BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) 鈥� Peruvians to elect a new president and Congress, but illegal mining 鈥� a major driver of deforestation and mercury pollution 鈥� has received little attention on the campaign trail, even as it spreads deeper into the Amazon and Indigenous territories.
Experts warn the gap reflects a broader failure to confront what has become the with growing impacts on the environment, public health and Indigenous communities.
鈥淧olitical parties don鈥檛 understand that illegal mining has become the country鈥檚 main criminal activity and the one that moves the most money,鈥� said environmental lawyer C茅sar Ipenza. 鈥淭here is either ignorance about what this represents for the country 鈥� or, in some cases, parties are already part of this economy.鈥�
According to projections by the Peruvian Institute of Economics, illegal mining generated more than $11.5 billion in 2025 and over 100 tons of gold exports 鈥� rivaling the formal sector and surpassing drug trafficking.
Some candidates’ proposals, including former ministers and technocratic candidates such as Jorge Nieto and Alfonso L贸pez Chau, include measures such as gold traceability, financial intelligence and protections for environmental defenders, but these remain fragmented and fall short of a comprehensive strategy.
Others 鈥� including candidates from influential conservative and populist parties, such as Keiko Fujimori, Rafael L贸pez Aliaga and C茅sar Acu帽a 鈥� focus on security, economic growth or extractive development without directly addressing illegal mining or its links to corruption and territorial control in the Amazon. In some cases 鈥� including those of Ricardo Belmont and Carlos 脕lvarez, both media figures turned political candidates 鈥� plans omit the issue entirely.
鈥淚llegal mining and illicit economies are not being prioritized in government plans,鈥� said Magaly 脕vila, director of environmental governance at Proetica, a Peruvian anti-corruption group, noting that around 64% of party platforms fail to meaningfully address the issue, while only about 5% do so 鈥渃learly and explicitly.鈥�
A March analysis by Peru鈥檚 Observatory of Illegal Mining reinforces those concerns, finding that only 12 of 36 registered political parties present specific proposals, while others offer only general statements without concrete measures or do not address the issue at all.
Shortcomings of past plans
Peruvian authorities have previously announced operations and strategies to combat illegal mining, though experts say The Associated Press contacted several government entities for comment on the issue of illegal mining and Indigenous protections but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Peruvian lawmakers have repeatedly extended a temporary registry that allows informal miners to continue operating while seeking formalization, a system critics say has been widely abused and has helped illegal mining expand.
At the same time, recent legislative changes have undermined the capacity of prosecutors and judges to pursue organized crime, including illegal mining networks, according to rights groups.
Analysts say the measures reflect political pressure from small-scale miners, who have staged protests to demand looser regulations, complicating efforts to tighten enforcement.
The protests appear highly organized, suggesting the involvement of more powerful actors behind the scenes, said Julia Urrunaga, Peru program director at the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA).
Soaring gold prices causes mining to deepen into Amazon
Illegal mining has grown rapidly in recent years, fueled by which have climbed to around $4,500 to $5,000 per ounce 鈥� making even small amounts of gold highly valuable. Once concentrated in regions such as Madre de Dios, the activity has spread into other parts of the Amazon and beyond.
鈥淭he price of gold has reached historic highs, and that has obviously driven illegal mining to expand,鈥� Ipenza said. 鈥淭he state does not have the capacity to respond or pursue this activity.鈥�
Illegal mining operations often rely on mercury to extract gold, contaminating rivers and entering the food chain through fish.
鈥淚n Amazonian river communities, between 50% and 70% of the diet is fish,鈥� said Mariano Castro, Peru鈥檚 former vice minister of environment. 鈥淪o exposure increases exponentially, and mercury is highly toxic, with serious neurological impacts.鈥�
Environmental and health experts warn contamination in some regions already exceeds safety standards, posing long-term risks.
Expected expansion throughout the Amazon 鈥渨ill bring contamination, transnational criminal groups and direct impacts on Indigenous and local populations,鈥� Ipenza said.
Illegal mining already 鈥減uts at risk our health, biodiversity and ways of life,鈥� said Tabea Casique, a board member of AIDESEP, Peru鈥檚 largest Indigenous organization.
鈥淢ost political parties are not taking this problem into account or presenting concrete proposals,鈥� she said.
Weak enforcement
Former vice minister Castro called state efforts 鈥渋nsufficient鈥� and said lawmakers have also weakened legal tools to prosecute illegal mining, including reducing penalties and limiting the ability to treat such operations as organized crime. Gaps in oversight allow illegally mined gold to enter legal supply chains, often through processing plants where it is laundered.
Ipenza called for the government to better control small-scale processing plants and for stronger coordination across government agencies 鈥� including customs, financial intelligence units and prosecutors 鈥� to track gold flows and identify illegal activity.
Analysts say weak traceability systems are a central vulnerability.
鈥淭here is no real way to trace mining production in Peru,鈥� said EIA’s Urrunaga. 鈥淎uthorities hold fragmented pieces of information, but there is no system 鈥� and apparently no political will 鈥� to connect them.鈥�
鈥淲e are talking about more than $12 billion in illegal gold exports,鈥� she added. 鈥淗ow can this be happening in almost total impunity?鈥�
Experts warn that failing to act will make the problem harder to contain. The next government will face growing pressure to confront a crisis that they say is already spiraling.
鈥淎uthorities cannot fulfill their responsibility to protect citizens if they continue to normalize an activity that causes significant harm,鈥� Castro said.
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