Peruvian protests decline in February

Peru's ombudsman office said the number of protests declined in February, while the number of social conflicts rose to 211 from 210 a month earlier.

Four new conflicts were reported, including protests against informal gold mining operation Minera Lomas Doradas in Piura, the agency said in a statement.

Active conflicts climbed month-on-month to 160 from 159 in January. Of the 142 socio-environmental conflicts recorded, 95 (66.9%) were related to the mining sector, and about one-quarter were focused in the highland regions of Ancash, Apurimac and Puno.

At least 71 conflicts were in a process of dialogue, 38 of them involving the ombudsman's office, it said. One conflict was resolved in Huancavelica, where villagers protested against pollution from Doe Run Perú's Cobriza copper mine.

The number of protests fell to 107 from 158 in January, the office said. Protests included Ayacucho villagers demanding a halt to exploration work by Minera Laconia, protests against Newmont Mining's Minas Conga project and Southern Copper's Tía María deposit, and demands for profit-sharing and more jobs at China Minmetals' Las Bambas copper mine and Buenaventura's La Zanja gold mine, respectively.

Social conflicts were expected to ease after Peru held regional and municipal elections in October, as new authorities in many of the country's 25 regions took office on January 1, said the national society of mining, petroleum and energy (SNMPE).