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Indigenous protest in Peru

Watch "Protesta indígena in Bagua", then answer the questions below. You may need to conduct online research to answer them fully.

1
Bagua

What happened in Bagua on June 5 2009?

According to official sources, 34 people (10 civilians and 24 police) lost their lives during an attempt by 600 Peruvian soldiers and riot-police to remove an indigenous blockade of the Belaunde Terry Highway at Devil's Curve in the northern Peruvian Amazon. The low numbers of indigenous peoples killed according to the official version of events, is contradicted by other reports that claim that more than 50 protestors died at Devil's Curve and in Bagua. There have also been claims that victims' bodies were removed from the scene, burnt and disposed of by the police in local rivers (Peruvian Times, 2009).Check your answer

2
Causes

What was the cause of the protest?

The Bagua massacre came after a campaign spanning more than a year in the jungle regions of five Peruvian departments; Amazonas, Cusco, Loreto, San Martín and Ucayali, against a series of decrees issued in 2007 and 2008 by the president of Peru, Alan García. Congress granted García the power to issue decrees for following the signing of a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States. According to García, decree power was necessary to repeal or modify national laws that contradicted the provisions of the FTA. The free trade agreement is seen by the government as an important plank in a development strategy based on increased foreign investment and Peru's integration into global trade networks. In a now notorious article published in the Lima-based newspaper, El Comercio, García (2007) heavily criticised environmentalists, his opponents on the left and accused the indigenous peoples of the Peruvian Amazon of "laziness and indolence" and of being wedded to "the law of the orchard dog syndrome that means that if I can't do it, nobody can."Check your answer

3
AIDESEP

Which Peruvian indigenous organisation has organised opposition to García's decrees?

Opposition to the decrees has been spearheaded by the Interethnic, Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest (AIDESEP). AIDESEP brings together 65 federations and 6 regional organisations representing some 350 000 indigenous people living in the Peruvian Amazon. It defines its aims as to (AIDESEP, 2009):

  • guarantee the conservation and development of the cultural identity, territory and values of all the indigenous peoples of the Amazon;
  • achieve indigenous self-determination within the framework of Peruvian and international law;
  • promote the human and sustainable development of indigenous peoples.
Check your answer

4
Protest repertoire

What forms of protest has AIDESEP used in its struggle against the presidential decrees?

AIDESEP has used a rich protest repertoire in its fight to oppose the decrees. As well as resorting to direct action (demonstrations, strikes, road and river blockades, occupations, hunger strikes and hostage-taking), it has also mounted legal challenges to the legislation and entered into direct negotiations with government officials. As in many other recent Latin American conflicts, the most widely used forms of protest have been road (and river) blockades and occupations of buildings. Blockades are a particularly effective form of protest in remote areas with poor transport infrastructure. Due to the paucity of routes, it is relatively easy for well-organised protestors to impede the free movement of both goods and people into and out of regions such as the Peruvian Amazon. Because of their effectiveness in Latin America, blockades have often been the scene of violent confrontations between protestors and security forces sent in to clear the way. In 2003, for example, 30 Aymara protestors were killed in and around the Bolivian city of El Alto by security forces attempting to clear a blockade. From reports in the press, it seems that the AIDESEP blockades have been highly effective in the struggle against the decrees; enabling indigenous protestors to paralyse road and river traffic into and out of the Amazon region and cut off the flow of oil through Peru's only crude pipeline to refineries in Iquitos, the capital of the Peruvian Amazon.Check your answer

5
Outcomes

What were the main outcomes of the protests?

In the immediate aftermath of June 5th, García continued to characterise the protestors as standing in the way of modernity and raising the spectre of foreign intervention in Peru's domestic affairs. However, as international criticism intensified and solidarity protests broke out across the country, García was forced to change tack and announced a 90-day suspension of one of the most important decrees. He also invited indigenous leaders to negotiations to explore ways of settling the dispute. Following talks, the government announced that it would repeal two of the decrees (LD1064 and LD1090) that had been at the centre of the protests and accepted that its failure to consult with indigenous representatives had been one of the main reasons for the conflict. Also, the Prime Minister, Yelunde Simón announced his resignation from the government due to his own failure to achieve a peaceful resolution of the situation in the Amazon. The other major political casualty was Carmen Vildoso the Minister for Women's Affairs and Social Development, who felt compelled to resign in protest against the government's poor handling of events.

The resignation of key government ministers and the repeal of two of the most divisive decrees represent a major victory for AIDESEP and a significant defeat for García. The outcome also gives considerable impetus to what is rapidly turning into a mass protest movement bringing together workers, peasants, indigenous peoples and students against neoliberal globalisation in Peru. The situation is very reminiscent of Bolivia in 2003, when the use of excessive force by security forces against groups opposing neoliberal economic policies was the catalyst for a sharp rise in social conflict leading to a generalised insurrection against the Sánchez de Lozada government. Because of the absence of an indigenous political party that unites highland and lowland indigenous peoples, it is likely that one of the main beneficiaries of the mounting political crisis will be Ollanta Humala and his Peruvian National Party. Humalla looks in a strong position to mount a decisive challenge against García in presidential elections set to take place in 2011- if indeed, García lasts that long.

Check your answer

Now watch a clip from the Channel 4 documentary, "Peru: Blood and Oil". Where do you stand in relation to the issues raised in the clip? Do you, for example, think that indigenous peoples' rights are being violated in the Peruvian Amazon or do you believe that the government's duty to develop national resources in the interests of all Peruvians outweighs indigenous objections? Discuss online in the discussion board.

Finally, listen to the podcast of the lecture: Indigenous Protest in the Andes.