"Peruvian police pacts with Chinese mining company threaten to undermine state authority", 4 May 2020

Apurímac, the region in Peru's Andes with the most mining investment, is home to the giant Las Bambas copper mine, an ongoing flashpoint between police, local communities and the mine's operators, a consortium of Chinese companies including MMG Limited, Guoxin International Investment and CITIC Metal. But agreements between Peru's police and the mining company threaten to undermine their independence, legal experts say.

In Las Bambas’ hilly surroundings, community members from Apurímac’s six provinces, represented by the Front for the Defence of the Interests and Development of the Province of Cotabambas, await resolution of a lawsuit filed to the Tambobamba Combined Civil Court in Apurímac. In April 2019, they lodged the complaint against the mining company and the national Police who for five years have held agreements to ensure the security of investments, resulting in a deep mistrust of the government.

...According to communities, those that live in the ‘area of influence’ around one of the largest copper projects in the world have had their rights to property and prior consultation violated. They say the results of the project’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) were modified following changes to the project under its new owners, and that measures to reduce pollution were not implemented. In protest, communities blocked access routes to the site where the mineral was being transported, generating losses for the company.

Now, the constant police presence in the area has compounded problems and raised serious questions about public security, communities say...

...The Public Prosecutor's Office insists on defending the constitutionality of the agreement signed by the National Police and Las Bambas.