March 24 has been set as the date for a meeting between government officials, local representatives and those from social movements to discuss the way forward at Pichinaki. As readers of the Peru Update will recall, there was a major protest at this jungle town in the province of Chanchamayo (Junín) last month in which one young man was killed and many local people were wounded. The protestors demanded the withdrawal of Pluspetrol from the region.

Since then, divisions appear to have emerged between those involved in the protests that could make it harder to secure the demands originally made. The coffee growers of the province have distanced themselves from the Frente de Defensa Ambiental led by Carlos Chavarría. Chavarría has called for a strike on March 22, but the coffee growers are in two minds as to whether to support this. Local people are demanding an indemnity for the dead and wounded from last month.