초록 열기/닫기 버튼
The Rio Blanco mine which is located in an ecologically sensitive area in the higher Andes of Piura in northern Peru, has been a target of both the mining company (formerly the Manhattan Metals of Great Britain, now the Jizin Consortium of China), and the local anti-mining movement, on the issue of whether to develop or not. This paper explores how rural communities and small-scale local governments in the Andes could successfully deter a mining company’s effort to develop a multi-billion investment project, despite the strong support of the Peruvian government for the project. Examining the local conditions for sustainable livelihood, the behavior of the Peruvian state and mining company toward rural communities, and the internal structure of the anti-mining movement, it is possible to show that the cohesive organizational and solidarity networks have been behind the strong mobilization of the rural people. FDSFNP is a center for local mobilization, creating the cohesive network of local governments, rural communities, peasant watch organizations called rondas campesinas, technical NGOs that not only organized protest marches and strikes but also worked hard in search of an alternative development model and lobbied in Lima for dialogue and policy responses from the central government. It also organized a local referendum to show how strong the local opposition is against the project. It also created its own institutional arrangements for sustainable development such as the ZEE (Ecological Economic Zoning) and utilized traditional peasant watch organizations for ecological protection. In sum, the local movement was able to build autonomy based on its natural environment and traditional organizational background. The conventional view on social movements in Peru, including the anti-mining movement, has pointed out that they are fragmented and weak, limited in geographical coverage, lacking in organizational resources and robust relationships with other political and social actors. While these general observations might explain some of the current weaknesses of the anti-mining movements in Peru, the Rio Blanco case shows that the case can be otherwise depending upon the local economic and social backgrounds and strategic choices made by the rural people who are pressed hard to search for an alternative development model for their livelihood.
