Upside Down World

The protest was a barometer for recently-inaugurated President Alan Garcia’s response to social movements that confront international corporate power. Garcia played negotiator. While he did not call in police to break the blockade, he utilized state power to mediate, end to the blockade and bring both sides to the negotiating table. That position was unlikely to hold for very long unless the Combayo Defense Committee sees some quick results from the company. Protesters in the region are driven by a history of broken promises and environmental degradation.