Rising Steel Prices Threaten Wind Turbine Production

By Ag Metal Miner - Jan 19, 2023

• Volatility in steel markets is creating additional stress for wind turbine manufacturers.
• 
  
• 2022 plate prices managed to be less volatile than other steel forms.
• 
  
• Wind turbine demand is particularly strong thanks to a renewed push for green energy.

Via AG Metal Miner

The Renewables MMI (Monthly MetalMiner Index) began showing signs of a possible reversal month-over-month, edging up 3.42%. Renewable resources, meanwhile, continue to see significant global investment.

MetalMiner noted in its Raw Steels MMI that steel prices found a bottom month-over-month. This impacted the renewable resources index heavily. After all, much of the index consists of steel plate, one of the main components for manufacturing wind turbines. Other parts of the index, like silicon, dropped in price. This could have been due to the rise in Chinese COVID cases, which also caused Chinese demand to falter. Ultimately, the U.S. inventory of these renewable metals remains heavily dependent on China.

Uncertain Steel Market Holds Wind Turbine Production in the Balance

Meanwhile, wind turbine construction remains dependent on steel. Therefore, having the steel market in an uncertain place creates stress for wind turbine manufacturers. Fortunately, 2022 plate prices managed to be less volatile than other steel forms. Still, many geopolitical factors remain in play, any one of which could impact plate prices in the near and distant future.

For the moment, wind turbine demand remains strong thanks to a renewed push for green energy. As a result, steel plate demand will likely remain high as well. However, Chinese steel plate buyers should stay on guard amid rising COVID cases and staggering steel production. The ongoing energy crisis in Europe also hampered both European steel production and the global wind turbine market in 2022. Thankfully, production has yet to come to a dead stop.

Companies Pushing Renewable Resources Need Metal Supply

Blastr is a Finnish steel manufacturer whose primary focus is decarbonizing steel production. Recently, the company invested 4 billion euros (or 4.3 billion USD) into a brand new green steel production facility. Blastr hopes to aid in decarbonizing the steel production chain, which would be a massive benefit to global renewable resources. However, this particular plant will not begin production until 2026. Therefore, it will not offer any immediate relief for European steel shortages or hasten global decarbonization.

While many markets have witnessed falling demand in recent months, green energy projects can’t hope to push forward without adequate supply. This is especially true of wind turbines, which are manufactured primarily of steel.

However, some renewable energy companies continue to seek steel alternatives. Aluminum, a more lightweight option, is a good fit for floating wind farms and mills, which often require lighter materials than steel. This is especially true in deep waters where anchoring windmills to the sea bed is not an option. For example, World Wide Wind, a Norwegian startup, is currently looking to use aluminum to build offshore windmills.

That said, aluminum could find itself on shaky ground regarding renewable energy uses, at least in the short term. Thanks to the recent Indonesian bauxite export ban and China raising aluminum export taxes, the long-term outlook for aluminum remains in question. If aluminum becomes squeezed down the line, it could end up being a far more expensive solution for generating wind power.

Grain-Oriented Electrical Steel MMI

The Grain-Oriented Electrical Steel MMI traded completely flat, with no change in price between December and January.

Experts anticipate that the GOES market will grow steadily throughout 2023 and onward. Despite energy shortages in places like Europe, the energy sector shows no signs of slowing down. Meanwhile, the demand for GOES and transformers will continue to rise. As other metal forms fluctuated wildly throughout 2023, GOES traded in a comparatively tight range. This was then followed by a huge spike in Q4.

By Jennifer Kary

South Korea Gains Market Share As Arms Exporter

By The Jamestown Foundation - Jan 19, 2023

• The war in Ukraine has put rearmament in NATO countries high on the agenda.
• 
  
• South Korea, already a large arms exporter has ramped up its sales to Eastern European countries.
• 
  
• Speed of delivery is one of the key factors that puts South Korean defense industries in pole position.

Russia’s large-scale war against Ukraine has become a game-changer for the architecture of international security—and not only from a regional perspective. Most recently, it provided a window of opportunity for South Korean security and energy companies to deepen engagement with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).

Over the past few years, South Korea has witnessed rapid and spectacular growth in its arms exports. The country, which for 2017–2021 was the eighth-largest arms exporter accounting for 2.8 percent of the global share, increased the value of its exports by an enormous 177 percent as compared to 2012–2016 (Sipri.org, March 2022). What is more, as reported by the Korea Eximbank, this trend continued throughout 2022 and will most likely increase moving forward (Nikkei Asia, September 29, 2022). Yet still, for that period, only one-fourth of South Korea’s arms exports reached Europe, with the United Kingdom alone accounting for more than half of those imports (Armstrade.sipri.org, accessed January 15). This, however, may very well change as the war in Ukraine has pushed North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members to significantly and rapidly develop their military potential.

Already in June 2022, this shift began to materialize when Polish Defense Minister Mariusz B?aszczak signed agreements for the purchase of 1,000 K2 main battle tanks, 672 K9 self-propelled howitzers and 48 FA-50 light combat aircraft from South Korea. The total net value of the contracts signed by Korean companies Hyundai Rotem, Hanwha Defense and Korea Aerospace Industries amounts to $8.77 billion. This bilateral cooperation intensified even more in October 2022, when Poland decided to purchase 218 K239 Chunmoo rocket artillery systems with logistics packages and ammunition supply worth $3.55 billion. All four deals represent the largest arms contracts in the history of the Korean military industry (Polskieradio.pl, August 27, 2022).

The scale of arms purchases from South Korea is also unprecedented from the Polish perspective. Their implementation—combined with other deals from American and domestic contractors—would make Poland one of the largest non-nuclear military powers in Europe. And this is strategically critical given the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine and the necessity to deter Moscow on NATO’s eastern flank. What is more, if Warsaw is to continue further arms deliveries to Kyiv, replacements for the donated armaments are essential. Unquestionably, Ukraine needs such assistance as it is unlikely that the war will end soon. And Poland should have the ability to sustain this aid as the Technical Modernization Plan announced in 2019 assumes that the Polish military plans to replace the vast number of post-Soviet armaments still in its arsenal, including T-72 tanks and their Polish-developed PT-91 tanks (Polska-zbrojna.pl, October 10, 2019). Around 300 of these tanks are left after Poland donated more than 200 to Ukraine. This shift is even more likely as it is counterproductive to keep four active types of tanks in the Polish arsenal. What could come next, in this context, is the replacement of the post-Soviet BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) with the Korean-manufactured AS-21 Redback. This IFV was already tested by the Polish Armed Forces in late 2022 (Pap.pl, Nov 26, 2022).

In Poland, the South Korean offer was seen favorable for several reasons. To begin with, the Korean industry offers a rapid pace of manufacturing and deliveries. The first batch of 10 K2 tanks and 24 K9 self-propelled howitzers were already delivered to Poland in December 2022. Another “gap-filling” delivery of 180 K2 tanks will be deployed by 2025 and an additional 24 K9 howitzers by the end of 2023 (Dziennikzbrojny.pl, July 24, 2022). Warsaw expects the first 12 FA-50s to be delivered by mid-2023 (Yonhap News Agency, July 28, 2022).

In truth, the speed of delivery was one of the key arguments for the K239 Chunmoo deal as well. At first, Poland wanted to purchase 500 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), but when it became obvious that such a giant supply would be impossible in such a tight timeframe, Warsaw decided to proceed with the deal for the Korean alternative. The first batch of Chunmoo systems is expected to reach Poland sometime in 2023. Furthermore, such large-scale contracts include beneficial offset agreements. Delivery for the rest of the tanks are planned to start in 2026 and will include modernized and partly “Polonized” equipment in its K2PL version. The K2PL will be largely manufactured in newly established industrial plants in Poland. This will trigger the transfer of know-how and technologies from South Korea, which would improve the production and service capacities of the technically backward and long-neglected heavy military industry in Poland (Defence24.pl, September 23; December 9, 2022). That, in turn, would create logistical facilities that are not only essential for maintenance but could also provide an opportunity to become South Korea’s production hub for further arms deliveries to Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

A great example of this is Hanwha Defense’s aims to combine its potential with the Polish Armaments Group (Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa) in the production of the K9 howitzer. To this end, the new K9PL version will be produced in Poland starting in 2026. These two companies have already enjoyed some past cooperation, as Hanwha Defense has supplied the K9 Thunder chassis for the AHS Krab self-propelled howitzer designed in Poland. The Krab’s generally successful production, however, cannot meet the urgent requirements of the Polish Armed Forces due to the Polish Armaments Group’s low production capacity, which is only now being boosted. Nevertheless, the Polish Ministry of Defense continues to expand the purchase of home-grown howitzers (Defence24.pl, September 5, 2022). In this context, it is interesting that the K9 and Krab systems may be merged into one project, starting with development work in 2025–2026 (Dziennikzbrojny.pl, July 24, 2022).

Additionally, in striking these deals with Poland, South Korea had a “doctrinal” predominance that resulted from the Law and Justice–led government’s decision to resign from any major military purchases with its European partners. This policy has been only recently reversed as Poland acquired two observation satellites and a receiving station from French Airbus (Notes From Poland, December 29, 2022). One should not exclude, however, that such a deal may have been a one-off.

A few factors undergird such reasoning. The deal was politically motivated and most likely resulted from Warsaw’s distrust of other Western European states. This distrust was caused by Western Europe’s decades-long ambiguous policy toward Russia, which has only started to dissipate following Russia’s re-invasion of Ukraine. Furthermore, given the Polish policy of putting all its eggs in the American basket, South Korea is a political beneficiary of its close ties with the United States.

Finally, these arms purchases were in fact a “package deal.” On October 31, 2022, the Polish Energy Group (Polska Grupa Energetyczna) signed a deal on developing a nuclear plant with South Korean state-owned Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP). What is more, KHNP vice director added that the offer included additional investments in the semiconductor, battery and hydrogen industries (Energetyka24.pl, July 22, 2022). Additionally, the Korean offer was much cheaper that its, for example, German equivalent (Nikkei Asia, September 9, 2022).

As Russia’s war against Ukraine moves into a more protracted phase, the Korean-Polish deal represents only the tip of the iceberg for the overall impact South Korea’s arms exports could have for defense and security in Central and Eastern Europe.

By The Jamestown Foundation

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for PERMANENT ARMS ECONOMY 

Rio Tinto, OZ Minerals and Boliden select glycine leaching technology to manage tailings

Staff Writer | January 19, 2023 | 

Boron tailings. Image courtesy of Rio Tinto


Draslovka Holding, a Czech company specializing in CN-based specialty chemicals, including sustainable solutions for the metal mining industry, announced Thursday that its glycine leaching technology has been selected to be part of the OZ Minerals’ Think & Act Differently (TAD) incubator and their Waste-to-Value Challenge.

The Challenge sees Rio Tinto and Boliden working in collaboration with OZ Minerals to eliminate, minimise, reuse, or find new value in mine tailings and ultimately reduce the global carbon footprint of the mining industry, Draslovka said in a news release.

The Waste-to-Value Challenge aims to unlock innovative technologies for managing tailings, helping the mining industry to reduce risk while extracting more of the materials the world needs from what was previously regarded as waste for the energy transition at large. The initiative hopes to deliver include lower emissions and reduced waste.

Draslovka’s glycine leaching technology — GlyLeach and GlyCat Processes is an alternative to traditional acid and cyanide leaching. Due to its selectivity over gangue minerals and the recyclability of glycine, it enables the recovery of both base and precious metals from lower grade resources like tailings.

This leads to a more sustainable production process and improved economics that are needed to close the looming critical metal supply deficit, the company said.

WAR CRIMINAL AT WEF/DAVOS

Congo president demands more from $6.2 billion China metals deal

Bloomberg News | January 19, 2023 | 

Felix Tshisekedi, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Image courtesy of the World Economic Forum via Flickr.

Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi criticized a $6.2 billion minerals-for-infrastructure contract with China, saying the world’s largest producer of a key battery metal hasn’t benefited from the deal.


Congo, Africa’s second-largest nation by landmass, is flush with natural resources — including copper and cobalt that are major components in electric vehicles — but remains one of the world’s least-developed countries. Most of its minerals end up in China, which signed a landmark deal with Tshisekedi’s predecessor in 2008 to trade roads and buildings for the two metals.

“The Chinese, they’ve made a lot of money and made a lot of profit from this contract,” Tshisekedi said in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “Now our need is simply to re-balance things in a way that it becomes win-win.”

The contract renegotiation is part of a campaign by the president to ensure the country gets paid for the full value of its resources, which are increasingly in high demand.

The accord with China was signed at a time when Congo was emerging from decades of dictatorship and war and newly elected President Joseph Kabila was desperate for financing. It mandated that Chinese companies invest $3.2 billion in a copper-cobalt mine and another $3 billion in infrastructure funded by the mine’s revenue.
‘Nothing tangible’

Congo’s government says China has released less than a third of the infrastructure funds.

“We’re happy to be friends with the Chinese, but the contract was badly drawn up, very badly,” Tshisekedi said. “Today, the Democratic Republic of Congo has derived no benefit from it. There’s nothing tangible, no positive impact, I’d say, for our population.”

The Chinese Embassy in Congo and the Chinese ambassador didn’t immediately respond to an email and a text message requesting comment on the negotiations, which have gone on for more than a year.

“You know, the Chinese are the champions of marathon discussions,” Tshisekedi said. “They’re known worldwide for it. We’re undergoing this experience now and so, we’ll see, but we remain optimistic.”

Negotiations are also dragging on over the Grand Inga site with Australia’s Fortescue Metals Group Ltd., which has a memorandum of understanding with Congo to develop what could be the world’s largest hydropower project, Tshisekedi said.
African investors

The president wants Fortescue to allow other investors into the deal, especially from Africa, and possibly scale down its ambitions in order to speed up development, he said.

“We’re not on the same wavelength,” he said, adding that he’d met at Davos with Andrew Forrest, Fortescue’s billionaire chairman.

“We want to make it a kind of opportunity to also unite other interests, particularly African interests,” Tshisekedi said. “We’re open to everything, to all discussions, to all meetings.”

Talks with Fortescue are continuing, Tshisekedi’s director of communications later confirmed. Fortescue Future Industries Ltd. plans to use Inga’s energy, which could eventually be twice as powerful as China’s Three Gorges project, to produce green hydrogen and green ammonia.

The company is in “active discussions” about the project, FFI Chief Executive Officer Mark Hutchinson said in an emailed response to a request for comment. Tshisekedi plans to visit Australia to continue those talks, he said.

“Fortescue has a team in the DRC and are continuing to work closely with the government to take this forward,” Hutchinson said. “Fortescue welcomes other partners to this important project.”

There’s no timetable for the next phase of Inga, the 10-gigawatt project known as Inga 3, Tshisekedi said.

Regional conflict

The president, who’s also dealing with a multitude of violent conflicts at home and a reelection campaign at year’s end, has grown more outspoken against outsiders taking advantage of Congo’s resources for their own gain.

This has been particularly true in the country’s east, where an offensive by the M23 rebel group — allegedly backed by neighboring Rwanda — has displaced more than 450,000 people. Rwanda denies that it’s supporting the militants, who say they’re fighting for the rights of Congolese of Rwandan heritage.

Eastern Congo has been wracked by conflict since the 1990s, when violence from the aftermath of Rwanda’s civil war and genocide spread across the border. More than 100 armed groups remain active in the region, some of whom profit from the illegal trade in natural resources, which often transit through neighboring countries.

“Rwanda has been at the base of instability in Democratic Republic of Congo for twenty years,” Tshisekedi said. “It’s thanks to this instability that it can create mafia networks of illicit exploitation of gold, coltan and other minerals.”
Cobalt monopoly

Rwanda’s government rejected Tshisekedi’s accusation.

“The root cause of instability in eastern Congo is the security and governance failures of the Congolese government and the longtime involvement in the mining sector of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, the genocidal militia that fled Rwanda in 1994, as well as dozens of Congolese illegal armed groups that are supported by the Congolese military and government, and which exploit Congo’s natural resources with impunity,” spokeswoman Yolande Makolo said by text message.

A plan to impose a monopoly on the sale of all hand-dug cobalt is also part of Tshisekedi’s goal to ensure Congo is paid for its minerals, he said.

Congo’s state-owned Entreprise Generale du Cobalt, or EGC, still needs a full management team and a regulator, according to the president. Talks are ongoing with potential partners, including Trafigura Group, the Singapore-based commodities trader, he said.

Congo is responsible for about 70% of world cobalt production, as much as 30% of which comes from so-called artisanal miners.

Those miners often work in dangerous and unregulated conditions, and EGC “represents one of the brightest hopes for instigating the improvements needed,” Trafigura said in an emailed response to questions Thursday.

“Trafigura remains committed to its commercial agreement with EGC and delivering on the pressing need to kick-start the large-scale formalization” of the artisanal and small-scale mining cobalt industry, it said.

(By Jacqueline Simmons and Michael J. Kavanagh, with assistance from James Fernyhough and Kamlesh Bhuckory)

CHART: Uranium’s third bull market since 1968 has further to run

Frik Els | January 19, 2023 |

Kazatomprom, Kazakhstan’s state-owned uranium mining company, is the world’s biggest supplier. Image courtesy of Kazatomprom.

The uranium market ended 2022 on a sour note. Spot U3O8 price declined 2.3% to $48.31 per pound in December, but did finish the year 14.7% above its opening levels. Uranium mining equities fell 5% in December, bringing the sector’s losses for the year to 11.4%.


A new report by Sprott Asset Management says despite the recent softness, developments just in December underpin Western governments’ renewed focus on energy security due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and will provide long-term structural support for uranium and uranium miners in 2023.

December saw Japan adopting a nuclear policy which will restart the country’s nuclear fleet, extend ageing reactors operating life beyond the current 60-year limit and build new ones.

Also in December, the Indian government approved five new nuclear plants and announced financing for ten plants as part of the country’s goal to triple its reactor fleet over the next decade.

The US strategic uranium reserve also awarded its first contracts and while the volumes are not material, the prices paid by the US for the uranium were as high as $70 per pound:

“Given that current spot prices are approximately $50, we believe that this excess price paid for U.S.-origin material reflects the growing concerns by the U.S. Department of Energy about continuing to rely on Russian and other non-friendly countries for critical supply chains.”

Even though there are no official sanctions on Russian uranium, the country’s dominance of conversion and enrichment with 27% and 39% respectively of the globe’s capacity saw prices for uranium conversion and enrichment services more than double in 2022.

“We believe this upward price pressure will cascade down to the uranium spot price in 2023,” says Sprott.

Sprott, which runs a physical uranium trust (TSX:U.UN/U.U) holding just shy of 60 million pounds at the end of last year, expects the restart of the US conversion facility ConverDyn in the first half of this year to boost “an industry shift from underfeeding to overfeeding which should significantly increase uranium demand in 2023 and beyond.”

Sprott points out that even after the runup, the current uranium price “still remains below incentive levels to restart tier 2 production, let alone greenfield development.”


“Over the long term, increased demand in the face of an uncertain uranium supply may likely support a sustained bull market.”

Click on the chart for full size image PDF

Peru unrest threatens to choke off almost 2% of global copper supply

Bloomberg News | January 19, 2023 

(Reference image by the Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mines, Twitter).

Protests in Peru are threatening to choke off access to almost $4 billion worth of copper just as China’s emergence from Covid lockdowns promises to boost demand.


Peru’s third-largest copper mine, Las Bambas, hasn’t dispatched copper concentrate since Jan. 3 due to security concerns. Glencore Plc’s Antapaccay is also facing restrictions. The mines, which share the same highway access to ports, together account for nearly 2% of the world’s copper output.

Unrest has rattled Peru since the ouster and arrest of former President Pedro Castillo, upending commodity supply chains from metals to organic coffee. The disruption comes at a particularly precarious moment for copper markets. Inventories stand at historically low levels while miners warn demand for the world’s most critical metal is poised to skyrocket with the growing electrification of vehicles.

Base metal prices have been on a bull run since New Year’s after China, a top consumer, abruptly abandoned Covid-19 controls. Prices settled Wednesday at a seven-month high on the London Metal Exchange. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. predicts ongoing deficits and forecast a record price of $11,000 a ton within 12 months.

Las Bambas, whose operator MMG Ltd. is controlled by state-owned China Minmetals Corp., has been the target of multiple demonstrations since it opened in 2016 as indigenous groups seek greater compensation for land and roads used by mining companies.

(By Yvonne Yue Li and Marcelo Rochabrun)

Thousands converge in Peru's capital for 'Take over Lima' march

• 3 HOURS AGO

Peruvians pour into Lima, many from remote Andean regions, to protest against President Dina Boluarte and in support of her predecessor, whose ouster last month sparked deadly unrest and political chaos.

Police have deployed 11,800 officers in Lima ahead of protests. ( Reuters )

Thousands of Peruvians, many from the country's southern mining regions, have descended on the capital Lima for a major planned march against the government and Congress, fired up by over 50 deaths linked to protests since last month.

"We want Dina Boluarte to resign," said Julio Saldivar on Thursday, a protester from Ayacucho, where a dozen peopled died in December.

Police said they were on "maximum alert" and have deployed 11,800 officers in Lima ahead of expected trouble.

The clashes mark the worst violence Peru has seen in over 20 years as many people in poorer rural regions vent anger at the Lima political elite over inequality and rising prices, testing the copper-rich Andean nation's democratic institutions.

Protesters are demanding the resignation of President Boluarte, fast new elections, a clear out of Congress and a new Constitution to replace a market-friendly one dating back to strongman leader Alberto Fujimori in the 1990s.

In buses and on foot, thousands have journeyed to the capital, carrying flags and banners criticising the government and police for deadly clashes in the southern cities of Ayacucho and Juliaca, many demanding Boluarte step down.

Protesters are planning a "Take over Lima" protest on Thursday, with thousands of police expected in response. On Wednesday night scuffles began with protesters throwing rocks and police using tear gas to disperse crowds.

"We want to centralise our movement here in Lima, which is the heart of Peru, to see if they are moved," said Domingo Cueva, a protester at the state University of San Marcos.

'We won't forget the pain'

The protests, sparked by the dramatic December 7 ouster of leftist former president Pedro Castillo after he tried to illegally shutter Congress and consolidate power, have seen 43 people killed in clashes, including one police officer.

Nine more have died in related accidents.

The protest deaths have been the lightning rod for much of the anger, with banners calling Boluarte a "murderer" and calling the killings by police and military "massacres".

"We won't forget the pain the police have caused in the town of Juliaca. We women, men, children have to fight," said one protester travelling to Lima who didn't give her name.

Protester Cueva, who had come from Cusco, said many had tried to come to Lima for the Thursday protest and strike, though not all had made it.

"We have observed an increase in repressions everywhere. Some leaders have been stopped on the way, they were not allowed to pass," he said.

Police have increased surveillance of roads entering Lima and political leaders have called for calm.

The government last week extended a state of emergency in Lima and the southern regions of Puno and Cusco, curtailing some civil rights.

"We do not want more deaths, we do not want more injuries, enough blood, enough mourning for the families of Peru," Interior Minister Vicente Romero told reporters.

Boluarte has asked for "forgiveness" for the protest deaths but remained firm that she is not going to resign.

Human rights groups have accused the police and army of using deadly firearms in the protests.

Boluarte, who was Castillo's vice president, succeeded him.

But despite Boluarte belonging to the same left-wing party, Castillo supporters have rejected her, even accusing her of being a "traitor."

REASD MORE: Peru peasants arrive in Lima for major anti-Boluarte protest

Protesters stream to Peru capital demanding president resign

By DANIEL POLITI and FRANKLIN BRICEÑO (Associated Press)
LIMA, Peru Jan. 19, 2023 3:56 p.m.

People are pouring into Peru’s capital, many from remote Andean regions, for a protest against President Dina Boluarte and in support of her predecessor, whose ouster last month launched weeks of deadly unrest and cast the nation into political chaos

Thousands of people poured into Peru’s capital, many from remote Andean regions, for a protest Thursday against President Dina Boluarte and in support of her predecessor, whose ouster last month launched deadly unrest and cast the nation into political chaos.
An anti-government protesters who traveled to the capital from across the country to march against Peruvian President Dina Boluarte, is detained and thrown on the back of police vehicle during clashes in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023. Protesters are seeking immediate elections, Boluarte's resignation, the release of ousted President Pedro Castillo and justice for up to 48 protesters killed in clashes with police.
Martin Mejia / AP

Police repeatedly fired tear gas into crowds of demonstrators as night fell Thursday, preventing them from heading into business and residential districts of Lima. The supporters of former President Pedro Castillo were demanding Boluarte's resignation, the dissolution of Congress, and immediate elections. Castillo, Peru’s first leader from a rural Andean background, was impeached after a failed attempt to dissolve Congress.

“We have delinquent ministers, presidents that murder and we live like animals in the middle of so much wealth that they steal from us every day,” said Samuel Acero, a farmer who heads the regional protest committee for the Andean city of Cusco. “We want Dina Boluarte to leave, she lied to us.”

Anger at Boluarte was the common thread as street sellers hawked T-shirts saying, “Out, Dina Boluarte,” “Dina murderer, Peru repudiates you” and a call for “New elections, let them all leave.”

“Our God says thou shalt not kill your neighbor. Dina Boluarte is killing, she's making brothers fight,” Paulina Consac said as she carried a large Bible while marching in downtown Lima with more than 2,000 protesters from Cusco.

By early afternoon, protesters had turned key roads into large pedestrian areas in downtown Lima.

The protests have so far been held mainly in Peru's southern Andes, with 54 people dying amid the unrest, the large majority killed in clashes with security forces.

“We’re at a breaking point between dictatorship and democracy,” said Pedro Mamani, a student at the National University of San Marcos. Students there are housing demonstrators who traveled for the protest that is being popularly referred to as the "takeover of Lima."

The university was surrounded by police officers, who also deployed at key points of Lima's historic downtown district.

Some 11,800 police officers were being sent out, Victor Zanabria, the head of the Lima police force told local media. He played down the size of the protests, saying he expected around 2,000 people to participate.

There were protests elsewhere and video posted on social media showed a group of demonstrators trying to storm the airport in southern Arequipa, Peru's second city. They were blocked by police but the airport paused operations.

The demonstrations that erupted last month and subsequent clashes with security forces were the worst political violence in more than two decades and has highlighted the deep divisions between the urban elite largely concentrated in Lima and poor rural areas.

By bringing the protest to Lima, demonstrators hope to give fresh weight to the movement that began when Boluarte was sworn into office on Dec. 7 to replace Castillo.

“When there are tragedies, bloodbaths outside the capital it doesn’t have the same political relevance in the public agenda than if it took place in the capital,” said Alonso Cárdenas, a professor of public policies at the Antonio Ruiz de Montoya University in Lima.

“The leaders have understood that and say, they can massacre us in Cusco, in Puno, and nothing happens, we need to take the protest to Lima,” Cárdenas added, citing cities that have seen major violence.

The concentration of protesters in Lima also reflects how the capital has started to see more antigovernment demonstrations in recent days.

The protester were planning to march Thursday from downtown Lima to the Miraflores district, an emblematic neighborhood of the economic elite.

The government has called on protesters to be peaceful.

Boluarte has said she supports a plan to push to 2024 elections for president and Congress originally scheduled for 2026.

Many protesters say no dialogue is possible with a government they say has unleashed so much violence against its citizens.

As protesters gathered in Lima, more violence erupted in southern Peru.

In the town of Macusani on Wednesday, protesters set fire to the police station and judicial office after two people were killed and another seriously injured by gunfire amid antigovernment protests. The person who was injured died Thursday morning in hospital, said a health official in the town.

Activists have dubbed Thursday's demonstration in Lima as the Cuatro Suyos March, a reference to the four cardinal points of the Inca empire. It’s also the name given to a massive 2000 mobilization, when thousands of Peruvians took to the streets against the autocratic government of Alberto Fujimori, who resigned months later.

There are several key differences between those demonstrations and this week’s protests.

“In 2000, the people protested against a regime that was already consolidated in power,” Cardenas said. “In this case, they’re standing up to a government that has only been in power for a month and is incredibly fragile.”

The 2000 protests also had a centralized leadership and were led by political parties. “Now what we have is something much more fragmented,” Coronel said.

The latest protests have largely been grassroots efforts without a clear leadership.

“We have never seen a mobilization of this magnitude, there’s already a thought installed in the peripheries that it is necessary, urgent to transform everything,” said Gustavo Montoya, a historian at the National University of San Marcos. “I have the feeling that we’re witnessing a historic shift.”

The protests have grown to such a degree that demonstrators are unlikely to be satisfied with Boluarte’s resignation and are now demanding more fundamental structural reform.

The protests have emerged “in regions that have been systematically treated as second-class citizens,” Montoya said. “I think this will only keep growing.”

———-

Associated Press journalist Mauricio Muñoz contributed.

Lima braces for protests as death toll in Peru crisis surpasses 50

Protestors from across Peru are traveling to Lima and demanding the resignation of President Dina Boluarte. Photo by EPA-EFE/Paolo Aguilar

Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Protestors from across Peru are traveling to the capital city of Lima to demand the resignation of President Dina Boluarte.

The head of Peru's National Police in Lima, Victor Sanabria, told reporters that nearly 12,000 police officers were deployed in the capital. Key government buildings were reinforced in anticipation of further protests.

Two protestors were killed on Wednesday in the southern region of Puno, as the death toll for six weeks of demonstrations surpasses 50.

Protestors took to the streets of the South American nation in December, demanding the reinstatement of former president Pedro Castillo, who was impeached in December after attempting to dissolve congress in the wake of previous impeachment attempts.

The Constitutional Court of Peru determined that Castillo's attempt to dissolve congress was a coup attempt to interfere with a legitimate impeachment process.

Castillo attempted to flee the country but was detained before he could leave.

On Jan. 9, security forces killed 18 people in Puno region. Amnesty International has accused security forces of using "excessive force against protestors."

Several members of President Boluarte's cabinet have resigned in protest of her handling of the crisis, and Peru's top prosecutor is conducting an inquiry into her role in the crackdown.

While the demonstrations began in support of Castillo, the demands have evolved, with many protestors now calling for the resignation of Boluarte and fresh elections.

Peru is on edge as protesters converge on the capital

By Carrie Kahn
Published January 19, 2023 

Martin Mejia  AP

Anti-government protesters who traveled to the capital from across the country march against Peruvian President Dina Boluarte in Lima on Wednesday.

Updated January 19, 2023 at 4:16 PM ET

LIMA, Peru — Peru's capital is bracing for large demonstrations against the government over coming days. Thousands of rural residents have been streaming into Lima to demand justice for the more than 50 people killed in weeks of protests.

Demonstrators began blocking roads and storming airports around the country after the arrest and impeachment of former President Pedro Castillo last month. The political newcomer was facing a third impeachment attempt and prior to the vote, attempted to dissolve Congress and rule by decree.

His vice president, Dina Boluarte, was sworn in immediately following Castillo's jailing.
What the demonstrators are demanding

Demonstrators want Boluarte to resign and for new elections to be held. She has imposed a state of emergency in the capital Lima and three other regions.

What began as protests demanding the release and restitution of Castillo have morphed into widespread calls for justice for those killed by what activists say is excessive force by police and the military.

Guadalupe Pardo / AP
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APPresident of Congress José Williams (left) and Sen. Jose Cevasco place the presidential sash on Vice President Dina Boluarte as she is sworn in as the country's new president in Lima on Dec. 7.

Protesters also want to bring attention to long-standing social and economic inequality in the country. The wealth gap between Peru's indigenous south and the urban capital has long been present, but has widened in recent years.

Dina Lopez came to Lima from her highland city of Ayacucho to participate in protests. "No one pays attention to us out there — where are our human rights?" she said. She spoke to NPR as police attempted to remove her and fellow protesters from the doorsteps of a church.

"That woman is deaf to our suffering," Lopez added, referring to President Boluarte.

For her part, Boluarte says she is not leaving. "These necessities will be resolved, only when we get together and converse pacifically," she said while attending the opening session of Peru's Constitutional Court on Tuesday.

She said the historic needs of Peru's poor and indigenous communities can't be addressed through violence.

There are fears of escalating and prolonged violence

The divide between Peru's Lima elite and the rest of the country is nothing new, but these prolonged protests are unusual, Alberto Vergara, a political scientist at Lima's Pacific University, told NPR.

"Now we have 50 dead and we are on a path to have more," he warns. Vergara fears that given Peru's dysfunctional political system more violence is inevitable.

Indeed, Peru has had 10 presidents in more than 20 years of political upheaval, with one leader lasting just six days.

Vergara said Peru's mediocre politicians are the threat here — not tyranny which usually leads to democratic demise. "Peru is perhaps showing us that chaos and disorder can also be the opposite of democracy," he said.

Security services are accused of excessive force

Conservatives, including Congressman Jorge Montoya, warn of possible terrorism links to the ongoing demonstrations and unrest. He claims, without evidence, that the marchers are backed by communists and drug traffickers.

Martin Mejia / AP
/Tear gas is thrown back at police trying to break up supporters of ousted President Pedro Castillo at Plaza San Martin in Lima, on Dec. 11.

"There is no dialogue, no dialogue is necessary. What is necessary is to correct what is wrong," Montoya told NPR. He is calling for a strong hand by security forces to end the demonstrations, and even says it was the protesters who shot at civilians during demonstrators.

Human rights lawyer Juan Miguel Jugo says that is absurd. "There is no proof that happened," he told NPR. He said the deaths were caused by excessive force by the police that shot civilians in the head, chest and limbs.

Protesters say they will continue marching until the president and Congress are gone and new elections are scheduled for this year. One woman, who would only give NPR her first name, Tanya, for fear of government retaliation, said she will not be backing down.

"Our eyes have been opened and we will continue fighting," she said.

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