Argumentative Essay

Conga, a Viable Project

ROSARIO KATHERINE
MUOZ RAMREZ

Conga, a Viable Project

In last months we have seen that a big debate has been
established between people who are in favor of Conga project and
people who are against it. Even there have been strikes claiming that
this project should not be realized. Since maybe you are wondering
what Conga project is, I will explain it in an easy and clear way. Conga
is a mining project in which Yanacocha Company will invest in
Cajamarca to extract minerals from the ground. But Yanacocha will
have to pay taxes to the government in order to return some of the
share some of the profits it will be getting from minerals extraction and
sell, as a result, a lot of people from Cajamarca region will benefit with
this amount of money. In other words the regional government will
have money to invest in public works. However, there are some people
that are against this project because they think it will hurt the
environment. Although there are certainly reasons to be cautious with
the environment, I believe that Conga project would have potential
advantages for Cajamarca region.

Opponents of Conga project claim that if this project is

realized for natural lagoons will be affected; therefore an entire
ecosystem will be affected too. Also, according to Paul E. Maquet,
the Environmental Impact Study pointed out that the project has
the potential to affect not also the quality but also the quality of the
water (Conga no va)1. Nonetheless, the president Ollanta Humala
said that the government will guarantee the control of the quantity,
availability and quality of the water in order that the Cajamarca
settlers have an adequate supply of this element. Furthermore,
Yanacocha will build reservoirs to conserve and storage water to
assure the water disposal all the year and will implement a plan to
minimize the environmental impact in the zone. In addition, the
government is going to increase the supervision of the
environmental issues.

Opponents also state that this project will be helpful only for
Yanacocha and the government. Moreover, they believe that if the
government needs money it should search another way to get it. For
instance, Paul E. Maquet states, If there is an issue of money, the
government should collect the taxes from Telefonica, make tax reforms
and fight with corruption (Conga no va). They said that Yanacocha
and the government will get a lot of money in detriment of the town. In
fact, this is not true. The president has reassured that Conga project
will help a lot of inhabitants, especially those who are from Soroco,
Huasmin, La Encaada and Bambamarca, in Cajamarca. Besides, the
benefits of Conga project should reach all the 13 provinces of
Cajamarca. This project will create more than 10 000 direct jobs; this
will mean more social development and inclusion (Presidente)2.
Furthermore, the government will require that the company creates a
Social Fund so that the regional government can invest in social,
production and irrigation infrastructure; this will benefit the poorest
population.

Another reason that opponents of this project give is that

there is a lot of corruption involving Conga project. They believe
that if the Conga project is realized is because of the corrupted
people in the government who defend the companies interests
instead of the countrys interest. Even though corruption exists in
the government, there is no reason to avoid the international
investments; otherwise, the country cannot progress. Also, there are
some opponents who have their personal interest as well. Indeed,
according to a survey made by RPP Noticias, most of people believe
that the main opponents of this project are moved by politic
interests instead of a real worry about the environment. Moreover,
60% of people think that Gregorio Santos, the regional president
and the strongest opponent, is moved by politic interests, too
(Intereses)3.

For these reasons, I strongly believed that Conga project is

not only viable but also a good opportunity for Cajamarcas settlers.
This kind of economic projects has a direct benefit. It is not fair that
a group of people, who are motivated by personal interests, deceive
the rest of the people. These people that have wrong information
make strikes and destabilize the country causing severe damages to
people and private property. So, both a mining that does not affect
the environment and the understanding between companies and
settlers are essential to social and economic development of the
regions.

Sources
Conga no va. Revista Ideele 2011. 15 Apr. 2012

<http://www.revistaideele.com/content/conga-no-va>.
Presidente Humala seal que va el Proyecto Conga en
Cajamarca La Repblica Apr. 2012. 21 Apr. 2012
<http://www.larepublica.pe/20-04-2012/presidentehumala-senalo-que-va-el-proyecto-conga-en-cajamarca>
Intereses polticos mueven a opositores de Conga, segn
encuesta RPP Noticias Apr. 2012. 22 Apr. 2012.
<http://www.rpp.com.pe/2012-04-22-interesespoliticos-mueven-a-opositores-de-conga-segunencuesta-noticia_474397.html>