Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Who is Peru's new Prime Minister? - Yehude Simon's background

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

Yehude Simon Munaro was born on July 18 1947. He completed his elementary and high school studies at Manuel Pardo School and studied veterinary medicine at Pedro Ruiz Gallo State University in Lambayeque, one of Peru's northern regions.

Simon Munaro ran to be mayor of Chiclayo in 1983 as a member of United Left, an alliance of leftist parties in Peru founded in 1980.

He did not win the elections.

In 1985, the United Left house of representatives elected Simon as the head of their Lambayeque region.

It was during this time that he served on the Human Rights Commission and the Congressional Justice Commission.

In 1991, he formed a party known as the Partido Patria Libre, which was later accused of having ties with the MRTA terrorist group.

In 1992, Simon Munaro was sentenced to 20 years in prison for allegedly supporting terrorist groups.

After eight and a half years, in November 2000, during the transitional administration of Valentín Paniagua Corazao, Simon was pardoned and freed by the Minister of Justice, Diego García Sayán.

In 2002, he beat a member of the Aprista party to become the governor of Lambayeque.

 | |

• APEC PERU 2008 : APEC Leaders Commit to Avoiding Trade Barriers for a Year
• APEC PERU 2008 : Peru: APEC Summit Became "Ideal Scenario" for Trade Deals
• APEC PERU 2008 : APEC to Support Adequate Financing Measures for Businesses
• APEC PERU 2008 : Peru Has Clear Commitment with APEC Goals, says Garcia
• APEC PERU 2008 : Reaching Doha Round Goals is more Important that Beating the Global Financial Crisis

# Viracocha says :
11 October, 2008 [ 20:01 ]

Dios mio, what a track history.
Ummmm, where there is smoke, there usually is fire.
A person in Australia certainly could not attain a Government position (let alone as Prime Minister) with such a track record, no matter about any pardons!!
I wonder where this is going ??

# Jay says :
12 October, 2008 [ 11:30 ]

Before you jump to conclusions, you should remember that 1991-1992 was the height of the Shining Path terror and government anti-terror sweeps. A person with any ties to the left--MRTA or less militant groups--would have come under government suspicion. Serving on the Human Rights Commission earlier could have put him on the army's enemies list. The fact that he was pardoned under Paniagua's government is an indication that it was believed that he had been wrongly convicted by the military courts. I'd like to wait for a more detailed biography.

Judging from the outside, it seems to me that Paniagua was the best president that Peru has had in some time. Too bad he wasn't charismatic enough to win an elected term. And, of course, he died not long after the 2001 presidential elections.

# snoop dog says :
13 October, 2008 [ 13:32 ]

is he jews?

# snoop dog says :
14 October, 2008 [ 06:52 ]

hey guys why r u keeping mum, is he jews?  being a bible state  how have u selected a jews prime minister?

# Jay says :
14 October, 2008 [ 08:30 ]

I suspect that no one has replied because your question is racist and inappropriate. I was unaware that any country categorizes itself as a "bible state." Like most countries, including the U.S., Peru is pluralistic, even if those who claim a Christian faith are in the majority.

By the way, the last time I looked, a considerable part of the Bible is devoted to pages attributed to Hebrew, aka Jewish, authors. You might want to count the pages of the Old and the New Testaments.

# Jesus was a Jew says :
14 October, 2008 [ 09:16 ]

Not that it should matter, but I believe that he is christian (Catholic).  If not, someone should tell him that he has a crucifix hanging on a wall in his home.  Not many practicing Jews do this. 

# ISLAMUJER says :
15 October, 2008 [ 09:52 ]

Jewish or Catholic, let's pray that he will guide his people in a good direction!!!  and leads his country on a good path and mostly stays
clear of any controversies and the likes of Chavez, Corea, Evo, et al.

# snoop dog says :
17 October, 2008 [ 04:14 ]

hey guys,(specially islamujer),
why didn't u mention the name of alberto fujimoro. be careful he will migrate to israel(like fujimoro to japan) if .............mossad is waiting for him....perhaps u r one of them.....waiting for ur fierce reply....

# Islamujer says :
17 October, 2008 [ 10:42 ]

Geez Snoop......look after Evo, et al....ET AL (in legal terminalogy) means, all the other "jerks, power hungry nuts" in the South American hemisphere that want to create havoc in the world
and do not care if their own people are starving and living in poverty
in their own country!  Rich countries like Venezuela should be a prime
example .....the Venezuelans are suffering under the regime of Chavez!  The Supermarkets are almost empty, one has to search high and low for
eggs, butter, mayo, veg oil.....regular items we take for granted here in the USA and FREEDOM of speech does not exist anymore.  If Yehude Simon Munaro turns out to be a sour apple, believe me, Israel will not allow him access in!!!!!  We have to see which direction he will take.

# DS says :
2 November, 2008 [ 10:51 ]

I would like to clarify that Simon is not Jewish, his father is Palestinian (Arab) and his mother is Italian. Also, he is a devout Christian (recently converted). I hope my comment ends the race-talk.

# Luke LA says :
6 November, 2008 [ 19:41 ]

How is Morales a power hungry nut? Can someone explain convincingly how certain presidents who try to do a little more than just bend over to most energy companies are then declared nuts? Sure, Chavez can get a little excited now & again, but considering the enormous strain & pressure he is in with the change he wants to make & the usual threats/embargo's & other diplomatic blackmailing he faces, I think he is doing ok, and at least is trying. I think that people who stand up to large corporations that are cheating poor countries out of the majority of natural resource wealth should be commended. Evo Morales Re-negotiated the contracts on a basis that where the country gained 4 times as much as was negotiated illegally from the previous administration. I say illegally because they amount was ridiculous. Interesting to note that the two most criticized Presidents, who were elected legally & with a healthy majority may I add, are sitting on South America's two largest Gas producing countries, and have since negotiated better resource deals. Deals where the companies are obviously still making a substantial profit. But it seems that it is never enough.