Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Latin Finance names Peru's president "Man of The Year"

(LIP-ir) -- The prestigious U.S. based Latin Finance magazine named Peru's president Alan Garcia Man of the Year because of his leading role in the country's accelerated growth and development.

This edition is from the month of March and we can see Alan Garcia’s picture on the cover of the magazine.

Latin Finance pointed out that in an upside down world where Brazilian companies buy North American enterprises and where investors sell G7 securities to buy Latin-American debts, Alan Garcia is the perfect Latin Finance Man of the Year 2008.

“The Peruvian President Alan García is a man on a mission, calling for revolutions to transform the country,” said Latin Finance magazine.

“Peru has made admirable progress, but we have to do more, we have everything in the right place to make a qualitative jump,” said President Garcia to Latin Finance magazine in an exclusive interview.

Peru is capitalizing on robust economic expansion to revamp local markets, Finance Minister Luis Carranza Ugarte tells Latin Finance.

(News source: ANDINA)

 | | | |

• Business : Microsoft Peru will invest US $500,000 in its expansion
• Travel and Tourism : Prom-Peru to promote Southern Peru tourist destinations in Chilean fair
• Food : US gastronomic website praises Peru's food
• Mining/Energy : Peru: More natural gas found in Camisea
• Law and Order : Peru will sign The Hague Apostille Convention

# yersin says :
29 March, 2008 [ 10:20 ]

If there had been a magazine that named the worst Finance Man of the Year in 1990, he would have been named, too.

# Joey says :
29 March, 2008 [ 11:27 ]

Come on now.. no cheap comments. This is a great accomplishment and it should be celebrated!

# romariga says :
29 March, 2008 [ 12:39 ]

This actually speaks for itself. The change is dramatic and is great news for Peru. Mr Garcia ( I had no respect for him after his first government) is redeeming himself wonderfully. The man has matured! Peru has managed to maintain a structurally sound economy and if Mr Gacia continues to ride the country this way, Peru will finally be a changed (prosperous) nation in five years!

# Right place, right time says :
29 March, 2008 [ 14:59 ]

Toledo teed it up for him.  Remember, Garcia and APRA campaigned against the Free Trade Agreement.  Now he has a big smile on his face in his photo with "W" signing the bill.  Thanks again for Toledo.  Also he is the beneficiary of the highest prices in history for copper, gold and other metals. 
He's passing wind through silk.  And it takes a loooot of silk to make his underwear! 

# carl says :
29 March, 2008 [ 16:03 ]

As well as the commodities price are higher and the economy is doing well, Alan is ok, but what will happen in bad times.

# Carlos A. Quiroz says :
29 March, 2008 [ 17:00 ]

And how much did Garcia had to pay for this? Perhaps Latin Finance publishers have some good investments in Majaz or Camisea?

Gimme a break!

Now read this info please, it starts with a letter from Human Rights Watch, and then what happened... this is what the "Man of the Year" capable of doing:

....

Letter to President-elect Alan García
Washington, D.C., July 26, 2006

Dr. Alan García
President-elect of Perú
Lima, Perú

Dear President-elect Alan García:

I am writing to share Human Rights Watch’s concerns regarding one of the most important challenges that you will face during your new term as president of Peru: ending impunity for past human rights violations and strengthening the rule of law in Peru.

When you last served as president, thousands Peruvians lost their lives, victims of atrocities committed by armed insurgent groups and by government forces. The armed groups deliberately and ruthlessly targeted civilians, often from the most vulnerable segments of the community. Government forces, in their response, executed suspects or made them “disappear.” Indeed, the number of forced disappearances in Peru during these years was, according to the United Nations, higher than in any other country in the world.

The trauma caused by these atrocities was compounded by Peru’s failure to bring the perpetrators to justice. In the case of abuses committed by insurgent groups, instead of providing justice, the state resorted in the 1990s to trials that lacked the basic procedural guarantees needed to ensure that the people convicted were in fact the ones who committed the crimes. In the case of government abuses, no serious effort was made to investigate and prosecute those responsible.

Today the problem of political violence is largely a thing of the past. But the problem of impunity is not. As a matter of international law, Peru has an obligation not only to prevent human rights abuses, but also to punish those who commit them. Even in the cases of atrocities committed two decades ago, this fundamental obligation remains as urgent today as it was when you left office.

More:
http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2006/07/26/peru13838.ht...

~~~~~~~~~~~

Peru: five killed in trade protests
Submitted by WW4 Report on Tue, 02/26/2008 - 02:51.
Campesinos and farmers started an open-ended strike in eight Peruvian departments on Feb. 18, holding marches and blocking highways to demand government measures to ease the impact of a free trade agreement (FTA, or TLC in Spanish) with the US. The action was called by the National Convention of Agriculture (Conveagro), the National Council of Irrigation Users (JNUDR) and the National Agrarian Confederation (CNA). According to JNUDR president Enrique Malaga, the FTA, which is to lift tariffs on heavily subsidized US farm products, will harm more than 1.75 million Peruvian farms.

One protester was killed in Barranca, north of Lima, on Feb. 18; police said he was shot by an angry motorist. Three more protesters were killed on Feb. 19: two were shot dead when police fired into a march in Ayacucho department in the central Andean region; another protester fell to his death as he was fleeing police tear gas near the Pan-American Highway in the southern department of Arequipa. At least 150 people were arrested. The government declared a state of emergency in the eight departments on Feb. 19, and by the end of the day the organizers had suspended the strike and resumed negotiations with the government.

Also on Feb. 19, teachers marched on Congress in Lima to protest a decree by social democratic president Alan Garcia on the hiring of teachers with university degrees in the public schools.

Despite the suspension, campesinos continued the strike through Feb. 20 in the southern departments of Cusco, Arequipa and Ayacucho to protest the four deaths in the preceding days. According to CNR radio, a fifth protester, Edgar Huayta Saccsara, was killed during the Feb. 20 strike. He was reportedly shot in the head during disturbances in Huamanga, capital of Ayacucho; some 73 other people were injured. Also on Feb. 20, US ambassador Peter Michael McKinley spoke out in favor of the trade pact, which the US Congress approved in December. It would "establish modern systems of trade regulation and design a discipline which will improve Peru's competitiveness and promote its prosperity," he said. (Bloomberg News, Feb. 21; Earth Times, Feb. 20; TeleSUR, Feb. 19; EFE, Feb. 20; Prensa Latina, Feb. 20)

More:
http://www.ww4report.com/node/5154


~~~~~~~~~~

Repression intesifies in Peru

7 March 2008

~snip~
Campesinos are being crushed by increases in living costs aggravated by the miserable prices they receive for their products — as well as lack of credit, higher fertiliser prices, etc.

What the government has brought in practice (as a result of the signing of the Free Trade Agreement with the US, which subsidises its agriculture) is an agrarian policy that makes Peru an importer of agrarian produce at the expense of Peruvian producers.

The campesino strike was answered with violent repression. The police fired at the heads of the demonstrators. Victims’ bodies revealed two or three bullet holes in the nape that indicate that the shots came from behind.

But interior minister Luis Alva — who is politically responsible for the killings — says, with no proof at all, that the demonstrators died from shotgun fire, and that in other cases demonstrators seized arms from the police to kill each other.

We know that despite their lies, they won’t be censured. The majority of the parliamentary chamber members, no matter what party they’re from, are agreed that everything must be done to defend the big multinational firms against grassroots protests. The main thing for them is the political and legal defence of the multinational mining companies against the Peruvian population.

The government also has a project to take away the lands of campesino communities. It is called “the law of the jungle”. It aims to privatise the Amazon region without respecting in any way the populations living there.

The government wants to privatise water, the ports, put down the teachers, and renege on signed promises to increase public service wages. It is beginning to privatise our archeological patrimony.

Faced with complaints against the rising cost of living, the government claims that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is to blame for hunger in Peru.

More:
http://www.greenleft.org.au/2008/743/38439

~~~~~~~~~

Politics | 10 March, 2008 < 16:30 >

Polls show Peru's President Alan Garcia more unpopular than ever


(LIP-ir) -- A poll conducted by CPI polling firm revealed that President Alan Garcia's disapproval rating had reached 64.7 percent while only 28.2 percent of the people polled supported the Andean nation's president.

Among the population's major complaints were the fact that Garcia's administration had not fulfilled the promises made while running for president and a recent increase in the prices of certain food products.

More:
http://www.livinginperu.com/news-5923-politics-polls-sh...

# Baseball Freak says :
29 March, 2008 [ 17:47 ]

Toledo gets the win, Garcia gets the save.

# Michael says :
29 March, 2008 [ 19:22 ]

Baseball Freak is right - this is Toledo's doing, not Garcia's.  He just left the good things in place and monitored them.  He deserves some credit, certainly, but hardly a "Man of Year" for it.

# Anonymous Joe says :
29 March, 2008 [ 21:27 ]

And, dare I say it, Fujimori pointed Toledo in the right direction in many ways.

# right place, right time.... says :
30 March, 2008 [ 08:49 ]

AJ is correct.  If Fuijimori hadn't crushed SL, MRTA and 7000% annual inflation (which he inherited from Alan Garcia), Toledo wouldn't have had anything to work with either.  Keep your fingers crossed that AG and APRA doesn't frig things up.

# mericorps says :
30 March, 2008 [ 09:40 ]

Joe and Right Place,

I hope that the innocent lives Fujimori took during the process where your friends and family, because I am not willing to trade the innocent lives of those I know and love to lower inflation.

# carl says :
30 March, 2008 [ 09:47 ]

Innocents or terrorists

# Anonymous Jim says :
30 March, 2008 [ 10:25 ]

mericorps,

Let's get silly here. Everyone knows what Fujimori did. Lives of many innocents were lost and an economy and country was saved.

Don't be such a damn hipocrite. I take it you've flown on a jet plane before? How many Jews were exterminated for use to have them?

You and I would not be in Peru today if it wasn't for Fujimori. That's not to say he wasn't a scumbag, but by saying it shows I am not a biased unthinking idiot. The real world is a little more complicated than yours, no?

# Anonymous Dave says :
30 March, 2008 [ 10:33 ]

Let's not forget, that the current economic progress is at the expense of lives in and around mining towns and in the rainforest. Garcia is not only complacent in this, but supports it. In fact, he called all those who wouldn't roll over and die for the mining or oil companies to be non-patriots looking to hold Peru back.
I'm sure Carlos has a link up his sleeve explaining this.

# Carlos A. Quiroz says :
30 March, 2008 [ 15:10 ]

Most people that Fujimori killed were not guerrilla members. Abimal Guzman, the head of SL lives in a Peruvian jail, and Peruvians are paying for his room and board. Thousands of innocent campesinos and other Indigenous Peruvian people were killed by Garcia and Fujimori.

# carl says :
30 March, 2008 [ 16:13 ]

Guerrilla members equal terrorists.
Even Abimael Guzman has the right to live.
How do you know that most

# Artur says :
31 March, 2008 [ 04:28 ]

Come on, guys, give some credit to Senor Garcia and his handling of the economy, of course with help of economy minister- two years in a row GDP expanded above 8%, which is way higher than during Toledo´s administration(and contrary to what some mentioned- prices of commodities didn´t actually go up too much in the last two years- the big expansion which can be seen in growth of exports was in years 2002-2005). So foreign and local investment has to some extand be given credit for the growth, which usually reflect political stability and confidence of private sector for the stable economy and growth. Hopefully sound macoreconomic politics can be kept not only for couple years, but many decades to come- and the population would see big benefits of the free market economy. To be seen in the near future.

# carl says :
31 March, 2008 [ 04:41 ]

Arthur,
I can t forget his first government.

# maria ballardo campoverde says :
31 March, 2008 [ 05:29 ]

My respects to Senor Alan Garcia.  He promissed and he has delivered.  Lets be positive and optimist.  At long last a peruvian president is doing it right.  He made mistakes when he was young.   He has matured and is puting Peru in the map.  Come on peruvians lets be happy, lets support our President and be proud of his acomplishments.   Peru is beautiful and has loads of natural resources, our President is making the world notice Peru.  All around the world people is hungry to see Peru.  What we have no other country has.   Stop criticism and be proud of our country and our Presidente.  Heal the past, live the present and dream the future.    ARRIBA PERU TOP COUNTRY IN THE WORLD.   Greetings Marita      

# Carlos A. Quiroz says :
31 March, 2008 [ 07:43 ]

Alan Garcia has delivered: over 10 Peruvians dead since he took office in July 2006.

FOUR FARMERS KILLED BY PERUVIAN GOVERNMENT - FREE TRADE IN ACTION

http://peruanista.blogspot.com/2008/02/four-farmers-kiled-by-peruvian.html


Santiago Lloclle [photo EFE] was a 19 years old Peruvian farmer. His family and community are in debt, because the prices for fertilizers and water are increasing at alarming levels, and local banks are charging them for late fees. His country Peru has recently signed a free trade deal with the US, which will destroy their economy because local markets will be invaded with subsidized goods.

Santiago is dead now, along with three other Peruvian farmers. He was killed after a Peruvian police officer threw a tear gas bomb and knocked him into a ravine in Pedregal, Arequipa, south of Lima. Santiago was angry because the Peruvian government is working against the interests of his people and nobody seems to care about their rights. Those who do, are called terrorists and antidemocratic rebels.

Two other farmers, Ruben Pariona and Emiliano Garcia were killed in Quinua, Ayacucho, in the central Andes mountains. That is the same area where cruel guerrilla group Shining Patch flourished taking advantage of the frustration of local Native peoples back in the 1980's. It is also the place where libertador Simon Bolivar defeated the Spaniards to assure Peru's independence in 1824.

One of the killed farmers had three bullets in his head, the other one had two in the same area. There were executed by Peruvian police. A fourth farmer was killed in Barranca, in the Andean coastal region northern of Lima. At this moment, hundreds of injured farmers are being neglected and some are hiding from the government, because of fear to be incarcerated as it has happened to 160 protesters. Prime minister Jorge del Castillo has requested four years of jail time for them.

Peruvian police "was shooting directly to kill them, like a war." said a witness.

Alan Garcia, the Peruvian president who had killed thousands of innocent Peruvians during his first government in 1985-1990, is showing no respect for the life and human rights of Peruvians in his current second term. César Lévano, one of the very few independent journalists in Peru has wrote: "The order to kill the farmers came by noon from the government highest authorities, according to a local radio station. In 2007, Garcia himself pushed legislation 982 which grants impunity to police and military that may kill or injure civilians while in duty and using weapons in a regulated way. If police are innocent this time, then Garcia is legally the killer."

I agree, it is clear that the orders came from Garcia, his prime minister Jorge del Castillo and the minister of interior, Luis Alva who is in control of national police.

Santiago, Ruben, Emiliano and the farmer from Barranca, they all descend from the Native people that were invaded by the Spaniards in the XVI century, when property was stolen from the original peoples of this continent. As a result, the ancestors of most Peruvians worked for centuries as slaves while they were forced to use Hispanic surnames. Some brave people rejected that rule like Santiago whose surname is a Quechua word.

In the 1970s, Peruvian president Juan Velasco returned the land to the Indigenous peoples, soon before he was poisoned to death. Farmers in Peru were neglected by following governments, without enough training, education and financial assistance, their production failed. Meanwhile the rest of the world was pointing towards opening free markets.

President Garcia was in Madrid last January, and while meeting king Juan Carlos de Borbon and president Jose Rodriguez, he praised genocide Cristobal Columbus and the Hispanic invaders. "I am happy to be in my homeland. We need a second wage of investors, we need the Carabelas ships to return to Peru." said while attendees were shocked. Those words hardly made the news in Lima, where the media is very much manipulated.

This time, dishonest media in Lima has called the farmers "delinquents, antisocial, angry mobs" and in most of the local news dead farmers are portraited as criminals. Meanwhile politicians praise the government for its strong reaction.

Unlike most developed countries, third-world economies do not subsidize their farmers because that goes against international economic rules, that would be called communism. But industrialized nations like the US spent billions on paying their farmers so they can assure a good production with reduced costs, and to guarantee enough food for their people, which makes sense. Then American farmers go and export the remaining goods to other nations, including poor ones like Peru, thanks to free market. Peruvian farmers cannot compete with that.

That is why the campesinos of Peru decided to go on a national strike and to protest blocking roads and towns because they were tired of waiting. In 18 months of government, Garcia had refused to meet them in person to discuss their petitions.

But what are the Peruvian farmers asking for?

Simple, they want compensations to recover from the negative impact that the US-Peru FTA will cause to them, in order to protect their livelihoods. They want a clear and solid national agriculture legislation at a government level so they know the rules of the game. They are asking for legal protections for their land against multinational corporations, especially in protected areas where mining, oil and natural gas firms are targeting the land of indigenous communities. They are asking for assistance to rebuild their communities after the 2007 earthquake. Finally, they want to keep the right to use natural water sources, rejecting the current government proposal which will charge expensive prices for it.

Now, we must be aware that human crisis in the world like the one in Peru, are caused not only by authoritarian leaders overseas, but also by abusive policies directed from rich countries like the US. The Bush administration openly supports abusive governments in Latin America like the one in Peru, led by mentally unstable people as Alan Garcia and his vice president Luis Giampietri, a retired military man with connections with racist right-wing groups and who is the intellectual author of killings of Peruvians in the past decade.

Next time you are served in an expensive restaurant in NYC, DC or LA, while you enjoy delicious Peruvian asparaguses, avocados and limes; think about the farmers of Peru, most of whom lsurvive with an income of less than $2 per day. Think about free trade and its consequences in the whole world, and think about which presidential candidate is most likely to oppose that kind of policies when elected.

As right now, the farmer unions in Peru have put their strike on hold as they have been finally invited to talk with the Garcia administration. In seven provinces of the country, Peruvian military has taken over to police streets and to reject any type of public gatherings, limiting free transit of people.

The four Peruvian farmers that were killed by the Peruvian government are now martyrs of the struggle for social justice in Peru. Their sacrifices will not be forgotten and their example will be cherished. We don't need to wait for more people to die in order to stop injustice for the poor of Peru. We can act to prevent US-backed free trade policies from expanding their negative impacts in the world.

# Artur says :
31 March, 2008 [ 08:52 ]

Carl, there is no doubt the first episode of Garcia's presidency was desastrous(althought the state of economy was declining since mid '60s). But I thought this discussion was referring to his current government, which apparently he was awarded for good handling.
And to Carlos- you seem to have many articles in stock from not so credible sources- and even let's say in case the 10 dead people which were not killed on purpose is true, how about increased investment in basic infrastructure- water, electricity, health services, which many so desperately need, and in many cases it can improve quality of life and prevent early mortality of millions. Let's look a little bit at big picture. I think in the current term,Sr. Garcia is so far delivering on his electoral promises.

# brian adums says :
31 March, 2008 [ 14:02 ]

Dont forget that Mr Garcia can really sing well,,
 I invite mr Garcia to come on stage and sing a good ole peruvian song with me. Es Mi Peru !

# Ché....vrolet says :
31 March, 2008 [ 14:20 ]

My Fellow Comrades,
Do not allow yourselves to become delighted about this award to the capitalist pig Garcia.  Our supreme leader, Comrade Hugo, will soon dominate these awards when he wins Man of the Millenium for his outstanding work in controlling inflation in the middle of record oil profits.  This will happen when he encourages the free press in the region that further expropriation, er, I mean more freedom of private entities is coming. 

# Carlos A. Quiroz says :
31 March, 2008 [ 14:33 ]

Artur

One of the not so credible sources I included is LivinginPeru. Please bring some data about social investment of the Garcia administration. Let's see how the victims of the 2007 earthquake are doing right now 7 monts after the disaster. Let's compare levels of education, public health, housing and opportunities for Peruvians. Why is that so many Peruvians are living the country illegally, every day. The economic statistics can say that everything is peachy, but we can see that only the rich is getting richer, while the poor is living in the same conditions. After 12 years of neoliberal economic policies, Peru is ready for a change or path and trust me, most Peruvians know it. Look at our neighbors Bolivia, Ecuador: their people are seeing the benefits of a contemporary socialism where the citizens are the main priority for their governments, not just the foreign investors. Remember that most the Peruvian "growth" comes from extractive industries as mining, oil and natural gas. In reality, the country is not producing more, creating jobs, and the economy of Peruvians is not getting any better in general. Open your eyes.

# Alan Garcias Grandmother says :
31 March, 2008 [ 15:03 ]

Carlos if you love Peru so much why dont you live here? 
Why dont you live here to help your countrymen make Peru a better place?  Run for president even.
Just flapin your jaw from 3500 miles away does not help much of anything. 

# Carlos A. Quiroz says :
31 March, 2008 [ 15:09 ]

Grandma

That's none of your business. Do you have to live in Iraq to speak out about what is happening there? No wonder your grandchild came out to be a corrupted and dishonest man.

# Hugo here and I go der..... says :
31 March, 2008 [ 15:13 ]

Artur,
Comrade Carlos is correct.  With my guiding hand and massive amounts of investment, I have directed Comrade Presidentes Evo..lución and Correa to make the appropriate changes in their governments.  Pay no attention to the strikes that recently occured in Comrade Evo's country.  These were ignorant peasants being directed by the dark hand of the capitalist pigs in Santa Cruz.  And we know that the 3 laptops recovered by the Colombian army that reveal Presidente Correa's knowledge and involvement in supporting narco-terrorist FARC activities in Colombia were falsified and planted by the CIA.  And I vehemently deny sending $3 million dollars to the FARC.  It wasn't a penny more than $2.5 million.  These CIA guys always exaggerate these things you know.  ALBA is a benevolent ONG and has no connection with the $150,000 that was recently found on 2 persons crossing the border into Peru from Ecuador.  And finally, I remain the sexiest man in Venezuela.  Thanks to my expropriation of all free press.  The people demanded that I do this.  They were tired of hearing the lies of CNN and the BBC being the only truth.  Now I have my truth. 

# carl says :
31 March, 2008 [ 15:17 ]

Carlos Quiroz is not living in Peru?
You must be far from our reality.
Of course if you live here you ll have another perspective. Same as if you live in Iraq. So don t be too assertive, whenever you talk because you are a foreigner.

# Carlos A. Quiroz says :
31 March, 2008 [ 15:24 ]

Carl

What makes you think I dont travel to Peru? Every time I write an opinion in this website, it becomes personal. Don't you people know how to respect others opinions?

Hugo, not everyone who is against Garcia's brutal repression is favoring Hugo Chavez. I mentioned Bolivia and Ecuador social reforms as good examples that Peru should follow, never mentioned Venezuela. Those who try to demerit and hide the progress that has been made in those nations, by associating them to Hugo Chavez, are doing a bad job. Lots of Peruvians like Chavez way better than Garcia. So find another valid way to prove your point for once.

# Artur says :
31 March, 2008 [ 15:55 ]

Carlos, please let me know some more details about the benefits that Bolivia and Ecuador is seeing from the socialist changes. Believe me, the only way to alleviate poverty not only in Peru but majority of Latin American countries is thorugh creating more jobs(economic development), which will take people out of misery. I don't have any numbers referring to investment in infrastrcture, but for example healthcare budget for 2008 is the biggest in history- over 1 billion soles- over 20 hospitals planned to open this year. Of course there is terrible breach in basic infracture which needs to be made up- but remember with sound economic policies, and through expansive GDP growth (8,99% in 2007) there is much more money in government accounts which through taxation is collected and can be spent back into the communities. The country doesn't develop in 5 or 10 years. It requires continuos investment and upgrades, which was lacking through decades.

# Anonymous Dave says :
31 March, 2008 [ 16:09 ]

Carlos is right. The poorest of the poor have seen very little benefit from this economic growth, except those employed around mining centers. (Many people are moving from towns like Bagua to towns near Cajamarca to grab a bit of that trickle-down-effect)

Carlos is incorrect with his broad assumption that the poor are seeing no benefit. The INCREDIBLY huge, burgening middle classes that are forming around Cajamarca, Trujillo among other places are plain to see. These did not exist 10 years ago. We now have 100,000s of poor, now wealthy. As the rich mineries and their shareholders get richer, they spend more, creating more jobs in surprising ways. This is not strange capitalist propaghanda, it's simple comon sense. Carlos you may well visit Peru often, and no, I'm not calling you a liar.

But people see in the world their own political beliefs. The injustices you see, the ones that cause you to care so much, blind you to all sides of the story. Will the poor benefit in the future? Maybe not. So yes, you should continue calling for social equality. Does Peru need a nationalist socialist populist? Cut out the nationalist and populist and it might do.

My own views are to shape what is developing now, not attack it head on as Humala has promised to do. Very slow, well thoughout nudges towards more equality is the key. You can't share out national wealth that doesn't yet exist!

# Hugo here, I go der says :
31 March, 2008 [ 16:13 ]

Yea, I've been reading about the tremendous success Evo has been having.  Riots, strikes etc. from the very people that elected him.  Morales' response is predictable.  Call out the army and shoot 3 or 4.  Bolivia has a long tradition of stable disctator, socialist, democratic and communist governments.  Along with Italy.  The difference is people actually want to visit Italy.  Without the petro dollars flowing in from Hugo, Evo's head would be on a stick.  Next you're going to tell me he has been cannonized by the Bolivarian Revolutionary Congress.  Did I mention he recovered the lost access (150 years ago) to the sea from the Chileans -- yea that's going to happen.  About when Evo has a vocabulary of more than 600 words.
And what you're saying if I hear you correctly is that the government of Peru should do like Ecuador and give safe passage to narco terrorists at the border of Peru and Ecuador?  And by the way, the only Peruvians that like Chavez' way vs. Garcia are people who like false "feel good" politics of nationalism.  They feel good until the party's over and someone has to pay for it.  WTF, over?


 

# Fidel Castro says :
31 March, 2008 [ 17:39 ]

Thank you Comrade Hugo. I remember my college days in Havana dreaming about all of the wonderful capitalist possessions that I might be able to aquire in my life time. Since I knew that I would turn out to become a flunky lawyer, the promotion of socialism then communism would lead me to the personal path of wealth and prosperity. Of course I have told you and Comrades Ollanta and Evo this many times. With Peru on the clear path of such a huge economic balloon, Comrade Ollanta will futher fill the un-educated masses heads with more communist mush through the implementation of more SUTEP strikes. Then when Comrade Ollanta becomes dictat,--errrr I mean President, we will all benifit from Peru's success. When I mean we, I mean you, Ollanta, Evo, Correa, Amajinadad, & of course myself. Oysters on the half shell, champagne, caviar on Ritz crackers, & the beautiful women who will party with us, just to be able to get a loaf of fresh bread & milk for their children. It is good too know that there is Comrades like yourself Hugo willing too express the willingness to help all the peoples of South America. And it is good too see that Comrades like Carlos A. Quiroz are still out there making the effort to let people know that there is still admiration for you Comrade Hugo. Viva Revolucion!!!

# Carlos A. Quiroz says :
31 March, 2008 [ 21:38 ]

Oh Fidel

You are hated, you are loved, and of course imitated by those who don't have the guts to write with their real names.

Peru is a wealthy nation, the 5th. gold top producer of the world, 3rd. of silver, bismuth, tin, zinc and arsenic trioxide, 4th of copper, lead and rhenium, and 5th of molybdenum. Add that to the great resources in hidrocarbures, oil and natural gas, tourism and natural reserves, plus the land available for agricultural grow, Peru is a wealthy country.

But why are Peruvians living under such unfair conditions? Why is the richness of Peru not being distributed fairly among its citizens? Why so few has so much, while most live with much less than $2 a day? Why do Peruvians have to wait any longer, when we've been waiting for 5 centuries already and enough is enough.

# Carlos A. Quiroz says :
1 April, 2008 [ 02:42 ]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncAla2VNAdE

# Ché...rolet says :
1 April, 2008 [ 06:04 ]

Everytime someone doesn't have, someone else has the idea that redistribution of wealth is the answer.  Show me one place in the world where it worked.  Peru under Velasco?  An enormous failure.  People starved.  Poor people!!!  In my humble opinion, the answer is look to Costa Rica.  They were a poor, uneducated and hopeless country.  In 1948 they disbanned the military and re-directed the money to education and healthcare.  Now they have the highest education levels and the best public healthcare system in Latin America....and they remained a representative republic, free elected.  And none of their neighbors have attacked them!!!  Imagine that!!  Peru needs a strong national police, coast guard (to protect the fishing rights) and that, my friends is it.  No submarines, no MIGs, (that may not fly anyway), no frigates.  And guess what?  Chile isn't going to attack us.  Neither is Ecuador or Colombia or Brazil.  The only person ignorant enough is Evo...lucion to our east.  But to defeat Bolivia, the only thing we would have to do is drop bread and milk over La Paz and the army would run back home to eat.



This comment was edited



Livinginperu.com readers shall not post or transmit through livinginperu.com any material which violates or infringes in any way upon the rights of others, which is threatening, abusive, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, profane or otherwise objectionable. Any conduct by a reader that in livinginperu.com's discretion restricts or inhibits any other participant from using or enjoying livinginperu.com will not be permitted.

# Romano says :
1 April, 2008 [ 09:50 ]

Hey guys,

El Peru avanza, pero aun no basta. Sigamos la lucha, donde quiera que estemos, y haciendo lo que estemos haciendo, eso si, siempre estudiando y trabajando fuerte. Asi, poco a poco, llegaremos a la cima.

Viva el Peru!

# Artur says :
1 April, 2008 [ 10:19 ]

Carlos, you ask good questions:

"But why are Peruvians living under such unfair conditions? Why is the richness of Peru not being distributed fairly among its citizens? Why so few has so much, while most live with much less than $2 a day? Why do Peruvians have to wait any longer, when we've been waiting for 5 centuries already and enough is enough."

Now give us an unswer how you see this situation turning- through protectionsm and "socialist revolution"? Explain a little how that could work out???

# Carlos A. Quiroz says :
1 April, 2008 [ 11:30 ]

Artur

Is so simple, just give the people a chance to own land, properties, to create jobs themselves. Peruvians are so creative, we hold 1st. place in the world for longest weekly work shift. We work damn hard. For that to happen, the tiny elite of Lima will have to give up on some priviledges, and that is what they don't want.

Look, Juan Velasco was a great president -one of the best of our history- but his socialist revolution was messed up by Morales Bermudez, on purpose so people would say "socialism doesn't work" But do you know or remember how big was middle class in Peru during the 70's?

Now, the example of Che is relevant: Costa Rica is one of the most socialists countries in L. A. along with Venezuela. Now, Argentina, Bolivia and Ecuador are on their way too.

About safety, in South America, Peru needs to watch the right-wing capitalists of Chile, they want to take over the south of Bolivia and Peru, and they have the support of conservative Americans.

Did you watch the video I posted? Why young Peruvians have to live under those conditions? Why.

# Artur says :
1 April, 2008 [ 13:32 ]

Carlos,
There is no doubt there needs to be more equilibium in the society- not only in Peru but the continent as a whole. But remember, there is difference between social democracy- what is common in Europe- and communist style socialism. I'm not a Peruvian, have been here just one year- but I lived under communism in Eastern European most of my life. I'll give you just one example- you judge yourself which model is better.
Upon the fall of communism average monthly wage in Poland was $20 dollars, similar to Cuba nowadays. After 19 years of market reform and development of democratic, free market economy, average monthly wage is $1,300. U think there might be a difference in standard of life???I could give endless examples on why the concept of communism has failed in ech occurence around the world.

U make a good point:
"Is so simple, just give the people a chance to own land, properties, to create jobs themselves. Peruvians are so creative, we hold 1st. place in the world for longest weekly work shift. We work damn hard. For that to happen, the tiny elite of Lima will have to give up on some priviledges, and that is what they don't want."
You forgot to metion that Peru owns 1st place in the world as the highest number of enterprenuers- more than 40% of employment is as enterprenuers. Now the other worrying statistic is that 98% of companies in Peru are so called MYPEs, of which 70% operate ILLEGALLY- don't giving any protection to its workers and not respecting labor laws(besides tax evasion).
Is this the pattern u want this country to take in terms of development? Uncompetitive small companies that mainl objective is substinence?The only way for country to advance is to create good climate for creation of small,competitive companies, so they LEGALLY develop and create quality jobs. In that manner, if you have time look up some statistics on the page   www.doingbusiness.org    and see which country is doing good job in private sector promotion. Your criticized CHILE really stands out as an example in the whole continent, in sharp contrast to Venezuela. I think Peru is on th eright way, this is a second democratic government in a row that is promoting investmnets and creation of private sector. Changes don't occur in few years- it takes decades of continuos development to alleviate poverty. But again CHILE stand out as an example as having lowest rate of poverty in Lat Am( below 20%, in sharp contrast to Venezuela,where 10th year of Socialist Revolution is not helping much to alleviate poverty, which is almost 40% of population, although recent Oil Boom fills Chavez's pockets in such excess that he goes as far as spending over 22billion dollars on "revolutionary projects" aligned with his friends instead of helping fellow Venezuelans.
Yes, Peruvians are very creative, but there has to be macroeconomic stability, and good climate to create private sector companies in order to develop competitive labor climate and take millions of people out of poverty. Believe me, socialist projects which Venezuela along with Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua is embracing without promotion of private sector will fail miserably, as the history shows- give me one example where extreme socialism, aligned towards protectionism and expropration of foreign investment can be called a success??? I can give u tens of examples of succesful countires that embraced  market economy...

# Carlos A. Quiroz says :
1 April, 2008 [ 13:44 ]

Artur

Do Polish live better now with $1300 a month salary than back then they had only $20, because you can't always measure progress based on money numbers. You have to measure living conditions. For example, 12 yeara go when I came to DC, housing was affordable, health care and education were available for most DC residents -even undocumented immigrants. But today, with free market policies running the city, DC has improved also - but at what cost? the poor is being pushed away to unsafe areas, public education is worse than ever, and housing prices are ridiculous, so with $1000 you can rent a studio apartment while in Lima it can get you a fance place in a wealthy district. I use this example to show that in terms of progress, you have to look at other facts as well. In Cuba, people suffer of lack of resources, but you will never see a child working on the streets, or drugs sold freely in the bars, or the elderly abandoned neither.

I believe there are good things from different societies and governments. Radicalisms are not good, and we must learn from other's experiences too. I think Venezuela is doing well on social issues, while Chile is doing good in terms of expansion of its capitalist interests (half of Lima is owned by Chileans now) but remember that country is the puppet of corporate US and UK, so their "success" had to do with the stong support of both countries in order to use it as an "example" for the region. However, Chile is far from being a perfect society, look at suicide and violence rates, and ask any Mapuche person on what they think of "their" country.

# Artur says :
1 April, 2008 [ 19:29 ]

Carlos,
Well to answer your question simply- there is no comparison as regarding to quality and standard of life now comparing to 20 years ago. There is no such a thing as perfect society- and part of the liberal, capitalist, social-democratic sysytem is that people that are lazy will find themselves  in teh poverty. But there are usually good job opportunities, and with hard work majority can have a good average lifestyle. As to US style of economy- I'm not a big fan of that system, as there is big part of society left in misery- 45 million out of 300 million people is without insurance, education in public schools is way below developed countries average. That's why I mentioned European style social democracy as being good example- where is good public healthcare and education, and social protection for the poor. But also government nurture development of the private sector, so that small companies can create millions of quality jobs. Social democracy I think is a system that works the best- but it's not gonna be easy to change the society like in Peru where millions are left on the margins of society. Continuous development, strengthening of institutions(beaurocracy?processes that were designed in the dark ages? corruption?), investment in infrastructure and promotion of private investment in the long-term can bring great benefits to the whole society and bring many out of shadows.
As to your last sentence- maybe u can mention some stats about suicide and violence rates in Chile- have no clue. On the other hand I read that Venezuela has some of the highest suicide rates, not mentioning about homicides in Caracas...maybe can be found some stats to compare.

# Carlos A. Quiroz says :
2 April, 2008 [ 11:17 ]

Lazy people tend to remain in poverty, true. But also people who don't have the tools to compete in a savage all-for-money society. Peruvians with access to the best schools have an average over those who attend public schools obviously.

Most developed countries in the world are the ones with better living standards. Do you want Peru to become like China or the US where the pursuit of money is more important than the respect for human rights? or do you want to use Switzerland, Sweden, Island, Cuba, and somehow Japan as better examples of how important humans should be for governments. Venezuela is trying hard my friend, but there are interest groups that are promoting internal crisis in that country, same way they do it every time a progressive government rises in Latin America.

And who do you think is behind our poverty? Do you know we are considered the backyard of the US?

# carl says :
2 April, 2008 [ 11:36 ]

Peru can not be compared with other countries.
Peru is unique.

ARRIBA PERU

# I'm not responsible says :
2 April, 2008 [ 11:40 ]

Spoken like a true victim or victicrat.   Victicrats are always quick to blame others as the source of their own problems.  Chavez is a master at this -- divide and conquer.  Blame los ricos, los gringos, the Jews -- just stir the pot of malcontent.  Then when the "have nots" take power, they have their own agenda.  Recently nationalized companies (CANTV, PDVSA and others for example) become the conduits for political patronage and corruption.  The three people do the work that was previously done by one.  Full employment! 
In 2006, 80% of Venezuela's households could barely cover the cost of food -- the same proportion as when Sr. Chavez came into power in 1999....and the price of oil is 4x what it was then.  Last year there were 10,000 homicides in Venezuela making it the highest per-capita murder rate in the world.  Yet Hugo gets on TV and blabs for 5 hours every Sunday about the Jews, gringos and Colombians being the source of their problems. 

# Victor says :
2 April, 2008 [ 12:52 ]

Hi Carlos,
I was reading some of your posts and I found they tend to be loaded with contradictions and biases for which there is no statistical or scientific basis. I tend to agree though that neither China nor USA represent ideal models, if such models exist, for sustainable development. However, I do not see lot of people lining up at the Cuban embassy in Lima or even trying to enter illegally the heavenly island. I am not sure which parameters did you use to put Switzerland, Sweden, Iceland and Japan in the same group with Cuba. Furthermore, arguing that Venezuela under Hugo Chavez would become the next "Switzerland”, if the contry follows the bolivarian revolution, reveals that your perception of the development or "progressiveness" doesn't match the reality. I think most of the people here realize that poverty and the ever growing wealth gap between individuals and regions remains the biggest challenge Peru is and will be facing, if the country wants to become a stable nation poverty levels must decrease and social mobility must increase as well. Having said that, I do not consider that biased opinions used to fuel hate and division are the answer. Otherwise Peru will look more like "Sudan" and less like "Switzerland".

# Eduardo says :
7 May, 2008 [ 12:24 ]

Alan reaps all the rewards of the actual presidency that not only cleaned up his mess but laid the real foundation to all the economic growth Peru is expriencing today. Its difficult to celebrate the tough work. Its easy to celebrate good times. Is Alan good for business....certainly, but it is Peru's own people that beared the brunt of the chaos he left behind, celebrate their efforts and sacrifices, not the politrixter!

# sam mcfadzean says :
13 May, 2008 [ 10:11 ]

the peruvian government should protect the isolated indians reserves by removing all loggers, stopping entry of any outsiders, and prohibiting any form of natural resource extraction on THIER LAND. it should also set up an emergency plan incase of contact between the isolated tribes and outsiders, and conform to international law by RECOGNISING the TRIBES OWNERSHIP of THIER LANDS. at present the TRIBES FACE A HUGE RISK OF EXTINTION.  many unique plants and animals are being lost,plants that could have great medicinal purposes for the planets people could make vast sums for the peruvian economy,as well as trees one of the most important plants that gives most oxygen and and acts as the earths chimney preventing the build up of carbon dioxide, wich if not stopped will cost us all dearly. THE WORLD WASNT GIVEN TO US BY OUR PARENTS, IT WAS LENT TO US BY OUR CHILDREN.

Name

Email

Notify me via e-mail of new comments to this entry

Code :

Comment

• These comments are the property of their respective authors.
• Currently we only allow english comments.
• Por ahora solo se permiten comentarios en ingles.