The regional governor of Arequipa, Elmer Caceres, in Lima on Thursday, issued a warning that he would call for the removal from office of President Vizcarra if actions against people protesting the development of the Tia Maria copper mine led to any deaths or injuries.
Caceres, six months into his governorship, made the announcement at a press conference in Congress, following his demand earlier in the week that Vizcarra rescind within 72 hours the construction license for the open pit mine or there would be no future dialogue between the government and the people of Arequipa.
Premier Salvador del Solar said the government is always open to dialogue, “but there is no place for ultimatums.”
“This is a serious issue, it’s not 150 rowdy people from the Tambo Valley; we are Arequipa, we are a people defending their integrity,” Caceres said.
Last week, the Ministry of Energy and Mines granted the long-awaited license to Southern Copper to develop the mine, which lies above the productive Tambo Valley, with the approval of the company’s environmental impact study. The study was due to expire and a new study would mean a delay of several more years.
The decision to grant the license was insensitive, because it was made from a purely technical standpoint without weighing in the social issues surrounding the project, according to Carlos Herrera, former Energy and Mines minister, and Ricardo Giesecke, former minister for the Environment. The environmental impact study was not entirely clear on some of the details, according to Giesecke. In an interview on Ideeleradio, both said that the failure to weigh all the facets of the project was partly due to a high turnover at Energy and Mines and, therefore, little institutional memory on the global issues of any specific project.
The social issues surrounding the mine involve local farmers who fear it will pollute the Tambo River and the surrounding countryside. The farmers remain unclear about certain aspects of the mine, such as the depth of the open pit, the location of the minerals processing plant, the transport modality from the mine to the port on the coast, and the water sources to be used for the mine. An added issue is the economic and social change that the mine would bring to the valley, including attracting workers away from the farms.
Over the past four years, after the violent protests in 2015, Southern Copper has been unsuccessful in convincing the valley of the benefits the mine could offer. The central and regional governments have also been slow to help in local development.
In 2011, one man died in protests against Tia Maria, and another five people were killed in 2015, bringing the project to a halt.
This week, after 400 police were sent to the Tambo Valley and to Islay, Caceres reminded Congress of the incidents.
“If there are any deaths or injuries, we shall hold the president responsible and call for his removal because he is morally unfit, because he has been warned that social conflicts may occur in Arequipa,” Caceres said.
Caceres has been criticized by the national regional governors’ association, ANGR, for taking sides in the conflict rather than bringing all actors to the negotiating table.
President Vizcarra said this week that the construction license cannot be rescinded but that the government will ensure that no action will begin on the mine until the social issues have been solved. Southern Copper has also said it will not move forward until an agreement has been reached with the people of Islay and the valley.
For previous stories on Southern Peru’s Tia Maria project, click here LINK
