The Economist Explains Peruvian Mines Madness

There has been a lot of unrest around mining in Piura recently. Campesinos in the mountains are very against a new mine that a Chinese company wants to open. Most of the mining companies here are foreign owned and supported by Lima, regulated by a Ministry of Mining instead of an environmental protection agency. It's a contentious situation because of the history of exploitation in the mountains. Communities do not buy the copper and they do not get any jobs. They're just left with the dirty water and leveled mountains. The communities near the proposed mine decided to hold an election to vote to try to block the mine. The day of the election the mines held soccer games and gave away free bags of rice and sugar to keep people from going to the polls. People still voted in droves and "no" won by something like 97%. Peace Corps called down the volunteers who live in the surrounding area for fear of violence. My friend Aaron who lives in a nearby community tells me that in the end things were safe and calm but, people are worried and really working to prevent the mine from opening.