Southern Copper Corp announced a 60-day halt in its huge Tia Maria project in southern Peru following seven weeks of escalating protests in which three have been killed.
A 16-year-old protester was shot dead by National Police troops at Santa Teresa village in Cuzco region, during a protest against construction of a gas pipeline through local lands.
Highly vulnerable "uncontacted" indigenous bands who recently emerged in the Brazil-Peru border region told neighboring tribes that they were fleeing violent attacks in Peru.
Gregorio Santos, regional president of Cajamarca in northern Peru who opposed the US-backed Conga mine project, was ordered under "preventative" detention.
Arizona-based Southern Copper is set to restart work at its controversial $1 billion Tía María copper project in Arequipa—despite ongoing protests and hunger strikes.
Potato farmers across Peru's sierras blocked roads with their tractors and trucks for weeks, demanding a subsidized distribution system for the staple crop in the face of plummeting prices. The National Commission of Potato Producers (Conapropa) struck a deal with the government, but wildcat protests continued in Huancavelica, Huánuco, Junín, Ayacucho and Arequipa regions. Finally, farmers advanced on Lima in a cross-country motorcade. This forced Conapropa leader Fernando Gutiérrez back to the table, meeting with Agriculture Minister José Arista to strike a better deal. Huancavelica regional governor Glodoaldo Álvarez denied government claims of over-production by farmers, and pointed to massive imports since the 2009 Free Trade Agreement with the US. Farmers at the roadblocks carried banners with slogans such as "¡Abajo el TLC!" (Down with the FTA!). (Photo: La República)
