A new wave of social struggles is spreading across Peru. In the southern province of Arequipa peasant farmers are fighting against the Southern Copper Corporation, whose operations, they say, threaten to contaminate their land making it infertile, as has occurred in other parts of the country. The peasant farmers have held protests held locally and in the country's capital. With the Peruvian economy pressured by falling commodity prices, the government has responded by lifting environmental controls in order to facilitate such business projects. Rael Mora reports from Lima.