Mining Mountains: Neoliberalism, Land Tenure, Livelihoods, and the New Peruvian Mining Industry in Cajamarca

Abstract

Peru has been transformed over the course of the past decade into a neoliberal, mineral-based, export-oriented, country. The author evaluates the neoliberal transformation of the country in three parts. First he examines the economic and political transformation of the country in the early 1990s, particularly in terms of how the Peruvian state and economy were rapidly restructured according to neoliberal principles. He then illustrates how, both through privatization and through transnationalization, the mining sector has become a key element for future development opportunities. This discussion is then contextualised by an examination of how mining activities are affecting land-tenure patterns and livelihoods in the Cajamarca region of Peru. In particular, drawing upon case-study research, the author evaluates how Minera Yanacocha's transnational gold-mining operations are transforming land-tenure institutions, land values, and the spatial distribution of land-use patterns throughout the region. In addition, he evaluates how livelihoods are being transformed in response to Minera Yanacocha's activities through an examination of changing household access to natural, human, social, and economic resources.