Espinar Province

Espinar Province is one of thirteen provinces in the Cusco Region in the southern highlands of Peru.

Espinar
Province
K'anamarka in the Espinar Province
Flag
Location of Espinar in the Cusco Region
CountryPeru
RegionCusco
CapitalYauri
Government
 • vMayorLindley Alfredo Salinas Perez (2007)
Area
 • Total5,311.09 km2 (2,050.62 sq mi)
Population
 (2005 census)
 • Total66,908
 • Density13/km2 (33/sq mi)
UBIGEO0808
Tintaya copper mine as seen from the air

Geography

Some of the highest mountains of the province are listed below:[1][2]

Political division

The province is divided into eight districts (Spanish: distritos, singular: distrito), each of which is headed by a mayor (alcalde). The districts, with their capitals in parenthesis, are:

History

On 21 May 2012, agricultural leadership in Espinar Province announced a strike against the planned expansion of Tintaya mine, a copper mine owned by the Swiss corporation Xstrata. The leaders' demands included higher environmental standards, more money for area development, and independent oversight of the mine.[3] Strikers occupied the roads to the mine over the following week, blocking all access. In response, President Ollanta Humala declared a state of emergency in the province, suspending constitutional rights,[4] and deployed police commandos against the strikers.[3] Two civilians were killed in the resulting clashes, and seventy police officers were injured.[4] On 30 May, provincial mayor Oscar Mollohuanca was arrested by the national government and accused of inciting protests against an expansion of a copper mine owned by Xstrata.[5] He was conditionally released on 13 July.[3]

Ethnic groups

The people in the province are mainly indigenous citizens of Quechua descent. Quechua is the language which the majority of the population (68.90%) learnt to speak in childhood, 30.75% of the residents started speaking in Spanish (2007 Peru Census).[6]

See also

References
  1. escale.minedu.gob.pe - UGEL map of the Espinar Province (Cusco Region)
  2. Peru 1:100,000, Condoroma 2640, Map prepared and published by the Defense Mapping Agency, Hydrographic/Topographic Center, Bethesda, MD
  3. Stephanie Boyd (18 June 2012). "Peru's great transformation". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  4. "Peru police arrest mayor who led mine protests". The Los Angeles Times. 30 May 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  5. "Peru: Espinar protest mayor in 'preventative' detention". BBC News. 2 June 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  6. inei.gob.pe Archived January 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine INEI, Peru, Censos Nacionales 2007


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