Peru's Humala To Put Finishing Touches On Cabinet After Trip
June 27 2011 - 6:27PM
Dow Jones News
"Upon returning to the country... we will put the finishing
touches in terms of the people who are going to work with the
government," Humala told reporters.
"We don't think its the right moment [to announce the members of
the cabinet] because that is going to create a lot of expectations,
uncertainty, and with all of these social conflicts we believe we
have to do it at a time when the country doesn't have these
problems of social convulsion," he added.
The administration of President Alan Garcia recently enacted
five laws including the revocation of a concession granted to Bear
Creek Mining Corp. (BCEKF, BCM.V) in an attempt to meet the demands
of anti-mining activists in southern Peru.
At least five protesters were killed when riot police fired tear
gas and live ammunition to keep protesters from seizing the airport
in the city of Juliaca.
The violence came just weeks before Garcia hands power to
left-leaning nationalist Humala on July 28.
Humala called on the Garcia administration to resolve the mining
conflict before he takes office.
"What we need is to ask the outgoing government to resolve this
problem...that constitutionally corresponds to the current
government," he said.
Peru produces 16% of the world's silver, 12% of its zinc, 9% of
its gold and 7% of its copper, according to a report by Deutsche
Bank.
The country's mineral wealth and free-market-friendly
governments have attracted billions of dollars in investment by
foreign mining companies like Grupo Mexico SAB (GMEXICO.MX) and
Xstrata PLC (XTA.LN).
-By Ken Parks and Tania Mellado, Dow Jones Newswires;
54-11-4103-6740, ken.parks@dowjones.com