Figure 2 – Peru, a mining country Three decades later, since 1990 we can see sustained growth in GDP per capita (increasing 7 times; from US$1,200 in 1990 to US$8,452 in 2024) according to the World Bank, supported by mining growth, in this case copper (increasing 8.6 times, from 0.32 million tons in 1990 to 2.74 million tons in 2024) according to the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MINEM, 2025). The political polarization during the general elections and change of government in 2000 increased social conflicts and greatly affected the continuity of the privatization process and the granting of service concessions to the private sector, which had become the main drivers of investment and modernization in the country. The Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCRP), in its June 2017 report "Determinants of Social Conflicts in Mining Production Zones," mentions that social and environmental conflicts associated with mining projects in Peru have paralyzed US$18 billion in investment (10 percent of GDP) in recent years. Regarding copper, the suspension of major mining projects in Cajamarca (Michiquillay, Conga, La Granja), Piura (Río Blanco), Arequipa (Tía María), and others, has delayed the growth of copper production projected in the 1992 Annual Mining Reference Plan. This plan, which aimed to reach Chile's production levels within three decades, only achieved 50% of that target. One of the direct consequences of mining conflicts, including the "Conga No Va" conflict, is evident in the drop in gold production from 208 to 107 tons between 2005 and 2024, as reported by the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MINEM) (see Figure 3). 21
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