Socialisation may not mean what you think in Tambo Valley in Arequipa. It refers to the public relations campaign to convince people living in three districts there of the virtues of Southern Peru’s programme to open up two gigantic open-pit copper mines (known as Tía María) in the direct vicinity of this agriculturally-rich irrigated valley. Teams of people are being dispatched by a PR company called Interprod to deliver glossy leaflets and to canvass opinion among the majority of households in Cocachacra, Deán Valdivia and Punta de Bombón districts of Islay province.

Southern has also offered to fund 100 million soles to support local initiatives. Its PR man, Guillermo Fajardo, however, has denied that this is intended to induce the locals into supporting Tía María. He says that it is by no means conditional on people in the valley accepting the project.

The Tambo valley has been the scene of some of the most violent conflicts over a mining concession yet witnessed during President Humala’s four years in office. Government officials and company representatives have repeatedly claimed that opponents to the mining scheme have been hoodwinked by nefarious ‘terrorists’ whose sole aim is to gain political influence at the expense of the national interest.

However, most people in the valley do not see it that way. They distrust Southern Peru for trying to foist on themselves a project which, because of the contamination it will cause, will threaten the agricultural productivity of the valley. The response to Southern’s latest PR initiative has been further angry demonstrations in Deán Valdivia against Tía María. Dialogue or no dialogue, the people of the valley don’t want the mine to go ahead. See for instance http://larepublica.pe/impresa/politica/700972-tambo-cree-que-proximo-gobierno-debe-solucionar-conflicto-por-tia-maria