Bishops intervene to save “our common home” amid indiscriminate mining in Peru

Catholic bishops in Peru are calling on authorities to urgently deal with the threat to the environment because of indiscriminate mining, ensure that it does not threaten human life and dignity and take steps to safeguard “our common home”.

The bishops’ plea came following the incidence of unrest in the increasingly volatile mining sector in Peru, with Archbishop Héctor Miguel Cabrejos Vidarte of Trujillo, president of the Peruvian bishops' conference (CEP) signing a statement to say that mining should not become a “source for contamination of biodiversity”.

In that June 8 statement, Archbishop Vidarte urged the government to "act swiftly and effectively to address this issue comprehensively.”

In the latest incidence of unrest in Peru, the largest gold producer in South America, 14 people died in a land dispute between informal gold miners in a remote town in southern part of the nation. 

Nearly 15 percent of Peru's gold is churned out by informal miners, mostly in remote and underdeveloped areas. The nation produced 96.6 tons of gold in 2021, according to official figures by the Ministry of Mines. 

The unrest took place between June 1 and 2 in the province of Caraveli in the Arequipa region. As part of the investigation, police said seven people were found "dead by firearm projectile" in the conflict zone, according to Reuters.

"Remember that every human life is sacred ... neither must we allow the promotion of any form of violence, even more so if it threatens human life and dignity," Franciscan Archbishop Vidarte said in his statement.

At least 30 persons have been arrested up by police and they are charged with criminal organization, homicide, manufacturing and possession of hazardous materials.

In response to the deaths, families blocked a bridge on the Pan-American highway that passes through the district of Atico, in the province of Caravelí. Some of them wanted the intervention of the army to quell the situation.

"Profound closeness and solidarity with the families of the injured" and assured them that they would pray for the dead, the CEP said in the statement. 

"It is worrying that these conflicts have not been recognized and addressed in a timely manner by the relevant state and regional authorities,” Archbishop Vidarte observed.  

"Remember that every human life is sacred"

The violence in Caravelí follows a recent fire caused by copper miners at Southern Copper Corp's Los Chancas project. Peru is the world's second largest copper producer. 

Violence spearheaded by the gangs with a nexus with illegal mining has forced authorities to extend a state of emergency in five provinces of La Libertad Department, on the country’s western coast, where illegal mining is reported to be thriving.

On May 10, Peruvian President Pedro Castillo signed a 45-day extension, made at the request of regional leaders.

Much of the mining in Peru is centered around gold. However, coal has a central role in La Libertad. The port town of Salaverry in La Libertad helps the gangs offload their goods at will.

The mining mafia in the region has put in place sex trafficking rings and drug syndicates after they become more active in the area.

In 2021, leftwing socialist President  Castillo sought more control over the mining sector by the state and promised local communities in mining regions the distribution of profits from that industry.  

In April, indigenous communities started protests against major mining firms, for the failure to receive the promised profits from copper development.  

In the wake of massive protests over rising fuel prices due to the Ukraine invasion by Russia, members of the Fuerabamba and Huancuire indigenous communities ransacked the property of the Chinese-owned Las Bambas copper mine in the Apurimac region in south-central Peru. 

The conflict has paralyzed operations in the mine that alone produces 2 percent of the world's copper.

“We have been 50 days without being able to restart operations. Basically, this march seeks to make the voices of the more than 8,000 workers who are affected heard”, Las Bambas legal affairs manager Claudio Cáceres told EFE, a Spanish international news agency.

To quell the protests, President Castillo had declared a state of emergency in various parts of the country, including in Lima and the mineral-rich southern regions April 21. 

He hinted at mobilizing the army in place of previous conciliatory approach practiced by the government. 

Protesters have ignored these measures and continue with anti-government protests in the Andean nation.