Challenges of the regions that face the second round of elections and are among the most socially conflicted

Latest report on Ombudsman September, determine 211 social conflicts, between active and latent, throughout Peru. This problem is felt with greater intensity in Loretto, the region that tops the list with 29 events. This poses a serious problem for his virtual governor, René Chávez of Somos Peru.

However, the conflicts also directly hit several regions, which will determine their regional authorities in the upcoming second round. Jurisdictions such as Cusco (18), Piura (13) and Cajamarca (10) They are among the areas with the highest number of cases.

Despite the fact that conflicts are registered almost throughout the country, this issue was not the subject of pre-election debates. While candidates are expected to include them on their agendas in the second round, experts see the need for regional authorities to take the lead in addressing these developments.

“The authorities should not forget that citizens choose them for the promise to improve their quality of life. Therefore, the governor cannot ignore conflicts, he cannot put himself in profile in the face of citizens’ problems, using the pretext that this function is not part of his duties or that it is not part of his duties, ”says a specialist in public administration Alvaro Ugarte.

The expert refers to the fact that the Law on the Fundamentals of Decentralization and the Organic Law of Regional Governments allows local authorities to intervene in the resolution of these conflicts.

Per Yohannalize Vegaa lawyer specialized in the management of social and environmental conflicts, regional authorities can be key players in these cases, as they know the territory and realities of their localities better than the national administration.

“Regional and local authorities are at the forefront. During a crisis, you try to stop the violence. It is the regional and local authorities who are best aware of the dynamics of the territory, which will contribute to the development of strategies that are more based on these specific realities,” he notes.

Consequences of conflicts

The participation of regional representatives in matters of social conflict within their jurisdiction was uneven. Currently, out of 25 regional governments, only 8 have conflict prevention offices. These are: Arequipa, Loreto, Ayacucho, Puno, Huanuco, San Martin, Tacna and Ucayali.

Rolando LuqueDeputy for the Prevention of Social Conflicts of the Office of the Ombudsman, reports that regional governments can use monitoring systems to plan immediate intervention, given their proximity, in the event of a conflict and thus prevent its escalation.

The official believes that the absence of this problem in the pre-election debate is due to the fact that it is not understood political and economic consequences of social conflicts.

“They can generate institutional costs for the legitimacy of power, personal costs, where the physical integrity of people can be affected, as well as economic costs. For example, blocking highways has very serious consequences for local economic dynamics. This is not only about transporting minerals, but also about providing a range of services for small companies,” says Luke.

We can take as an example what happened this year in Apurimac. According to the Peruvian Institute of Economics (IPE), in the second quarter, the region’s GDP fell by 33.1% compared to last year. IPE indicates that this reduction is due to the shutdown of the mining company Las Bambas between April and June due to conflict between the company and the local population.

Avoid Experienced Candidates

In its September report, the ombudsman’s office reports that currently 64.5% of conflicts in the country are social and environmental in nature. Most of them are associated with extractive activities such as mining.

Advocate Yohannalize Vega points out that the interests of the population living in the places where permits are issued are often not given due attention. “One of the reasons why conflicts start or escalate has to do with how said permits could have been issued without information or without transparent processes with the population,” he describes.

That’s why he thinks it’s important that voters in these areas know their candidates, as some of them may have a history related to this issue. “Now it is possible to get specific information, find out if candidates have complaints or even sentences for activities related to causes that motivate various conflicts, such as: land trade, corruption, misuse of official position or, in particular, the provision of fraudulent permits for timber harvesting,” he concludes.