A nightmare or a gold rush? YouTuber Investigates This Illegal City in Peru

This isolated settlement, La Rinconada, is situated at an astounding 16,700 feet above sea level, deep in the Peruvian Andes. This enclave of around 50,000 people is well-known for its unrelenting search for gold and runs on the difficult cachorreo system. Here, miners work nonstop for thirty days without receiving pay, only to be paid one day to extract valuable minerals for themselves.

Popular YouTube channel Yes Theory sent its brave reporter, Ammar Kandil, to expose the brutal reality of living in this chaotic area. Instead of seeing the shimmer of gold upon arriving, Kandil saw a landscape tarnished by trash, a harsh reminder of the turbulent past of the city.

In contrast to what he had anticipated, Kandil saw a chaotic scene where people fight on the streets often and there is a clear separation between expensive homes and dilapidated ones. Residents bemoaned the lack of law and order, presenting an image of a violent and lawless town. In addition, the environmental cost of gold mining was significant, since mercury poisoning of rivers and soil occurred.

La Rinconada’s once-pure waters are now overflowing with contaminants, making them unsafe to drink. Sadly, the danger doesn’t stop with the state of the environment; locals have to live with the constant fear of passing away from diseases brought on by pollution or from the evil deeds of criminals who can get away with murder. With their high concentration of criminal activity, even the purported havens of leisure, such as the neighborhood discothèque, provide little relief.

The inflow of over 2,500 women from nearby districts who turn to prostitution as a way of survival, aggravating social turmoil even more, adds to the city’s troubles. The exposé by Yes Theory illuminates the interplay between environmental deterioration, lawlessness, and economic desperation that culminates in a nightmarish existence in La Rinconada.

Viewers are forced to face the hard reality that La Rinconada’s quest of money has a detrimental effect on the environment and its residents, via Kandil’s viewpoint. People may have come to this isolated outpost because of the lure of riches, but what they discover is a chaotic metropolis where the harsh reality of existence overshadows the possibility of fortune.