Living in Peru : your everyday companion

(LIP-jl) -- Peru's opposition party leader Ollanta Humala is maintaining firm in his opposition regarding the proposed free trade agreement between the United States and Peru.

His party, the Peruvian Nationalist Party, will send a delegation of Peruvian congressmen to officially protest and inform United States officials on the 'destruction' the agreement will have on productive sectors in Peru.

During an interview with Peru's RPP Radio, Humala announced Peruvian legislators from his party will meet with U.S. senators to explain why the proposed FTA 'is not good for Peru.'

"A delegation of Nationalist congressmen will travel to Washington D.C. to express the reasons and position of some 47.7 percent of our (Peru's) population," indicated the former presidential candidate.

According to Humala, Peruvian legislators will explain to their U.S. counterparts that the agreement will only benefit a minority of the Peruvian population who already control much of the country's wealth and will have an adverse affect efforts to fight Peru's extreme poverty.

Additionally, Peru's opposition party will reiterate their request to extend the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA) which gives Peru many of the same benefits as the proposed FTA, enabling both sides more time to broker a new FTA which is more advantageous for Peru's population.

Humala, who is not opposed to a trade agreement with greater benefits, concluded by commenting: "the ratification of the FTA between Peru and the U.S. will mean the destruction of the majority of Peru's national productive sectors."