- Write by:
-
Wednesday, August 12, 2020 - 11:39:19 PM
-
640 Visit
-
Print
Mining News Pro - Angry residents in Peru’s Andean and Amazon regions have attacked three mining and oil sector firms in the last week, two of which were forced to halt operations after deadly clashes, as a second wave of covid-19 infections hits the country.
The main reason: demand for economic aid and healthcare support during the pandemic, which has underscored stark divisions between the rich and often rural poor in the country, the world’s second largest producer of copper.
“What the pandemic has done is to lift the veil on the reality of an inefficient, disjointed state,” human rights ombudsman Walter Gutierrez told local radio RPP on Monday.
According to a report from the ombudsman on Sunday, there were 162 social protests linked to covid-19 in Peru in June and July, most relating to public health and requests for aid, including 16 linked to the engine of the country’s economy: mining.
There were 326 cases of coronavirus-related unrest between March when the pandemic emerged in Peru and the end of May, a previous report showed.
On Sunday, three indigenous people from the Amazon region died and 17 people were injured, including residents and police, after protesters wanting to halt production at an oil field operated by Canada’s PetroTal clashed with security forces.
Another protest, over the Glencore-owned Antapaccay copper mine, was resolved after an agreement with the local town, under which each resident will receive a $285 shopping card for food, medicine, clothes and education.
Antapaccay also committed to funding a medicinal oxygen plant. Medicinal oxygen, key to the treatment of covid-19 patients suffering from respiratory failure, has been declared by the government as a product of “national interest” due to its scarcity, high demand, and price in the market.
Peru has the seventh highest tally of confirmed coronavirus cases in the world, with over 478,000 cases and more than 21,000 deaths. Daily cases have spiked sharply in recent weeks in a second wave after the country eased lockdown restrictions.
“We are in an extremely critical situation,” Gutierrez said. “The numbers are alarming indicators.”
The rise in social tensions comes as President Martín Vizcarra seeks to emerge from a political crisis after being forced to replace his prime minister – the second in three weeks – after a revolt by the opposition-dominated Congress.
Short Link:
https://www.miningnews.ir/En/News/583172
Copper futures in New York rallied to a record high after a short squeeze that’s prompted a scramble to divert metal in ...
A Native American group said on Tuesday it will take its fight against Rio Tinto’s proposed Arizona copper mine to the ...
Teck Resources Ltd expects to generate annual earnings before interest, depreciation, tax and amortization (EBITDA) of ...
The state-run Chilean Copper Commission (Cochilco) will soon revise its copper price outlook, which will be considerably ...
Chilean mining giant Codelco is still working to meet its estimated output for the second quarter, CEO Ruben Alvarado ...
Truck drivers in Chile staged protests Monday in the mineral-rich north of the country and around the capital Santiago, ...
Democratic Republic of Congo’s government has lifted a suspension order on a Congolese copper and cobalt operation ...
Peru’s copper production came in essentially flat for March at about 219,000 metric tons, government data showed on ...
Oxford Economics Australia has released data showing mine maintenance spending may be hitting its peak. But what does it ...
No comments have been posted yet ...