On Friday, residents of the district of Coata in the province of Puno protested the lack of government action regarding the current contamination of a part of Lake Titicaca in their region. 

The lake was contaminated by sewage water from the city of Juliaca. The government sent a technical team to the area on November 15 to evaluate possible solutions, but protestors believe that such work will not have practical results because it deals with the problem in a generic manner.

Locals had a hearing with Prime Minister Ana Jara in Lima, and later with Vice-Minister of Construction and Sanitation, Francisco Dumler. They were hoping that representatives from the executive branch of government would offer solutions to the damage.

According to residents such as Felix Soasaca from the Coata District Defense Front, the problem has wide implications and requires immediate intervention. He told Gilmer Inquilla from NoticiasSer that, “This part of the lake is red and dead with animals floating in the river … there hasn’t been any investigation into the Coata River.”

Soasaca also denounced the government, claiming they “said they would send drinking water but as of now, not a single drop has reached us, with the excuse that the trucks don’t have drivers or gas.”

Soasaca argued that what is needed is not a project that simply cleans the water, but a corrective measure that addresses the wider issues at hand. According to him, “Nobody wants to fulfill their responsibilities.”

Demonstrators are considering the possibility of sending a delegation to Lima during the COP20 next week to continue their protests. Soasaca concluded by accusing the president of “wanting to present the image that we have a blue lake, when it is not like that.”

Roger Ramos, president of Carata community in the same district, supported the statements of his neighbor to NoticiasSer, “It seems as if they came here to fool us…and they are now saying they will hold another meeting in January but that is too far away.”