Peru backslides on indigenous rights

cuzco

An indigenous woman pointing to her land expropriated for a copper project at Tintaya village, Cuzco. Recent statements from the Peruvian government do not bode well for implementation of Peru’s new Indigenous Peoples Consultation Law. President Ollanta Humala contends that “there are no native communities in the sierra,” and that the law only applies to native peoples in the Amazon basin. At stake are major mineral projects in the sierra, including Newmont Mining’s contentious plans for an open-pit gold mine at Conga, Cajamarca department. Emily Greenspan of Oxfam America explores.

Photo: Diego Nebel/Oxfam America 

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