Chapter 9 THE PERUVIAN ODYSSEY 175 cabinet officers and bombings of government offices. For the first time, the unity of the armed forces showed signs of cracking as highranking naval officers criticized Velasco’s handling of the economy. Marcona, virtually the last foreign-owned mining venture left in Peru, consequently came under strong government pressure to increase production so Lima could gain more revenue. The company wisely responded with caution to the now perilous climate. Again its officers opened talks with the government to consider a joint operation, but their words fell on deaf ears. Still, Marcona continued its Peruvian operations while diversifying in other countries, as Robinson came up with a new tactic. Marcona’s strength in Peru depended upon its strategic structure— specialized shipping and market leverage. Hoping to reinforce that structure and thus bolster the firm’s security, Robinson proposed building a new facility to produce slurry products requiring the company’s own specialized handling. Perhaps more significantly, he proposed that Japanese investors, particularly long-term Marcona customers, become partners in this venture. This proposal offered Marcona several advantages, for it would reduce the capital outlay for expansion and increase Lima’s dependence upon the company’s unique skills and fleet. If Lima unilaterally nationalized Marcona’s holdings, the Peruvians would face immense problems in selling and transshipping specialized commodities. The proposal also included Japanese customers, who purchased 80 percent of Marcona’s iron ore product, and that factor drastically altered the equation, for Japan had very strict laws on purchasing materials from expropriating nations. Early in 1974, Robinson submitted his proposal to the government. When Lima rejected it, he and other executives recognized that Marcona’s days in Peru were definitely numbered. During that year and the next, Marcona offered what it considered generous concessions, but talks eventually collapsed as rumors circulated that Velasco would soon nationalize Marcona’s mining venture. The Peruvian Times, an English-language newspaper popular with American expatriates in Lima, reported that detailed plans for a Marcona takeover were in a safe at the offices of state-run Mineroperu. Then on July 28, 1974, a government official announced “Plan Inca,” which outlined a state