2574 explained by renewed confidence in the country, strong minerals demand, and favourable price evolution, which led to increased production volumes, mirroring the accelerated growth of the Chinese economy. After a number of scandals, and before facing a second impeachment vote, Kuczinsky resigned, he was succeeded in the office by his First Vice President Martín Vizcarra (23.03.18). In turn Vizcarra was discharged from the office of President of the Republic by Congress (9 Nov 2020), on grounds of moral incapacity, His constitutional successor, Manuel Merino, took oath of office as President (10.11.20), but after six days in office, following the killings of two protesters by police, Congress accepted his resignation and declared its newly-elected chairman, Francisco Sagasti (16.11.20) as President of the country and he took office the following day (17.11.20). Long-standing economic inequities and development gaps were made worse by the traumatic experience of the Covid-19 pandemic (2020), all these issues loomed large in 2021, leading to the election of Pedro Castillo as new president. The Castillo time in office was troublesome from the outset, he appointed six different cabinets in six months. Facing a third imminent impeachment proceeding, he attempted a selfcoup, scrambled to form a provisional government, declared a national curfew, and called for an assembly to draft a new constitution. Castillo was impeached by congress (07.12.22) and was succeeded by First Vice President Dina Boluarte the very same day. The Boluarte presidency was driven by her relentless pursuit to remain in power until the end of her term of office; hence, she aligned herself with the majority in Congress, allowing the use of military and the police to quell social unrest, a decision seen by some as controversial. Her presidency was further marred by the onslaught of organised crime and illegal economies, compounded with never-ending corruption allegations, Boluarte was impeached on grounds of permanent moral incapacity and removed from office by Congress (10.10.25) amidst a citizen-security crisis and renewed civil unrest against her rule; she was succeeded the same day as president by José Jerí, for the remaining nine-months of the term. After a promising couple of months in office, Jerí got embroiled in a string of scandals and wrongdoings, strenuously denied but persistently confirmed; he got ousted (17.02.25); the following day, José Balcazar was sworn in as new president, until the end of July. The Peruvian 21st century shows a contradictory mix of economic booms alongside political fragility and social fragmentation. Macroeconomic success notwithstanding, the country faced chronical political instability, the pattern of destructive rivalry between the executive and legislative branches was recurrent, leading to a succession presidents in short periods. In the end, the legislative (Congress) got the upper hand. Concurrently, major corruption charges and investigations affected almost all these former presidents, shaking public trust in democracy and its institutions. 2. THE COPPER CONNECTION Before delving into the case of copper, perhaps we should look beforehand at the mirror of history, at the guano (1840s-1870s) and saltpetre (1879-1930) eras. As guano (seabird droppings) became scarce, it was replaced by saltpetre (potassium nitrate), both were once the primary fertilizing agent for agricultural purposes, but also key inputs for the production of gunpowder and explosives. Both were finally replaced by mass-produced synthetic nitrogen alternatives. The take is twofold, on the one hand, commodity booms never last forever, and on the other hand, the technological breakthrough --discovery of the Haber-Bosch synthesis- - had a double-edged sword effect, it prevented mass starvation but also paved the way for industrial-scale warfare. Decreasing copper ore grades and a sustained structural demand are reflected in high prices. In turn, scarcity and high commodity prices have always been a catalyst for innovation and technological substitution, as new, at least equally or more efficient alternative materials are eagerly sought after, enabling the use of less expensive materials, or avoiding its use at all, replacing them with non-mineral materials. None of this is new, copper consumption patterns evolved over time, across industrial sectors, from the initial
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