The residents of the Cuzco province of Espinar began an indefinite strike on Monday to demand that each resident be given a bonus of 2,000 soles from the funds of the Framework Agreement. The measure is executed with the blockade of the Southern Mining Corridor, which has been affecting the traffic of trucks from the companies Las Bambas, Hudbay and from now on Glencore Antapaccay.
The president of the Espinar Defense Front, Sergio Huamaní, said that the trucks of these companies are not going through the road they took at dawn on Monday.
“We still haven’t touched Glencore Antapaccay, even though they are directly responsible for everything that happens in the province of Espinar. It is possible that tonight we will concentrate on Condoroma, which is where the trucks of this company enter. There are three mining companies that cannot pass”, the leader specified.
He added that the vehicles of companies that are in the exploration stage, such as the Panoro and Haquira projects -located in the Apurímac region- and usually travel through the Mining Corridor, will not be able to travel either.
The largest concentration of protesters is in Espinar, however, Sergio Huamaní said that by strategy the protest will not be limited to this province but will take place at the corridor level, where Chumbivilcas and Challhuahuacho are located.
The president of the Defense Front mentioned that the bonus of 2 thousand soles is not the only demand. There is also the reformulation of the Framework Agreement with the Antapaccay mining company, the Coroccohuayco integration project and the issue of corruption within the provincial municipality of Espinar.
“We want to discuss this with the central government. It has to be present in Espinar to meet the demands that unfortunately have been suspended for many years. For example, the reformulation of the Framework Agreement is not a request of the moment, it is an old request and it is not materialized even within the dialogue tables that have been installed and reinstalled, ”he claimed.
On the demand for the bonus of 2 thousand soles, a report from the Citizen Proposal Group indicates that this delivery will represent a disbursement of 90 million soles, which would prevent important projects from being carried out in Espinar. In addition, it would be going against the purpose of the Framework Agreement, which is the development of this Cusco province.
However, the demonstrators allege that they prefer the bond to these funds being exhausted with the overvaluation of projects that, they affirm, is occurring.
