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Peru's Prime Minister rejects congressional repeal of tribal land law

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

Cabinet Chief Jorge del Castillo has affirmed Garcia's administration will not promulgate the law passed by congress on Friday to repeal legislative decrees 1015 and 1073.

The two laws, which congress voted to revoke on Friday, were passed by President Alan Garcia earlier this year as part of Peru's free trade deal with the United States.

Because the laws make it easier for mining and energy companies to purchase tribal lands, dozens of indigenous groups began a protest that lasted for eleven days across Peru.

Del Castillo affirmed that revoking the law as congress had suggested was a step backwards because it would close the doors to investment possibilities in the area.

"There are enemies of free trade in congress that don't believe in market rules, they represent a wave of political thoughts in Peru and I think that wave went out in the 70s and 80s," said the Premier.

There are over 1,000 communities in the jungle but 5,000 in the highlands, which consist of three million people, said Del Castillo, explaining these millions of people had not been asked about revoking the laws.

Peru's Prime Minster stated there were three paths that could be taken by the government and that only one had been discarded.

"The only thing I think is discarded is that the government will promulgate the law, for now that option is out."

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# Paul says :
25 August, 2008 [ 16:15 ]

I am lost.  Does this mean the excutive is accepting the decision by congess to repeal its decrees?  And what, in the name of all things good and holy, does "promulgate" mean? 

# GARY says :
25 August, 2008 [ 16:48 ]

PROMULGATE MEANS TO MAKE PUBLICLY KNOWN, OR OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCE. IF YOU WANT MY TAKE ON WHAT IS HAPPENING TO PERU, GO TO YOUTUBE.COM AND SEARCH FOR "ECONOMIC HITMAN" . WATCH A FEW OF HIS VIDEOS, YOU'LL UNDERSTAND PRETTY QUICKLY WHAT IS HAPPENING TO PERU, AND IT'S OFFICIALS, AND IT'S INCREDIBLE SPENDING RECENTLY. I'D LOVE TO HEAR SOME FEEDBACK ON THIS PREMISE.

# Paul in Miami says :
25 August, 2008 [ 19:35 ]

The article states that Del Castillo has sided with the original Garcia laws of the jungle allowing foreign companies to purchase lands in the Amazon, and reap the rewards of possible extraction of energy resources.

Those natural resources may possibly be vast. And, the Garcia administration is allowing companies to buy these lands at bargian prices.

What a shame for Peru. Undoubtedly more protests will come.

# Mark says :
25 August, 2008 [ 20:24 ]

PROMULGATE - verb: To declare or make known openly (to the public)

SO....what he his saying is that he and the Peruvian government will not openly declare to the public what these new laws are!

Who the hell do these people think they are?

They have been put in positions of power and are answerable only to their constituents-THE PERUVIAN PEOPLE who voted them in!

Thanks for the link to 'economic hitman' Gary-this is another example of how the US operates to get what it wants whilst at the same time vindicates some of my previous comments about the US on these pages.

Helping the poor in Ayacucho-geez I think I just saw that purple and pink polka dotted flying elephant again haha- by the way what's happening with all that stuff? Seems to have gone awfully quiet of late...maybe they've decided not to PROMULGATE this information to the people that voted them in- HOW MUCH MORE ARE THEY NOT PROMULGATING TO THE PEOPLE?

I wonder which "economic hitmen' have infiltrated the Peruvian government? Obviously Mr Jorge del Castillo and Mr Garcia are being paid well by the US to implement these laws and policies. Both of these men are corrupt puppets of the US administration-quite plain for everyone to see now.

Introduce laws-rejected by congress (who represent the people-supposedly) - and they still bring them in! DEMOCRACY IN ACTION FOLKS.

Who is actually running the Peruvian government here?

Peru or America?

It wont be long before Peru and Columbia are the only amigos the US has in this part of the world which they will both ultimately pay for, as their Latin American counterparts decide to go their own way and do what is right for thir respective peoples and countries-not bending over to the demands of the US-Peru and Columbia will be left isolated on their own continent.

In the famous words of Bush - if you're not with us you're against us! Who the hell does he think he is?

Personally he represents everything that the old world was-he represents everything that needs to be changed-old outdated power hungry greedy individuals and corporations.

THERE IS NO ROOM FOR PEOPLE LIKE HIM IN THE NEW WORLD!
  
Even the Peruvian congress has rejected these so called laws-they can see them for what they are-laws designed to hand over locally owned land for the benefit of rich American corporations to make them even richer at the expense of the Peruvian people.

Of course it will be most convenient for the US to have a military base in Ayacucho as they will be able to put any civil disobedience to rest immediately whilst US corporations rape, pillage and plunder the resources that belong to the Peruvian people. 

The whole thing makes me sick to the stomach

Peace

Mark

# Paul says :
25 August, 2008 [ 23:48 ]

Democracy indeed.  Your people have spoken... listen maybe?  Of course it is a big business thing, and the locals up there are more swtiched on and reading between the lines than most other folks in the country.   Why cant the big companies lease the land?  Or if they are offering such a good deal surely 66% of the people could be persuaded.  Maybe the deal aint so good.  And maybe it costs more to buy 66% of the people.   I do think its a risky strategy by Garcia, sowing the seeds for a radical alternative.

You know I am pretty sure the use of big fancy words wasnt just to confuse little old me, but the majority of indigenous folks listening too.

Or am I being too cynical.

# RachelinPeru says :
26 August, 2008 [ 10:16 ]

There is a similar problem in Cajamarca. The mining companies are trying to buy the lands of the people in Cajamarca.

The problem is the people have called those lands "home" for a long time and they value more their memories than money. They also complain that the area has been polluted by the mining operations.

Garcia is disconnected with the population in Cajamarca as he is with the population in the jungle.

The people in those regions feel that Garcia is more concerned about the bottom $ than their rights to conserve their lands.

There should be strong ethical consideration from both the government and the investors before exploring these territories.

# rice and sugar says :
26 August, 2008 [ 10:26 ]

Del Castillo...This is exactly Del Castillo...corruption, and little love for PERU.
I am beginning to wonder if Humala would have done a better job...
BOy..am I depressed today...

# kalai says :
26 August, 2008 [ 11:02 ]

What we can do, no matter where we live in the world, is to tell one person about what the government is trying to do to the Nativos.

Tourists may then decide to boycott visiting Peru, or, visit Peru and be of service to the Nativo people.

# Anonymous Dave says :
26 August, 2008 [ 20:16 ]

Here's a nice one for rice and sugar to explain...

Why did Fujimori remove all the protections that were granted to Amazon peoples in 1974? I'll tell you why. To attract foreign investment and fix the economy. Today we all live on blood money. We are all as guilty as Fujimori.

# kalai says :
27 August, 2008 [ 13:57 ]

The promotion and purchase, globally, of sustainably and traditionally harvested products such as medicines and Native art may not only increase global knowledge of the value of an intact virgin Amazon, but also brings money directly to the people that live there.

# rice and sugar says :
27 August, 2008 [ 14:35 ]

Anonymous Dave,
Being President is a tough job. Tough decisions. THe only ones who make mistakes, are the ones who are working hard to change things. Those of us who sit and criticize - we make NO mistakes. We are not liable. How easy it is to type a comment!
Fujimori's government provided a better economy for all poor Peruvians, including indingenous groups everywhere in the country. Everybody benefited from health care units in the most remote areas in Peru - including the Amazon natives.

What we need is an environmentally SUSTAINABLE management of our resources, while providing employment and equity for Peruvians.
If Fujimori changed the protection to Amazon territories, I am sure HE did have a plan for the natives in those areas. I am certain he would have explored all other alternatives, and he was confronted with a very difficult situation. Fujimori always thought of the poor first...His government was indeed for the poor. The poor benefited most..
My brothers natives from the Amazons, if they were not victims of the army, they were victims of terrorism; they were victims of mafia lords.
Fujimori had a tough decision.
What else can I say to you? You are right. This was rather a tough one.

# rice and sugar says :
27 August, 2008 [ 14:54 ]

When I was in Peru in the 1980's, I remember, those virgin areas of the Amazons were overtaken by the cocaine mafia. The natives were forced to work for this illegal trade.
This is NOT to justify what Fujimori did by removing the 1974 protection of the Amazons lands. This is just to place a realistic view of the situation.
AND, Kalai is right. There has to be a region in teh Amazon that remains virgin and protected. If Fujimori had NOt proceeded to protect at least some areas, I would have been the first one to criticize him. But, his third government did not have the chance to continue. We just don't know what would have happened....

# c. schmidt says :
27 August, 2008 [ 15:34 ]

christine schmidt says :
27 August, 2008 [ 15:26 ]

found in "the economist " under country briefing Peru

Peru-
Angry down south

Jul 10th 2008 | PUNO
From The Economist print edition

Would-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.

(my short add- this article should be a weak up  call to react strongly on social demands, institutional reforms especially in justice , fight against corruption and against mediocricy ,and some journalists who used press freedom to serve in particular private interests and manipulate public opinion against the demand of a mayority of Peruvians should evaluate their job )

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