Once again, a social conflict erupts into violence in Peru

On Monday, four people were killed during protests on Monday against the massive Chinese-owned Las Bambas mining project in the Peruvian town of Challhuahuacho. The four protestors were shot and killed during fights between local protestors and the Peruvian police that also injured 14 other protestors and 8 police officers. The locals are protesting supposed changes to Las Bambas’ environmental impact plan, which supposedly had not been shared with the local community ahead of time.

In response, the Peruvian government declared a state of emergency in six provinces, sending the army to help the local police secure vital state infrastructure. Peruvian Prime Minister Pedro Cateriano told reporters that the government projects that the Las Bambas project will boost Peru’s GDP by 1.4% once it comes online in 2016. He added, “We cannot allow a group with political motivations to stand in the way of a project that has been in the works per normal for years.” Peruvian President Ollanta Humala called the project “the most important in the history of the country.”

The Peruvian Society for Mining, Petroleum, and Energy (SNMPE) called the violence in Apurimac against the Las Bambas project an act of sabotage intended to destabilize Peru’s democracy.

Other Peruvian outlets ran opinion pieces and contextual articles to explain the importance of the Las Bambas project to the Peruvian mining industry and the country’s economy, and to argue for what the government should do next.

Regardless, this most recent outbreak of violence at Peru’s most important mining project is a bad since for the country’s mining industry. First the Conga project was shut down because of violent protests, and then Tía María was put on indefinite hold earlier this year for the same reason. Peru needs to find a way to resolve these intractable social conflicts before they destroy the country’s economy.