AnarWiki/markdown/Peruvian_Rainforest_Defense_(2008).md

The **Peruvian Rainforest Defense** was an effort by indigenous people,
trade unions and environmentalists in Peru to stop the deforestation of
rainforest and enclosure of [common land](Commons "wikilink").

In April 2006, the United States and Peru signed a Free Trade Agreement
(FTA), which they planned to implement on 1 February 2009. The United
States required that Peru make certain regulatory changes in law to
allow access to the Amazon rainforest before implementing the FTA. In
late 2006, President Alan García passed Law 840, known as the “Law of
the Jungle,” which undermined the collective property rights of
indigenous groups by giving land concessions to foreign investors. In
2007 and 2008, he passed a series of legal reforms, including 99
legislative decrees, which would provide foreign investors with access
to indigenous territories in the Amazon for mining, logging, and oil
drilling. Most notably, decrees 1015, 1073, 1064, and 1090 would have
allowed foreign investors to purchase collectively-held indigenous land
by taking away legal procedures by which these communities had been
defending themselves, removing their land grants, and lowering or
removing environmental and indigenous protections. These decrees also
became known under the popular title, “Law of the Jungle.”

In 2008, the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian
Jungle (AIDESEP) established a coalition with the Peasant Confederation
of Peru, the National Agrarian Confederation (CNA), and the
Confederation of Peasant Communities Affected by Mining and declared a
“state of emergency” for the indigenous people of Peru. AIDESEP
represented 600,000 indigenous people from 1,350 Amazonian communities.

On 9 August 2008, indigenous groups closed down navigation on the
Urubamba River in the Amazon rainforest. Nearby others occupied two
pumping stations, heliports, and installations belonging to Pluspetrol,
the corporation that operates the largest gas deposit in Peru. In the
northern forest, indigenous groups occupied the hydroelectric plant of
El Muyo and thousands protested in Bagua. Protesters also closed down
navigation on the Ucayali River and shut down the pipeline transporting
oil from Manseriche to the coast. AIDESEP released an 11-point platform,
which called firstly for the repeal of the legislative decrees
threatening indigenous autonomy and land.

After one week of protest, the government did not respond to AIDESEP’s
demands or call for dialogue. AIDESEP extended the blockades to bridges
and highways connecting the Amazon with the rest of the country. On 18
August, the government declared a state of emergency and increased
police and military presence in the protest areas. The congressional
Committee on Andean, Amazonian, and Afro-Peruvian Peoples repealed
decrees 1015 and 1073 and took their draft law to Congress, where it was
passed on 22 August. Though Congress promised to examine and vote to
repeal other laws affecting indigenous communities and the forests, they
did not.

As the government continued to auction off collectively held lands to
foreign investors and ignore promises they had made in September to
enter into dialogue with indigenous groups, the Amazonian people began a
series of marches, blockades and hunger strikes in late March 2009.

On 9 April 2009, AIDESEP continued their campaign demanding the repeal
of the decrees that would open up their land for foreign investment and
exploitation. They set up over twenty-four blockades of roads and
waterways along with numerous protests and rallies.

On 9 May 2009, the government declared a state of emergency in several
Amazonian provinces. Between 11 May and 14 May, the president of AIDESEP
Alberto Pizango met with Prime Minister Yehude Simon but came to no
agreement. The government delivered a notification for the arrest of
Pizango and other indigenous leaders to AIDESEP on 18 May on charges of
inciting rebellion.

On 27 May, trade unions called for a national day of protest in support
of AIDESEP’s struggle. In Lima, marchers arrived at the Congress
building to demand the repeal of the legislative decrees. On 28 May, a
Peruvian NGO (DAR) sent a letter to the US Speaker of the House Nancy
Pelosi and the Ways & Means Committee Chair Charles Rangel requesting
that the FTA implementation protect indigenous rights. On 2 June, the UN
commission on indigenous rights asked that the Peruvian government
respect indigenous rights.

On 5 June, the government sent police to intervene in the Fernando
Belaunde Terry Road blockade in Bagua province that had been set up two
months prior. The police arrived and used violent repression, including
live ammunition and tear gas, on the 5,000 protesters. Officials
confirmed nine civilian deaths though protest leaders and area hospitals
reported the deaths of at least thirty people. Another twenty-two police
officers were killed.

On 8 June, Carmen Vildoso, minister for Women’s Issues and Social
Development, resigned in protest of the government’s actions. Alberto
Pizango, leader of AIDESEP, escaped and received asylum in the
Nicaraguan embassy at this time as well. The Catholic clergy sent a
letter in support of AIDESEP to the government calling on officials to
enter into negotiation and stop the use of repressive violence to end
the protests.

On 11 June, indigenous people, miners, Andean peasants, urban workers,
teachers, construction workers, university students, and high school
students joined in large protests across the country, denouncing the
violence at Bagua and demanding the repeal of decrees 1090 and 1064.
They also called for the resignation of President García and Prime
Minister Yehude Simon. Many marched under the slogan, “La selva no se
vende. La selva se defiende” (The jungle is not for sale. The jungle is
defended.)

In Lima, over 20,000 people marched from Plaza dos de mayo to the
government palace. People mobilized in protest in Trujillo, Chiclayo,
Puno, Sicuani, Arequipa, Ayacucho, and Huancayo as well.

The government suspended the decrees indefinitely, but demonstrators
rejected this and called for their repeal because they violated
International Labor Organization (ILO) regulations, particularly
convention 169 that required the government to consult indigenous groups
before passing laws that would impact them. In the Amazon, people
blockaded highways, stopped oil pipelines, and held marches and 24-hour
strikes.

US representatives let Peru knew that if the government failed to open
up the land to foreign investors, the US would repeal the FTA. García
mobilized police and armed forces to take over the airports and river
ports in the Peruvian Amazon.

Thousands of indigenous people protested in Pucalpa, blocked various
rivers, and shut down schools and businesses for the day. Indigenous
organizations from Mexico, Ecuador, and Bolivia announced their support
for the campaign in Peru.

On 18 June 2009, Peru’s Congress repealed decrees 1090 and 1064. The
president admitted that his government made a mistake by not consulting
the indigenous people when drafting the laws though he is reported to
have said earlier that he did not need to consult anyone. President
García repeatedly made statements claiming that the decrees would not
affect the indigenous communities, that the actions taken by AIDESEP
were anti-democratic, and that protecting “idle” lands prevented the
development of Peru. Prime Minister Yehude Simon resigned from his
office following the decision to repeal the decrees.

Former president of AIDESEP Gil Inoach said that the repeal of the
decrees was an important step and showed the government that they now
had to consult with indigenous communities.

''Frente por la Defensa de la Vida y la Soberania, ''a coalition of
labor confederations, Andean indigenous groups, peasant groups and
AIDESEP, demanded that those responsible for the killings in Bagua be
punished. Many held marches, blockades, and regional strikes on 7 July,
which lasted for two days. It is unknown whether any of the government
officials or police officers was ever punished. The Free Trade
Agreement, officially known as the US-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement, is
still in effect along with many of the legislative decrees required for
its implementation as of March 2013.