Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Peru's Alan Garcia is a president for the rich, says Lourdes Flores

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

After listening to President Alan Garcia's annual presidential address, Lourdes Flores Nano, head of Peru's Popular Christian Party, affirmed that the Andean country's head of state was a "president for the rich".

"The labeled he nailed me with is the one that belongs to him. Presently he is a president for the rich, without a doubt," said the former presidential candidate.

In public statements directed towards Alan Garcia, Flores Nano reminded the president that a great deal of the country's people were upset because of an increase in the price of food and because basic needs were not being met.

"It's raining millions, there is a buoyant country, but I go to a health center, I go to a hospital and there isn't any medicine, lines have not ended, service continues to be bad," said Flores.

"I go to a police station and I don't feel protected. I go to my children's school and things have not improved."

In response to her statements, Cabinet Chief Jorge del Castillo asked the head of the Popular Christian Party to make proposals to improve the economy and not just complain.

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# Anon. says :
31 July, 2008 [ 20:02 ]

Right....everyone in my family is APRA - as I am, but one has to be impartial - why on earth was this woman not made se~ora presidenta?

# Fred says :
1 August, 2008 [ 08:51 ]

According to some analysts, women won't vote for her because she has no children. Apparently, motherhood is considered mandatory for Peruvian females. Add the fact that most presidential elections are popularity contests, plus she's not attractive, and Garcia has more carisma.

# rice and sugar says :
1 August, 2008 [ 09:46 ]

That's right, aside from being "ugly" and childless, she is a typical right-wing, rich pituca herself. So, she has no right to talk about a "president for the rich". Having kids myself,  I admire ohter women who make it in politics. I don't think I could do it..that is me. Kirchner has two children, and Hillary Clinton as well. Benazir Bhutto...Margaret Tatcher, etc.

"Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't." (Margarita Tatcher..)

# Rev says :
2 August, 2008 [ 21:16 ]

Is this lady Loundes right in what she s say.

What is really going on in Peru

When i arrive there in the next few hours, i guess i will see it with my own eyes

# Phillip says :
7 August, 2008 [ 07:36 ]

Lourdes Flores is soooooooooo right. I wish She was President.

# christine schmidt says :
28 August, 2008 [ 16:01 ]

Very soon all of you don’t need to worry
 (found that article down on the Economist) - myself I thought miss Flores would have done it not bad if she would done good enough  is the other question
we wont know it. 
She is not a rich woman defined as upper -middle class working woman and practice her job as a lawyer - at least not as rich like Mister Garcia - but of course with a pool picture as headline in some congressmen (pool and taken with zoom and came out as very unlucky image) she was set up not to be front runner and I thing during her campaign she might have been sold out by her advisors. 
Some of the opinions claim that she is not beautiful- really beauty comes from inside and Mister Garcia is also not exactly a sample of men’s beauty- but yes he has many kids- extramarrige kids included! Both mister Toledo and Mister Garcia have beautiful woman next to them- according to my information Miss Norres wife of Mister Garcia  declared too press in an interview that “ she wants to be seen as the first worker from Peru” and not first lady.According to my information both of them lived in a very exclusive neighborhood in France after Mister Garcia had to leave Peru after his first mandate. Myself I would be very much interested in their social contributions to Peru during first and second term of government.This question was never asked from any press but yes some of the journalists admired outside beauty.But anyhow Peruvians can admire now well maintained Miss Norres in “Cases and Cosas” (an exclusive magazine for rich and wealthy Peruvians). According to the information about Dr. Toledo’s wife Elaine we only know that she seems not to live in Peru anymore even that she liked it here soooo much, yes – she is very beautiful (after plastic surgery even more) and in doubtless very intelligent and dedicates her self in teaching abroad but seems to be interested in the protection of Peruvian culture- unfortunally from outside it will be not so easy.But we don’t need to worry – another really and this time Peruvian beauty miss Lady  Bardales (who seemed to be very attached to Mister Toledo in the case of protection and may be something else) seems to have a little misbalance in her cash accounts and surely “vale un Peru”-
Here the article
:from economist

Peru Angry down south Jul 10th 2008 | PUNO
From The Economist print editionWould-be populists everywhere
 

LAST year the economy grew by 9% and poverty fell by five percentage points. But many Peruvians feel their lot is not improving fast enough. That is especially so in the country’s southern Andes. On July 8th-9th trade unions staged a general strike, claiming the government had reneged on various promises. While having little impact in Lima, the strike was widely backed in southern towns, with protesters blocking roads and the railway to the Inca ruins at Machu Picchu. Earlier this month miners struck to demand a bigger share of bumper mining profits. In the same cause a group in the southern department of Moquegua last month took scores of police hostage and burned government offices. But it is to Puno, a poor and remote region of 1.3m on the border with Bolivia, that those Peruvians who fear an impending populist shift look most closely. The head of its regional government, Hernán Fuentes, clashes regularly with Peru’s president, Alan García. He has attempted to legalise production of coca, the shrub from which cocaine is extracted. He is pushing for sweeping local autonomy. He is a fan of the socialist nationalism pursued by Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez and Bolivia’s Evo Morales, while abhorring Mr García’s economic liberalism. The president and Mr Fuentes accuse each other of failing to implement government measures to help Puno, such as laws to create a second university there and a free-trade zone. “We are like oil and water,” Mr Fuentes says. “We have different ideas about Peru’s political, economic and social future.”Mr Fuentes was elected for a small party headed by Antauro Humala, a former army officer who staged an attempted coup against the democratic government in 2005, an incident in which five people were killed. Mr Humala’s elder brother, Ollanta, narrowly lost the presidential election to Mr García despite—or rather because of—having noisy backing (and probably money) from Mr Chávez.It is Mr Fuentes’s ties with Mr Chávez, real or not, which cause alarm in Lima. He set up several Casas de ALBA, centres which promote friendship with Venezuela and send patients at its expense for free cataract operations there. Venezuela denies paying for these centres’ political activities, and Peru’s government has found no evidence of this. But Peru’s Congress is conducting its own investigation.Mr Fuentes insists this will find nothing. Rather than from his antics, a populist threat in Peru at the next election in 2011 may once again come from Ollanta Humala. He is doing his best to appear moderate. But his proposal to increase the taxes on mining and oil companies commands widespread popular support.

--------------------end of article----------------------

 my add-About Mister Garcia’s popularity- Only   one  add- Many Peruvians were shocked to see him as presidential candidate in 2006 because they quit well remembered the long food lines, terrorism and corruption Under his regime, they also remember penal accusations against the Mister Garcia and rumors about human right abuses under his government. Anyhow he came bag in 2006 with great long speeches full of enthusiasm  full of promises about reforms in institutions and fight against poverty  and many birds during election campaign were flying from his shoulders. Mister Garcia during mister Toledo’s term attacked former president for his private live but anyhow after getting in charge after elections who were qualified from some critical press as the choice between “pest” and cholera” he surprised all Peruvians relatively soon with an extramatriomonial child. Now 2 years past by and many poor Peruvians who hardly can afford their daily lunch (poverty in Peru is qualified about 45 percent) see mister Garcia with huge weigh gaining and he seems to like performing himself with national drink Pisco in his hand. The country during 2 years of his government politically was shaken by instability , a lot of criminality, ongoing strikes last year and this year, new corruption scandals involving members from congress as much as ministers and  even that Peru grow economically in some areas the countries new richness were insufficient traduced.  Inflation numbers which seemed not given correctly are very much felt as bigger poorness especially in rural abandoned areas were since many many years nothing happened. Many Peruvians I spoke to from central mountain areas and even from ruling Apra party city Trujillo are expressing their disappointment about the  government and they are upset that promises like reforms in institutions (Justice reform ) are insufficient , Middle class Peruvians still can handle that abridge things got something like 10 percent more expensive but the problem starts when 50 percent of really poor Peruvians are affected and have to pay for daily food significant more. Living 13 years in Peru from my pint of few this beautiful country which is actually  a country of opportunities has huge potential to fall in the same direction like Bolivia or Venezuela (20 percent possibility) because it seems to exist a luck of ideas, possible mismanagement and possible incapacity from those who are in charge and promised to push Peru soon into direction of an developed and democratic nation. From my point of few Peru seems to be managed in interest of small private groups (confirming BBC analyst country per file ) and even with some signs of democracy the country seems to be managed very much in a  feudalistic style.The fact that good education is expensive and many Peruvians are excluded because of their economical conditions opens a wide gate for any outsider or extremist ideologies. Some part of press seems to serve only particular interests and gives information about inner country events in a very smoove version- (Sample when there was a few weeks ago a huge national strike some TV medias put information’s about it in second or third plan even that it was the event from the day and they found it more interesting to report about the death of a worker from some hairdresser in lima before giving news about the strike some event which shake the country and an  issue which was informed about international news agencies (Cadena Espanola )  with great importance. Peruvians in general don’t trust in opinion polls because in the past there were some rumors about some of the responsible who manage this polls- they go for facts and the sad fact that an over abridge part of population has now to pay more for daily expenses wont make mister Garcia more popular- even that some opinion polls seem to try very hard to hold artificially an image of percentage of approval up and even so taht some press desperatly seems to reflect an image that everything is o.k in town.
It is a very dangerous sign that in some areas Peruvians take the law in their hands (burning crime people today was another case of mob law in some rural area in Libertad) and proves that if ongoing conflicts are not resolved the country might face in nearby future greater problems. 

# Phillip says :
28 August, 2008 [ 18:08 ]

Arriba Ollanta Humala.