Political Settlements and the Governance of Covid-19: Mining, Risk, and Territorial Control in Peru

Peru's response to Covid-19 has favored large-scale mining interests while constraining livelihood possibilities for artisanal and small-scale miners. Large-scale mining has been offered opportunities to reinforce its role in territorial governance and been freed of certain regulatory requirements. In this essay we identify a significant risk that the response to Covid-19 facilitates authoritarian forms of government as a legitimate form of rule.