The subordination of the rights to the new merchant lex: from the constitutional turn to extractivise expansion in Peru

Abstract

This article addresses the problem of the existing asymmetry between the legal guarantees of the interests of transnational corporations and groups of economic power, and the protection of the human rights of the people, communities and peoples affected by the expansion of extractive megaprojects in Peru. We investigate the antidemocratic constitutional adoption of key corporate principles of the new global lex mercatoria, as well as its regulatory and practical impact on the violation of human rights. Finally, based on the notions of corporate power and human rigthsbased approach, we identified the subordination of various rights to mining business interests, in two specific conflicts related to the Conga and Las Bambas megaprojects. In this way, we intend to contribute to reflect on the primacy of human rights, particularly those associated with struggles for environmental justice and the defense of indigenous territories, against corporate power.