Las Bambas: Executive will wait until today for the cessation of blockades

There was no white smoke. The president of the Council of Ministers, Mirtha Vásquez, yesterday issued an ultimatum to the Chumbivilcas communities, in the Cusco, to unlock the southern mining corridor. He gave until today at noon to restart the dialogue without impositions or measures of force.

The energetic exhortation was sent virtually in the meeting held in the capital of Cusco with the communal presidents, the Minister of Energy and Mines, Eduardo González, the manager of Corporate Affairs and Business Development of Las Bambas, Carlos Castro, the governor of Cusco, Jean Paul Benavente, and district mayors of the area of ​​influence.

“We have a responsibility to you, but also to the rest of the country. If I do not have an answer, the president and the ministers will have to analyze other measures, “he said.

Vásquez promised to reach the conflict zone on December 30, but for that he requested that the mining route be released. The broker has 34 days of interruption, which led to Las Bambas closing its operations five days ago.

The meeting in Cusco called by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (PCM) it did not achieve immediate unlocking of the mining corridor as expected. A formal response from the communities will be awaited until today.

If the agreement is not reached, the Government would opt for radical measures to restore order, such as declaring an emergency in the area.

For his part, the representative of The Bambas He maintained that the mining company has all the disposition to attend the claims of the 72 communities of the mining corridor, but it invoked the Government to guarantee its operations after several weeks of resuming the measures of force.

“We have a comprehensive vision for all the communities of the mining corridor, we are ready to dialogue, but in conditions of peace. We have more than three thousand workers who have not yet been able to leave the mine, ”he argued.

Communities respond

However, some communities demand the arrival of Prime Minister Mirtha Vásquez before lifting any measure. The president of the Alto Collana community, Daniel Collque, announced that they will not suspend their protest if their demands are not aired first in the city of Chumbivilcas.

Along these lines, Collque told La República that Cusco residents do not trust this new government commitment, which comes several months after former Prime Minister Guido Bellido offered to resolve contingencies with MMG in less than sixty days. A similar position was seen from the Capaccmarca community, although its leaders did not rule out positively evaluating the PCM proposal.

“We already know the government’s strategy. They expect us to lift the strike and then no one responds. It is a mockery to us. Under these conditions, without guarantee, we will not lift the strike, ”the leader emphasized.

Meanwhile, the president of the Chumbivilcas Defense Front, Wilber FuentesHe also mentioned that he will consult the bases. The leader leads the demand of the ten communities that hope to become suppliers of Las Bambas, but time is running out.

“I do not decide. It will be the communities that give the last word, “he said.

Special treatment area

The technical approach put forward by the Government is to declare the entire mining corridor as a “special treatment area”, which would mitigate environmental impacts and increase the generation of development opportunities.

The PCM also explained that with this declaration, mechanisms would be sought so that the mining activity contributes to closing gaps in health and education.

The Government’s commitment is to have a greater presence in the area. They indicated that the proposal will be expanded at the technical tables that will take place after the dialogue is restarted.

The data

Runner. The Minister of Energy and Mines, Eduardo Gonzalez, clarified that the location of a new route for Las Bambas to bring copper to the coast is not on the government’s agenda.