Tomorrow Wednesday, the Arequipa region of South Peru sees a regionwide strike against the Tia Maria project of Southern Copper (SCCO). The difference this time is that the protests are now spreading, it’s not just the Tambo Valley on the coast. Schools all over will be shut, transport stopped, a massed protest marches in the centre of Arequipa and supposedly some 5,000 police officers on hand in Big City to control things*.
IKN wonders whether Carlos Aranda, Technical Services Manager at Southern Copper (SCCO), will keep on with his story about the protests coming from just 6% of the 52,000 people who live in the Tambo Valley after tomorrow.
*Hopefully that stays at control things and doesn’t turn into “control things”.