, to bolster security in advance of a 48-hour strike the protesters have planned for Wednesday and Thursday. According to the Peruvian Interior Ministry, the deployed troops “will only support the police and guarantee control and public order.”

Peruvian President Ollanta Humala on Friday declared a state of emergency in the Tambo Valley in southern Peru. According to Telesurtv, 13 people have been arrested since the state of emergency was imposed, which allows security officials to enter private property without a warrant.

The anti-mining protests spread to Peru’s Ica province, where one man died and another was injured in protests against China’s Shougang Hierron Peru mining company. According to news reports, Luis Quispe Chumpi was shot in the jaw when protestors clashed with police on a local highway. The protestors have a list of demands, including that Shougang bring back 85 laid-off workers, provide safe drinking water to the district, and lower electricity prices.

Bloomberg spoke with Carlos Galvez, president of Peru’s National Society of Mining, Petroleum, and Energy, who warned that the recent wave of protests could cause investment in mining in the country to vanish as soon as 2018. Bloomberg called the protests “the biggest wave of anti-mining opposition in three years.” Galvez called on the Peruvian government to defend new mining projects as vital to the country’s economic growth.