China in South and Central America

Peru

• Protests against treatment of workers have occurred in recent years, though. Beijing Shougang’s purchase and ownership of an iron ore mine in Marcona, Peru 15 years ago was at the time the largest such purchase of its kind, but has become a focus for criticism from the regional and congressional government, as well as NGO’s and its trade union. Jorge Silva, an engineer who works for the Research Centre for Development and Participation, has described the company as “a Chinese enclave that has no relationship with its social or physical environment” and, despite some concessions after numerous strikes by Shougang’s 720-member union, workers still earn $14 for 12-hour shifts, while Peru’s average salary for miners is $33. Moreover, union officials have cited safety concerns after 450 accidents that left 22 workers disabled in 2004 and five dead since 2002, mostly from electrocution and a lack of safety harnesses. Before 1992, the Marcona mine had been run by a North American firm, which Peruvian miners now look back on fondly for its having built a port, schools, a hospital, and having paid the workers well, in sharp contrast to the current situation.

Chauvin, Lucien. "Hierro Peru: China’s footprint in the Andes." Chinadialogue 1 December 2006.