By Mitra Taj
Reuters — Cajamarca, Peru
Forty years ago, peasants in rural Peru banded together as “ronderos” — Spanish for “people who make the rounds” — to curb cattle rustling.
Today, squads of these ronderos are working toward a different aim — thwarting American company Newmont Mining ‘s planned $5 billion gold mining project that they contend would spoil lakes vital to the local population high in the Andes.
Operating according to Andean customs, the squads act as a de facto judicial system in places where public institutions are weak and policing is scant. They have become potent political players in remote provinces, weighing in on disputes over natural resources and causing headaches for the central government.
In the northern region of Cajamarca, they helped stall U.S.-based Newmont Mining Corp’s proposed Conga gold mine last year by summoning thousands of people from Andean villages to protest. Now ronderos are making a new push to demand that President Ollanta Humala scrap the project, which has obtained a series of government permits and would create thousands of jobs.