A massive strike across almost a third of Peru concluded
yesterday, as protestors took to the streets to cry out in support of their
fellow protestors in the province of Islay, who took to the streets for more
than two months to stop the Tía María copper mining project. The strikes forced
schools to close
in four regions across Peru, Arequipa, Cusco, Puno, and Moquegua.
One striker in Puno, Adolfo Choque, told Telesurtv,
“[The action] was spontaneously convened. Here we don't have leaders, but all
the organizations have emerged so that we go on strike this time. In this
manner [we] support all our brothers in the province of Islay that are
defending their rights and their natural resources and whose products might be
the source of food for the whole region of Puno.” The United Nations Regional
Office for Human Rights called for a de-escalation of tensions between the
Peruvian government and the protesting local communities.
The Associated
Press spoke with local officials in the city of Arequipa, where 2,000
police officers had been deployed in anticipation of the strike. The local
officials confirmed that “not a single violent act” occurred din the city.
Peruvian daily Los Andes
published an editorial about the conflict, framing the protests in the context
of the mining industry versus rural farmers. The editorial acknowledged that
many Peruvian are frustrated with President Ollanta Humala for not taking a
stronger stand against people that they consider to be uneducated hillbillies.
Nonetheless, the editorial acknowledges that the farmers are just thinking about
their future livelihood and our drawing lessons from what has happened to
similar areas in Peru.
In oil-related news, Peru plans
to open bidding for the right to build a $250 million liquefied petroleum gas
pipeline and boost reserves in Lima and address the supply crunch of LPG that
the country has been experiencing.
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