Aunt Maria: protests are rekindled in the Tambo Valley

Agricultural, worker and citizen organizations from different parts of the Tambo Valley in Arequipa began a 48-hour strike on Thursday against the restart of operations at the Tía María (Southern) mining project, which they claim does not have a social license.

Roadblocks were reported early in the morning in the southern region, as well as the closure of various businesses and commercial establishments. The rapid action of the Peruvian National Police (PNP) countered further clashes.

But the protests could escalate in the coming weeks. During the presentation in Lima of the 34th Report of the Observatory of Mining Conflicts in Peru, the leader of the Tambo Valley, Miguel Meza, declared to La República that there is no possible negotiation with the company or the Executive Branch, after it was decided to “unilaterally” retake the US$1.4 billion mine.

“We hope that the minister [Rómulo Mucho] speak out. This Government has a commitment to the Tambo Valley, not only President Dina Boluarte who, during her campaign, said that ‘Tía María is not going’. The strike is still taking place peacefully,” said Meza.

Health emergency in El Tambo

From Arequipa, Governor Rohel Sánchez did not rule out declaring a health emergency due to heavy metals starting July 24, as part of a list of six agreements reached with the Executive.

However, he pointed out that the contamination of the Tambo comes from upstream, where the Aruntani tailings dam (Moquegua) is located. Samples will be taken from the inhabitants of Islay.

“This is of great concern to us because the presence of mercury, arsenic, gold and boron has been identified; these issues must be resolved. In the Arequipa region there is no mining operation that contaminates the Tambo River,” said Sánchez.

Like Tía María, local residents are also protesting the operation of La Tapada, a nearby gold and copper mine.

It should be noted that the only tributary for the 60,000 citizens in the 6 districts of the province of Islay is the Tambo, which supplies local agriculture and livestock, as well as secondary economic activities, such as shrimp fishing.

Minem’s ‘steamroller’

Specifically, the report by the CooperAcción group denounces the implementation by the Executive of a package of legal measures that “reduces the environmental barrier”, with the aim of unblocking the mining portfolio of more than US$54.5 billion. The research

Minister José de Echave explained that the first of these has been in place since last May: DS No. 004-2024-MINAM, which modifies the Regulations of Law No. 27446 of the National Environmental Impact Assessment System, and streamlines the “automatic approvals” of permits with limited citizen participation, among other aspects.

The approval of Ministerial Resolution No. 126-2024-MINAM, which seeks to remove the It is born the power to define which investment projects would be prioritized in order to use the so-called “articulation scheme.”

Finally, Ministerial Resolution No. 484-2023-MINEM/DM could soon be announced, which modifies the Mine Closure Regulation of DS No. 033-2005-EM to reinstate the possibility of submitting Detailed Environmental Plans (PAD), a figure created in 2019 to adapt negative environmental impacts that have not undergone environmental certification.

Aunt Maria, a boom in the midst of conflict

• Congresswoman Ruth Luque said that there is a shared responsibility in the Executive for the protests in Islay. “The Ministry of Culture has become another round table, because in the end it is the indigenous populations that are affected. The state response is deficient,” she stressed.
• According to Minem estimates, Tía María will add 120,000 metric tons of copper to Peru from 2026. But first it must be consolidated.
• The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) reported that the Southern company will install a refinery for more than US$10 billion once the project has been launched.