Every day, the social conflict in Peru over the Tía María
copper mine just gets more and more complicated. On Monday, Peruvian Minister
of Energy and Mines Rosa Ortiz told Reuters
in an email that she had suspended conversations with Southern Copper
Corporation, the company behind the $1.2 billion mining project. Minister Ortiz
explained that this was in response to the leaked audio of anti-mining leader
Pepe Julio Gutiérrez asking for money from a lawyer who said that he was acting
on behalf of Southern Copper to end the protests.
Minister Ortiz added that she has asked for Germán Larrea,
the president of Grupo Mexico, the company that owns Southern Copper, to meet
with her in Lima to clarify what happened. Reuters noted that Southern Copper
repeatedly declined to respond to requests for comment.
In related news, the protests against the Tía María mining
project spread to the area’s regional capital of Arequipa, where on Tuesday the
Workers Federation started
a 72-hour strike. The strikers are made up of the members of the Civil
Construction union, members of the teachers’ union, and youth defense forces.
The strike fell short of achieving a universal shutdown of
the city, as the markets and transportation workers declined to join in. Nonetheless,
the protestors managed to shut
down a number of key roads in Arequipa and took control of the local
university.
In spite of the growing protests, surveys by Pulso Perú show
that public support for mining in Peru rose by 11 points to a 61% favorability
rating. Surprisingly, 45% of Peruvians admitted that they were not even aware
of the protests and the conflict between farmers, the local authorities, and
Southern Copper. Though most of the Peruvian population seems to be ambivalent
about the issue, former Peruvian president Alejandro Toledo warned
that, “The success of the mining activity depends on social stability. We need
investment. Harmonious coexistence and mutual agreement are indispensable.”
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