By Gustavo De Vinatea, general manager of the Institute of Mining Engineers of Peru (IIMP)
The engine of every country is its people. Therefore, students cannot carry out their activities normally, carriers decide to suspend their work for fear of dying on the road, the fact that people simply cannot travel to their workplaces puts us in a critical situation. In that sense, it is imperative that the State deploy all necessary efforts to provide security in our environment.
It’s not just Lima. While the transporters’ strike took place in the capital (demanding essential safety conditions), in Pataz (La Libertad) another victim of the criminals who extract and traffic died. minerals illegally and that today they want to expand, even in urban areas. The attacks do not stop in the north, despite the fact that a state of emergency was established more than six months ago, both in Trujillo and Pataz.
Although there is a significant police deployment in this northern province, it should be noted that the State itself limits its actions through a platform such as Reinfo (created in 2016), which is opening the doors to illegality. It is through the misuse of this instrument that many invade and detonate territories, without security parameters, outside of all supervision, contaminating the environment and exploiting people. With the same Reinfo, they steal and traffic the resources that belong to the State and obtain the money to finance their escape, circumventing police control. A vicious circle has been generated and it would be a mistake to extend its validity until 2026.
In addition to control actions against illegality, clear reforms are needed within the framework of the new bill for small and artisanal mining, currently being developed by the Executive, to later be sent to the Congress of the Republic. It is essential in its development to establish oversight responsibilities at the central government level (currently this responsibility is only the responsibility of regional governments) and establish clear processes and times for efficient formalization.
From the Institute of Mining Engineers of Peru, we have welcomed every initiative in favor of reactivating the national economy and we have called for working together (public, private and academic sectors) in the development of proposals that make it possible to value the resources of our country, for the benefit of the people. And definitely, the main resource is people, who deserve priority attention from all powers of the State.
