Violence worsens in Tía María protests

Negotiators made no progress on ending the strike that has paralyzed the southern Peruvian department of Arequipa and the Tía María mining project. Worse, violence broke out once again on Tuesday between the national police and local protestors, leaving one civilian dead and two others injured.

The Wall Street Journal spoke with the Peruvian national ombudsman, who confirmed that Jenrry Checya Chura was killed, but was unable to confirm the cause of death. The national ombudsman asked for a peaceful end to the protests, adding, “We are demanding an immediate investigation in respect to the death of Mr. Checya Chura and a convincing explanation about the behavior of members of the national police in the province of Islay, especially concerning the use of force.”

The Associated Press spoke with Richard Ale, the mayor of the province of Islay, who said that Jenrry was shot and killed by police officers on Monday and died in the hospital very early Tuesday morning.

Talks between the protestors a delegation of ministers sent by Peruvian President Ollanta Humala have completely broken down. The Peruvian government needs to regain control over the situation, or the valuable Tía María mining project will ultimately end up being abandoned.

Telesur TV published a report summarizing the controversy over the Tía María project and the environmental concerns that the local protestors have regarding the proposed mine.  The article also describes the protests that have occurred in opposition to the project and the resulting violence.

In other mining-related news, the Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mines had a positive update: Peru’s silver production has increased almost 9% over the same period last year. The ministry explained, “These results were driven by good performance reported by main mining companies and investment expectations.”

On a related note, IMF official Alejandro Werner expresseda optimism about the Peruvian economy’s prospects in 2015, announcing that he believes the Peruvian economy will recovery throughout the rest of the year and will lead to greater economic growth over the next few years.