Living in Peru : your everyday companion

The good path and growth of the Peruvian economy in the region is highlighted by the financial columnist of the prestigious US daily The Wall Street Journal, Mary Anastasia O'Grady.

In the article named "Peru's Born Again-Free Marketeer", the American journalist claims that the Peruvian economy is growing very fast and that President Alan Garcia is trying to promote the country to investors with good arguments due to annual growth of over 6.2 percent in the last six years.

Therefore, the columnists argues that "Peru has prospered by their competitiveness, something unimaginable a decade ago". It is a miraculous growth considering that the country was affected by decades of poverty and violence.

After sustaining an interview with Peruvian President, the columnist said that Garcia speaks the language of someone who was reborn with liberal economic principles and upholds the markets as a way to reduce poverty.

O'Grady also noted that Peruvians are finding their comparative advantages in markets around the world in various sectors in the mining industry, including manufacturing, textiles and agriculture.

This is the result of a fundamental change in the economic model of Peru, as Garcia preaches, in order to insert the country into the global economy, open their borders to investment and ensure fiscal and monetary stability in the country.

According to O'Grady, the Peruvian president acknowledged that many of their neighbors are not courting investors, which benefits Peru.

The president, says O'Grady, that the country has had a significant rate growth over the past three years, increasing from six percent to nearly eight percent and then nine percent per year.

"This year we hope to maintain the highest growth rate and the lowest level of inflation in South America," said García.

The article stresses that Garcia argued that his role as leader is to persuade people to be open to all possibilities of investment and, with this, decentralize economic activity so as to create more jobs.

García believes that Peru has to reduce the cost of being part of the formal sector. Without such changes, the country will continue with what Garcia has agreed to call the "slavery of the twenty-first century".

News source: ANDINA