There is consensus that we are in the final stage of the energy civilization based on fossil fuels and this is characterized by a dizzying rise in the price of such fuels, due to political uncertainty in some sources of supply, international monetary instability and the devaluation of the dollar, but also, no doubt, to strong international financial speculation. The transition is beginning to be traumatic. Protests are taking place, both in the developed and underdeveloped world. We are experiencing a globalization of protest, as evidenced by the recent coordination on social networks to call for a world day of the “indignant” on October 15, 2011. This call gave rise to a global protest that accumulated 951 demonstrations in 82 countries around the world. Among the points that motivated this “globalized indignation”, the questioning of the negative externalities of the exploitati...

It is a very opportune moment to analyze the effective contribution of mining to the sustainable development of our country, given the high degree of conflict in some mining operations and the emergence of anti-mining groups that oppose, without much argument, the development of a portfolio of investment projects that plan to start operations for some US$25 billion between 2012 and 2014. The economic success of President Ollanta Humala's administration will depend a lot on whether these projects can be carried out. I would like to provide some elements of judgment to open the debate, proposing an analytical framework to understand what has been the course of mining development in our country.