Peruvian President Alan Garcia amended Decree 1090 “to open up to 60 % of Peru’s jungles to mining, oil , and gas exploration and development.”
Protest ensued and maybe sixty people died. The President is then reported to have said:
“There is a conspiracy aimed at stopping us from using our natural resources for the good, growth and quality of life of our people. You have to ask yourself: Who stands to benefit from Peru not being able to use its gas? Who stands to benefit from Peru not finding any more oil. We know who. The important thing is to establish the ties in these international networks which have emerged to foment unrest.”
I confess I do not know who stands to benefit from Peru not finding more oil. I confess I do not know who stands to benefit most from more mining in Peru’s jungles. Although once I did visit Lima and the wife of my host, a beautiful lady of Spanish extraction, told me the Indians were still a bit of a nuisance and stood in the way of the Europeans getting rich.
She was openly and honestly racial about it. Not only were the barbed-wire fences around the house reminiscent of South Africa, so too were the racial attitudes.
I cannot help but wonder if the “international networks which have emerged to forment unrest” are Canadian or Chinese. Canadians because there is part of the population that does that sort of thing. Chinese as they could then take over the mining from those currently seeking to do it. Unlikely to be Americans who are too busy with other things. Could be Cubans and folk from Venezuela or Bolivia seeking to impose their brand of socialism on the rich Spanish lady.
So in spite of what I once wrote on racialism in mining, seems it does exist. Or maybe this is just naked imperial racialism for mining resources. Still I would like to know who was going to do the mining, who formented the unrest, and who will now do the mining. Meanwhile the report concludes:
It is believed Garcia will have to fire the Prime Minister and other senior cabinet members, and pull back on investment laws to end the violence.
