Communities struggle to hold Chinese miners to account in Peru
A new dispute mechanism enables communities to challenge Chinese-backed mining developments, but it may have already failed its first test The post Communities struggle to hold Chinese miners to account in Peru appeared first on Dialogue Earth .
In the remote highlands of Peru, communities are grappling with the challenge of holding Chinese miners accountable. The story unfolds in Nueva Morococha, a town built from scratch in 2012 by the Aluminium Corporation of China (Chinalco) to house workers and their families at Toromocho, a major copper mine. Despite assurances of compensation, new homes, and stable employment, residents claim the town has been a lifeless model village.
Jobs proved temporary and precarious, often ending abruptly. For 13 years, five families resisted, living without regular water, electricity, and facing lawsuits from Chinalco over land disputes. Alejandro Atachahua, a 48-year-old computer repairman, was the voice of resistance, expressing feelings of displacement and the dissolution of community bonds.
As China becomes South America's primary trading partner, Chinese trade with Latin America is projected to exceed USD 700 billion by 2035, with copper ore accounting for 62% of China-Peru trade in 2024. In response to the growing accountability gap, China's Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals and Chemicals Importers and Exporters (CCCMC) developed an accountability mechanism in late 2022.
The mechanism allows communities to raise grievances against Chinese mining companies and seek conflict resolution. However, the mechanism's effectiveness remains to be seen, as the visit of Chinese mediators to Morococha, scheduled for April 2025, was cancelled at the last minute, leaving the community to seek redress through Chinalco's head of community relations, Lisset Mesa.
Written by urgent.news from Dialogue Earth's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
