A few days ago, the Chinese company MMG Ltda. announced a new stoppage of the operations of the Las Bambas mining unit as of February 20, due to the blockades in the southern mining corridor by the communities of Chumbivilcas (Cusco). However, this situation was postponed, as they agreed to give a 45-day truce to the central government.
The truce came after the head of the PCM, Aníbal Torres, arrived in the district of Ccapacmarca to talk with the representatives of the communities.
At the meeting, Torres said that “a meeting with the Constitutional Court and the Judiciary will be coordinated, where the presidents of the four communities, the lawyers, congressman Guido Bellido and the regional governor of Cusco, Jean Benavente, will participate.” This, with the aim of resolving the community’s demand that the road go from being national to regional.
Despite this, it was also surprising that the premier not only focused on the issue, but later made comments attacking Congress and the press.
difficult solution
If a solution is not found after the truce, the risk of a repetition of the blockades and a possible suspension of activities would remain latent. What will be the impact?
As the Regional Government of Apurímac warned months ago, this area loses S/2 million daily due to the stoppage.
Governor Baltazar Lantarón explained to this newspaper that there has been concern about the “inaction of the national government” in the face of what may happen. “Every time they change leaders, the communities modify their demands, meanwhile the national government does not unblock the road,” he said.
He recalled that those affected would be about 8,000 workers between payroll and contractors, and around 75,000 families if operations are suspended again.
“The Executive does not make the right decision to solve the problem. In addition to the losses, we give a bad image as a country, who is going to want to come and invest?he pointed.
The latter was also shared by the president of the Apurimac Chamber of Commerce, Edward Palacios, who added that it is necessary to build a direct highway from Apurimac to the Marcona port.
“We have talked with the company and they are predisposed to dialogue, but they are stalled by the inaction of the national government, which does not sanction the crimes of roadblocks and the solutions they provide are only political when they need to be technical,” he said.
And in Cuzco? Part of the protests also come from Chumbivilcas communities in the imperial region, the president of the Cusco Chamber of Commerce, Edy Cuellar, indicated that the situation also mainly affects the companies that supply Las Bamba.
“We are registering several conflicts in the region that affect investments and also drive away tourism in the region, that is why we ask the national authorities to come and solve these problems,” he stressed.
Data:
-The southern mining corridor was paralyzed for just over two weeks due to blockades in Ccapacmarca in Chumbivilcas (Cusco).
-Las Bambas is the fourth copper-producing mining unit at the national level and its activity represents 1% of the national GDP. In addition, its stoppage would compromise 70% of Apurimac’s GDP
