Conclusion: Expanding Frontiers of Extraction

This chapter examines the ongoing conflicts in Cajamarca and their implications for thinking about corporate accountability and political activism. I relate the book’s previous chapters to the protests in 2012 over the Conga mining project. Protestors argued that four mountain lakes would be destroyed if dug for minerals, while the company promised to mitigate these impacts by constructing four reservoirs for local communities. The events in Cajamarca once again brought resource extraction to the national consciousness and produced a marked shift in public opinion. The book’s conclusion offers a reflection on Peru’s expanding frontiers of extraction, the techno-political and economic regimes that make it possible, and the potential of grassroots movements in reshaping national politics.