At 4,700 metres above sea level, oxygen is a lot harder to come by. But what is truly scarce in the highlands of the Morococha district, deep within the Peruvian Andes, is hope.
In 2012, the Aluminium Corporation of China (Chinalco) began developing this area’s town of Nueva Morococha, a red-roofed settlement built from scratch. It rehoused 5,000 people, who were displaced by what is now one of Peru’s most important copper mines, named Toromocho.
Residents were supposed to receive compensation and new housing and stable jobs at the mine. However, according to residents, the new town turned out to be a lifeless model village, a place that failed to do justice to local ways of life and community bonds. They say jobs proved to be temporary and precarious, often ending after mere months without so much as a goodbye.
However, five families refused to sign up for this future. For 13 years, they resisted. This meant living without a regular water supply and having to light their homes using solar panels once the water and electricity services were cut off. Elvis Atachahua, 48, who makes a living repairing computers or doing whatever manual labour is available, was the voice of that resistance. He says they felt like strangers on their own land, and the former buzz of their township dissipated.
On 19 September 2025, noise returned to Morococha: the stomp of boots and the clash of shields. Two hundred and fifty police officers had arrived to clear out the remaining residents. “It was a forced and inhuman displacement. They didn’t respect us. They demolished our homes, took our belongings, even our animals. They treated us like criminals,” Atachahua tells Dialogue Earth.
“Right now, all five families are drifting from place to place, living in nearby towns with relatives and friends who have taken us in.”
These families have also faced lawsuits brought by Chinalco regarding land disputes.
Over the past two decades, China has become South America’s main trading partner. It is projected that Chinese trade with Latin America will exceed USD 700 billion by 2035. China-Peru trade reached USD 24 billion in 2024, of which copper ore accounted for 62%. Atachahua and others like him are experiencing the reality of this development first-hand.
Against this backdrop, a major Chinese industry association, the China Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals and Chemicals Importers and Exporters (CCCMC), has been developing an accountability mechanism since late 2022. Communities should be able to use it to raise grievances against Chinese mining companies and seek conflict resolution.
Morococha and the Toromocho mine has become the mechanism’s first real test.
The accountability gap
According to a forthcoming study by Sustainable Latin America (LAS), an organisation focused on investigating the impact of Chinese capital in Latin America, Chinese companies have secured 59 mining projects in the region in just five years.
As Chinese capital has proliferated across the region, local communities have discovered a lack of avenues for challenging developers. As LAS puts it, an “accountability gap” has opened up.
The CCCMC has embarked on an effort to bridge this gap. In May 2023, the industry association launched its mediation mechanism. It allows communities in host countries to submit complaints regarding social and environmental impacts, and promises to be guided by “principles of legitimacy, accessibility, and compatibility with rights”.
The mechanism applies across the entire value chain of Chinese-funded, outbound metallic mining. Complaints can be submitted by communities, NGOs or companies. If upheld, one of three resolution pathways is offered: bilateral dialogue, internal mediation, or external mediation carried out by experts.
However, any findings are non-binding, and the tribunal does not have the power to fine companies.
As the LAS director, Paulina Garzón, told Dialogue Earth, the mechanism is a response to “international social demand” to improve environmental governance. Some companies have faced conflicts over the environment and local rights, such as at the Las Bambas copper mine in southern Peru. The project, led by the Chinese company MMG, is subject to ongoing protests and roadblocks.
Experts warn that, while the mechanism sounds smooth on paper, the reality is rougher. Caitlin Daniel from Accountability Counsel, a non-profit legal aid organisation, warns Dialogue Earth that the mechanism has yet to prove itself:
“We believe it could be highly beneficial and can formulate proposals that bring parties closer to an agreement. However, until the CCCMC takes action, it remains unclear whether there will be a genuine opportunity for dialogue to resolve this issue.”
The visit that never was
The Toromocho case was supposed to offer the CCCMC mechanism its first test. After the complaint was accepted, a historic visit was announced: Chinese mediators would travel to Peru to hear from Elvis Atachahua and his neighbours. However, the visit was cancelled with one day’s notice. The CCCMC’s explanation was brief, telling affected families that travel authorisation had not been granted. No further details or proposals for reorganising the trip were shared.
Daniel says the last-minute cancellation risked “re-traumatising community members who have already been through so much”.
The community was told to redirect its communications to Chinalco’s head of community relations in Peru, Lisset Mesa. Atachahua says Mesa was present on the day of the evictions. Edwin Alejandro, from Red Muqui, an organisation fighting rights violations by the mining sector, says Chinalco has so far been allowed to act as its own “judge and jury” in the case, because the communities have no other recourse.
Neither the CCCMC nor Chinalco has responded to Dialogue Earth’s requests for comments regarding the case.
Meanwhile, in recent years, the Chinese government has published a plethora of documents aimed at raising the human rights and environmental standards of Chinese companies’ investments overseas. In June 2026, the country’s state council published its National Human Rights Action Plan (2026-2030). It aims to “improve corporate social responsibility guidelines” in line with UN standards. Belt and Road Initiative projects, it states, should be “green, clean and sustainable”. It also urges companies to conduct “human rights due diligence”. Late last year, China’s Ministry of Commerce and the China Mining Association also released more stringent guidelines for environmental and social responsibilities, and for ESG reporting by Chinese mining companies operating overseas.
But Garzón points out that, without action, conflicts between communities and Chinese-led projects are likely to “keep intensifying and deepening”, adding: “This will undoubtedly cause increasingly large and unmanageable problems, which will pose ever more serious challenges to bilateral relations.”
Atachahua says he hopes all the promises coming from China will transcend the paper they are written on. He hopes community voices will truly be heard. “I will keep fighting for my rights. We demand justice.”