Madre de dios, prey for us: state capacity and public policies in response to illegal mining and the protection of environmental defenders

Abstract

The article analyzes state capacity in Peru through two public policies: the Registro Integral de Formalización Minera (REINFO) and the Intersectoral Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (Mechanism), within the context of illegal mining and violence against environmental defenders in Madre de Dios 2021 – August 2025. The research combines a qualitative descriptive–exploratory approach with a quantitative component based on a self-constructed REINFO database. The guiding research question is: How does state capacity manifest in the implementation of REINFO and the Mechanism in Madre de Dios between 2021 and August 2025? The study examines how state capacity is expressed in the implementation of both policies, complemented by two specific objectives: to describe the execution of REINFO in the region and to analyze the functioning of the Mechanism in situations of risk and violence. The findings show that state capacity is profoundly weak. These weaknesses stem from the lack of effective coercion, the absence of citizen support, weak inter-institutional coordination, and corruption. The study concludes that a coordinated, structural, and institutional effort is required to rebuild the capacity of the state.