Protest in the Inca Heartland: Mobilization around Mining in Southern Peru

• In Event: Community Mobilization and Environmental Politics: State, Society, and Industry

Abstract

Global demand for clean energy keeps pushing the mining frontier of essential materials such as copper, lithium, and zinc to the indigenous hinterland often marginalized in the national blueprint for development. In response, communities mobilized to demand environmental justice and economic development promised by international companies and the central government. Why can some communities take collective actions to effectively press for their demands while others fail? Answering this question will help uncover the key variables behind effective collective actions that are well-mobilized and conducive to successful struggles. This study explores this question through a study of community mobilizations around mega-mining projects in the southern Peruvian regions of Apurímac and Cusco, drawing on qualitative data from interviews with local stakeholders and observations of community meetings and negotiations and an original survey in Apurímac. It shows that the likelihood of success is related to the level of social cohesiveness and the political culture of civic engagement in the host communities prior to mining. This finding will contribute to the literature on social mobilization and contentious politics around natural resource extraction.

Author

• Kehan Wang, Boston University