Notwithstanding the fact that sociologists and historians have often questioned the unity of the object “Latin America” taking into account the doubtless heterogeneity of realities within the continent, there are certain phenomena that on account of their recurrent character seem to be contradicting such view. In recent years, the same kind of conflict has been taking place in several Latin American countries: the confrontation of organized communities with those multinational companies that by means of their eagerness for profit pose a threat to the environment.
As living proof of this phenomenon, a small delegation of the National Coordinating Committee of Communities Affected by Mining in Peru (CONACAMI) was present at the sixth edition of the World Social Forum. The delegation made up of 25 Peruvians and some European residing in Lima and also member of the organization, not only was visible at the WSF opening march – by means of a flag and the colourful traditional clothes wore by Andean indigenous communities – but also organized one among the hundreds of workshops which, without the stridence of major political and intellectual personalities, allow to build the World Social Forum as a real space for social movements and civil society organizations. Choike was present at CONACAMI’s workshop that took place on January 27.
The activity started with a traditional song from the North of Peru being sung by Miguel Tabla, musician and activist of the organization. Then, the vice-chair of CONACAMI, Mario Palacios Pánez and three members of the organization from very different regions of Peru gave their testimony about the characteristics of the struggle that brings them together.
Peru, not only a mining country
Palacios Pánez was the one in charge of opening the talk and providing general guidelines related to the issue as well as a general outline of CONACAMI’s history. As he related, it was in the 1990s, within the context of the economic policy promoted by former president Alberto Fujimori, that the privatization of mining companies started to take place together with the onset of ambitious investment and modernization projects of the activity in charge of the most powerful multinational companies in the field. “CONACAMI sprang up then – he stressed – in response to the effects of neo-liberalism and globalization”.
As stated by Palacios Pánez, nowadays almost all the large international companies engaged in mining are operating in Peru. “In the last five years the number of hectares given in concession has increased seven times; at the present time, more than half of the amount of Peruvian exports stem from mining”, he pointed out. This process, which resulted in large profits for those companies promoting it, was certainly far from achieving a socially fair and environmentally sustainable result. “Mining is a terribly contaminating activity, which on account of its production guidelines not only dramatically alters ecosystems, but has tended to restructure the life of indigenous communities that have been largely affected by it”.
In view of this phenomenon that was taking place both on the coast and highlands as well as in the Peruvian Amazon region, CONACAMI came into existence as a sort of federation of different kinds of groups and movements and is currently present in 19 regions of Peru. “The answer has been to become organized – Palacios Pánez said – while at the same time defending our identity. We do not talk about defending the environment but the Pachamama (Mother Earth) because our indigenous and peasant communities traditionally consider themselves as sons and daughters of the earth and have lived in harmony with it”. One of the concerns of CONACAMI is to publicly oppose the discourse that presents Peru as an outstandingly mining country. “We deny that and say that Peru is an agrarian country, or at least a country that offers diversity. All climates and ecosystems are found in Peru. The economic profit of a reduced number of companies cannot expose us to all the effects of an activity that is of so little financial return for the bulk of the population”, highlighted the vice-chair of the organization.
Across the regions of Peru
Following the above intervention, several members of CONACAMI specified the state of affairs in different Peruvian regions. Manuel Alejandro Torres Vivanco, of the Regional Coordinator of Communities Affected by Mining (CORECAMI) from the department of Apurimac, said that such region has been undergoing a real mining “boom” since 2004. “Until 2003 we were a very diverse region. Nowadays there are about 200 mining companies in Apurimac that are destroying one hill after another. Rivers are being left without trouts; llamas and alpacas are becoming extinct; ecosystems are being violently modified. And all this under a corporate discourse that talks about responsible mining and has promised to create 80,000 jobs that would be putting an end to unemployment in the region, etc. But none of this is happening”, he pointed out. Torres Vivanco mentioned then the supervision tasks and demands being made by his organization. As he remarked, “we demand to be given back 1,000 metres of land per month; we are also demanding water tests to be carried out from time to time”. Finally, he took advantage of the opportunity provided by the Forum and requested the support of the international community to their demands.
Next, Hilda Guamán, of the Cuzco region, asked those taking part in the event to make an imaginary trip to that worldwide famous area. “Since 1996, mining companies have managed to expropriate more than 5,000 hectares belonging to peasants. Businesspeople signed a framework agreement committing themselves to a series of tasks such as the participation in an Environmental Monitoring Committee, the possibility of supervising activities, the training of young people and the hiring of at least 70% of workers from the region, etc. Today it has to be said that thanks to the consent of government authorities none of this has been fulfilled”. Later on, Guamán referred to one of the most complicated aspects in the life of CONACAMI’s activists: the criminalization of their protest actions. “Nowadays, there are more than 700 people criminalized”. Then, she also denounced the existence of selenium in river waters within the region and another negative consequence that has come along with the big mining phenomenon: the dispossession of entire families from their lands, compensating them with lands in other remote and desolate regions.
Finally, Mario Tabla gave testimony of the organized struggle against mining multinational companies in the community of Yanta, region of Piura, located on the north border with Ecuador. Two large transnational corporations have been investing in the area: Newmont, of US origin, and Monterrico Metals, of British capitals. Tabla expressed that the activity of these companies is violating several international agreements, such as for example the Convention No. 169 of the International Labour Organization (ILO), which establishes that all economic activities potentially affecting communities should have their direct approval. Likewise, he remarked that not even the mining laws of the Peruvian state are duly addressed.
Tabla then commented on the ups and downs experienced by communities taking part in the struggle against multinational corporations, laying emphasis on the repression they have suffered. As he told us, in a march carried out in Río Blanco in 2004, a demonstrator was killed after being hit by a tear gas bomb. “There are tens of penal actions filed against me, alleging damage to private property. On account of our actions and protests we are accused of being terrorists”. In spite of all the above, he emphasized how communities stand firm against what he called as “mining plunder”.
A Latin American phenomenon
At question time, it could be verified that this is far from being an exclusively Peruvian phenomenon. A young Argentine participant presented the case of the Patagonic city of Esquel, where the organized community resisted the setting up of a mining multinational corporation, and asked whether in Peru they had likewise achieved good results. Certainly, the unanimous response of those that were present referred to what some people have called as “the victory of Tambogrande”, also in the region of Piura, where a very diverse array of social organizations got together and managed to alter the plans of a powerful mining multinational company.
Then, an Ecuadorian member of the Latin American Network of Women Resisting Mining, provided details on how large mining corporations also operate in her country. “In Ecuador it’s the same story you have told us about. Large companies use the opinion of sociologists and experts in their favour. And in spite of the supposedly left-wing governments, several women have been charged for protest actions”.
A Peruvian woman researcher provided further information by highlighting that women use to be in fact the ones to become more affected by mining. “Many women miners are exposed to cyanide and that is why many children are born with Down syndrome”, she pointed out. On account of that she urged people not to make concessions in the struggle: “we have to reject mining at all levels. We have to go back to agriculture and defend community organization. As it was said in Argentina, we should demand all mining multinational companies go home”, she exclaimed, winning the applause of the audience.
Following new statements by panellists, and a call to strengthen efforts at continental level to face the scourge, the workshop was closed with an even warmer applause.
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