Crisis in Cuajone: Workers warn that they will face community members over water reservoir intake

The conflict at the Cuajone mine could end in clashes with regrettable consequences after workers have warned that they will recover the reservoir taken by the community members for 50 days and who have left the camp where they live with their families without water.

Five thousand people, including workers, wives and children, are affected by the lack of water after the community members of Tumilca, Pocata, Coscore and Tala seized the Viña Blanca water reservoir from the Cuajone mine in Southern Peru.

Last Saturday, the workers' representatives expressed their rejection of the communiqué issued by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (PCM) in which it only called for calm and asked to wait for the results of the dialogue they hold with the representatives of communities.

Due to the lack of attention to this problem, the workers have filed two habeas corpus to access the water service, cut off since 28 February, and have asked the Government to expedite the resolution of this social conflict.

“We have submitted two habeas corpus to the Superior Court of Justice, in order to expedite the request for us to have the water. We have cut it off since February 28,” said one of the mining workers.

Similarly, in a video recorded on March 13, the workers demanded the prompt resolution of the conflict.

“We demand that the President of the Republic, the Minister of Energy and Mines, the Minister of the Interior, the Minister of Health and all national authorities intervene immediately seeking an early solution to this problem and to avoid any confrontation between workers and the community,” said a workers' representative in a video recorded on March 13.

A work table had been set up on Thursday, March 31 at 10:00 a.m. at the headquarters of the Regional Government of Moquegua. However, the meeting never took place and the protests became more acute.

WORKERS GIVE ULTIMATUM

This fact, the lack of attention from the central Government and especially the service cut has aroused the discontent of the workers, so they issued a communiqué giving an ultimatum to the community members and warning that if the service did not return there would be “consequences”.

“We have mobilized and will continue to mobilize because of the desperation of our families and because of the cry of our children, because of the need to work, because they are already two months of indifferent movement that we know will continue to prolong without being required to return our vital resource,” says the statement.

WHAT DO THE COMUNEROS DEMAND?

Dionilde Flores, president of the community, said that his measure of strength is due to the fact that the mining company allegedly usurped part of his community's territories to build a building that accumulates water for the mining center. In addition, he denounces that the mining company, which is engaged in the extraction of copper, constantly throws clearing in areas close to the crops of adjacent communities.

The community members demand compensation of S/ 5 billion soles, as part of civil reparation, and 5% of profits.

LA MINERA'S RESPONSE

Southern Peru responded to complaints from communities, stating that it has the necessary permits to use these lands and specified that the equipment to concentrate copper is in disuse. With this, he estimated that an average of 12,000 tons of concentrated copper has stopped being produced and, with it, S/ 8.5 million soles in taxes and royalties.

Raul Jacob, vice president of finance, said that if the fight measure is not lifted, the miner will be forced to suspend its economic activities in the area.

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