Peruvian Coup Regime Approves Lithium Mining As Puno Rejects Plan

The Peruvian coup regime remains entrenched in power more than four months after the parliamentary coup that ousted democratically elected President Pedro Castillo. On April 10th, the de facto Minister of Energy and Mines Óscar Vera announced the coup government would grant permits to Macusani Yellowcake , subsidiary of Canadian mining company Plateau Energy Metals, which as of 2021 is a subsidiary of American Lithium in the Macusani town of the Puno region. Leaders of the Puno region, including the National Platform for People Affected by Metals, Metalloids and Other Toxic Chemical Substances, have stated clearly that until there is respect for the people of Puno, the lithium will not leave… This coup was always about getting to the lithium of Puno, along with all the other vast minerals and resources Perú contains… The battle in Puno, much like the broader struggle in Perú, is to end the ransacking of natural resources by transnational corporations with no regard for the people of those lands whose soil and waters become contaminated, whose labor is exploited for 1 sol an hour, whose roads and infrastructure remain dilapidated, and whose children must walk for hours to get an underfunded education.