This paper aims to examine conflicts among the state, business, environmental and indigenous movements surrounding Camisea natural gas development project in Peru and thereby understand how the forces of neoliberal economy interact with the transnational environmental network, Peruvian environmental and indigenous movements. Neoliberal economic policy of the Peruvian government has promoted international investment in the development of the Camisea project. Developmental coalition of the Peruvian government and the consortium companies has not shown much interest in dealing with the environmental concerns and protecting the rights of the indigenous people. However, environmental coalition consisting of international and domestic environmental NGOs and indigenous organizations were not strong nor unified enough to affect the destructive process of project development. Environmental NGOs were divided into two distinct groups toward the role of the indigenous people in the preservation of the rainforest while the indigenous organizations were also divided on the issue of development of the natural resources located in the traditional indigenous territory. Furthermore, democratization did not lead to greater political influence of the indigenous people. Weak indigenous identity, pervasive poverty among the indigenous people, and recent experience of internal war and Fujimori regime have been major obstacles to greater indigenous power in the Peruvian society. The case study of Camisea project shows that development drive of the neoliberal forces should be controled by the strengthened civil society and expanded democracy to minimize the environmental damages caused by the development project.

This paper aims to examine conflicts among the state, business, environmental and indigenous movements surrounding Camisea natural gas development project in Peru and thereby understand how the forces of neoliberal economy interact with the transnational environmental network, Peruvian environmental and indigenous movements. Neoliberal economic policy of the Peruvian government has promoted international investment in the development of the Camisea project. Developmental coalition of the Peruvian government and the consortium companies has not shown much interest in dealing with the environmental concerns and protecting the rights of the indigenous people. However, environmental coalition consisting of international and domestic environmental NGOs and indigenous organizations were not strong nor unified enough to affect the destructive process of project development. Environmental NGOs were divided into two distinct groups toward the role of the indigenous people in the preservation of the rainforest while the indigenous organizations were also divided on the issue of development of the natural resources located in the traditional indigenous territory. Furthermore, democratization did not lead to greater political influence of the indigenous people. Weak indigenous identity, pervasive poverty among the indigenous people, and recent experience of internal war and Fujimori regime have been major obstacles to greater indigenous power in the Peruvian society. The case study of Camisea project shows that development drive of the neoliberal forces should be controled by the strengthened civil society and expanded democracy to minimize the environmental damages caused by the development project.

Neoliberalism, Camisea Project, Indigenous Politics, Environmental Movement, Peru