Under the dredge: Illegal mining in Peru and the multidimensional threat

Abstract

Illegal economies in Peru exhibit an alarming and negative rise in their multidimensional impacts. Specifically, in our country, one of the illegal economies currently generating the most concern—positioning itself ahead of drug trafficking—is illegal mining, which is the focus of this essay. This essay will address how illegal mining generates negative social, environmental, and political impacts, from which it can be argued that there is a lack of effective and articulated state work to address this problem. Through the impacts of illegal mining, and taking into account considerations from the prior experience of drug trafficking in the 80s-90s, the transformations and consequences that illegal mining generates for the country will be revealed. The essay will evidence these consequences based on: insecurity, violence, and the expansion of organized crime; deforestation and contamination; and the weakening of the State.