Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

All Peruvians who were left homeless after the August 15 earthquake last year and who live in the region of Ica will be exempt from paying fines for not having voted.

Peru's congress approved a legislative decree, which was published in the country's official gazette El Peruano, stating that the citizens living in the region of Ica as well as in the provinces of Huancavelica and Lima would not be fined if they had not voted in past elections.

It was reported that the new decree exonerates citizens living in this region and these provinces, which were declared in a state of emergency after the earthquake, from paying fines which may have been imposed on them if they had not voted in the last elections.

Furthermore, the legislative decree states that citizens, who had been fined for not fulfilling tasks assigned to them by the government during election days would also be exempt from paying.

The new decree will no affect those that have already paid fines, however. It was clarified that those who had paid these fines would not receive a reimbursement.

Under mandatory voting laws, Peruvian citizens are fined between 17 and 68 soles for not voting and up to 170 soles for not fulfilling responsibilities assigned by the government during elections.

Such responsibilities include collecting ballots, supervising voting booths, registering voters etc.

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

In an effort to help homeless Peruvians rebuild their homes after a magnitude-8 earthquake in August 2007, the government began issuing 6,000-sol bonds to be used by victims to purchase material and pay for the reconstruction of their homes.

However, according to a recent report broadcast on a local television station, the funds have once again been misused.

Over sixty families in Chilca, a district in the Limean province of Cañete, received these bonds when only five families' homes were affected by the quake.

After the earthquake, Chilca Mayor Pablo Nalda announced that the country's Civil Defense Institute had registered that five homes had been destroyed during the earthquake.

Despite this information, several weeks after the disaster, an extensive list of people that needed funds was put together, the majority of which had minor cracks in their walls.

It was reported that dozens of families that received the bonds used them to build a second floor for their home or in some cases to build a second home.

The majority of these people were relatives or friends of the mayor and district authorities, reported El Comercio newspaper.

Reporters for El Comercio traveled to Chilca to speak to the mayor, district authorities and to José Luis Rodríguez, the person responsible for choosing the families that would receive bonds, but were unable to find them.

Digna Caycho Camacho, a woman that lost her home during the earthquake has not been provided any help to rebuild her house.

On the other hand, her neighbor, Alfredo Ramos - a municipal worker - is building a third floor for his home.

About 400 Peruvians residing in New Orleans (the second largest city in the state of Louisiana, USA) have left their homes as a weaker-than-expected Hurricane Gustav swirled into the fishing villages and oil-and-gas towns of Louisiana's Cajun country Monday, delivering only a glancing blow to New Orleans that did little more than send water sloshing harmlessly over its rebuilt floodwalls.

Peru’s consul in Houston (Texas) Carlos Polo Castañeda explained that Peruvians, as well as Americans and people from other countries, have moved into hotels and friends houses located in safer areas.

“We try to get in contact with Peruvians as much as we can, so they can give us a report of their situation, and in case they are in danger, we can help them”, stated the consul in his statements to RPP news radio.

He also mentioned that New Orleans streets are completely empty. However, there are members of the United Stated Armed Forces to avoid lootings, as it happened after hurricane “Katrina” hit in August 2005.

According to the consul, this hurricane is common for this season. However, the government has taken more precautionary measures, which is why people have been evacuated well in advance.

News source: ANDINA

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

After earthquake victims receive property deeds and rubble is removed from the regions devastated by last year's earthquake, the reconstruction process will flow much more smoothly, said the country's housing minister Enrique Cornejo.

Cornejo affirmed the second year of reconstruction would advance much more quickly than the first year had.

"Reality is that no reconstruction process in any part of the world can be done in one year. There are things that can be corrected but this second year things will advance much more quickly," said Cornejo.

"We have a good deal of the work done, like the removal of debris which is not easy."

He explained that one year after reconstruction of the areas affected by the magnitude-8 earthquake on August 15 had begun, work on sewage pipes would start.

The housing minister added the government was satisfied with the distribution of property deeds, stating it had put forth a great deal of effort in providing them for citizens.

He reported that to this date, 18,769 deeds had been distributed to earthquake victims.

The government is also doing its best to give thousands of families bonds that will allow them to start building their homes, Cornejo said, explaining the people of Ica, Pisco and Chincha now had to actively take part in the reconstruction of their homes and establishments.

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

Rebuilding the areas affected by the magnitude-8 earthquake that struck Peru last year will take another 10 years if Peru's government continues working at the same pace, said Rómulo Triveño, the governor of Ica.

Triveño told reporters from El Comercio daily that only between 10 and 15 percent of the work needed to be done had been completed.

He urged the Garcia administration to speed up the reconstruction of houses, schools and hospitals because "people are getting tired of waiting".

The governor explained that earthquake victims felt NGOs and private companies were working faster than the government.

He supported, but did not take part in a protest on Friday in which over 2,500 of the region's people marched through the streets demanding that the government provide them with the help they needed.

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

As planned, exactly one year after a magnitude-8 earthquake devastated the region of Ica; victims have taken to the streets to protest a slow reconstruction process.

Escorted by Peru's national police, 500 people gathered in San Clemente, a district in the province of Pisco at 9:30 a.m. Friday morning to begin their protest.

It was reported that as union and civil organization members marched through the streets, the group of protestors increased in size.

By 10:15 a.m., 2,500 people had joined the march, at which time the national police had to partially close Panamericana Highway.

While there have not been reports of violence or injuries, police stated that some protestors set fire to tires in the street.

When questioned by RPP reporters, a protestor stated, "Authorities haven't taken things the way they should have. They have forgotten us. We are suffering and the government is indifferent".

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

Earthquake victims in Chincha, Pisco and Ica - the three Peru provinces worst affected by the magnitude-8 earthquake last year - are prepared for tomorrow's protest.

Citizens claim they are tired of waiting for the government to help them, assuring the reconstruction process is taking too long.

Among those organizing Friday's march, which is to take place exactly one year after the earthquake, are fishing, agriculture and trade unions accompanied by the General Confederation of Peruvian Workers (CGTP) and the Peruvian Medical Federation.

These unions have brought together and are leading a massive group of at least sixty-six other organizations, reported Terra News.

They are demanding that Peru's government better administer time and funds. They claim the South Reconstruction Fund (FORSUR) has disappeared and the work is being carried out in a disorganized manner.

Aside from the support of dozens of unions, the group of protestors is being backed by the regional government of Ica and the governor himself, Rómulo Triveño.

While Triveño cannot directly take part in the march because of legal restrictions, he has announced he fully supports the protest and the people's cause.

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

Despite news of thousands of property deeds being given to the people of Ica as well as the construction of hospitals and homes, earthquake victims in the provinces of Ica, Pisco and Chincha complain the government is not helping them.

Feeling abandoned by Peruvian authorities, citizens south of Lima are willing to receive all the help they can get.

Because of this, the one hundred three-bedroom furnished houses with green lawns built in Chincha with funds provided by socialist leader Hugo Chavez have been received with great appreciation by Peru's earthquake victims.

According to Reuters, Chavez is spending money in Peru largely to support his ally and Garcia's rival, Ollanta Humala, an ultra-nationalist who hopes to become Peru's next president in 2011.

This is not the first time the two have joined forces to help Peru's needy earthquake victims, however.

Just a few days after the earthquake struck, canned food products with pictures of Chavez and Humala on the labels were distributed in devastated regions.

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

The construction work needed to be done in the Peruvian cities that were affected by the August 15 magnitude-8 earthquake is 40 percent finished, said Enrique Cornejo, the country's housing minister.

Cornejo affirmed that progress been made in cities such as Pisco, Ica, Chincha and Cañete.

He explained that rubble was being removed and that citizens had access to running water and electricity.

On the other hand, the head of Peru's housing ministry admitted that construction could not begin in many areas because rubble had not been completely removed.

He explained that this was taking a great deal of time because there was a large quantity of dirt to be removed and that in many cases debris was on private property.

Almost 100 percent of the debris in Pisco has been cleared and 60 percent of it has been picked up in Chincha, Cornejo said.

Earthquake victims are not satisfied with the government's progress, however.

They claim the clean-up process is taking too long and have organized a protest for August 15, exactly one year after the earthquake struck.

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

In protest of the slow progress being made in the reconstruction of their homes, the people of Pisco, one of the provinces worst affected by the magnitude-8 earthquake on August 15, 2007 have announced they will hold a protest on August 15, exactly one year after the earthquake.

The people's complaints were confirmed by the mayor of the province, Juan Mendoza Uribe, who affirmed that the government's construction of houses and public buildings was extremely slow.

Fifteen thousand homes have been destroyed and another ten thousand do not have water or electricity asserted the mayor, adding that the transportation system had collapsed.

"It's a critical situation that will not be fixed from one day to another or even in a year," sad Mendoza.

He reported that 255 million soles had already been invested and that six thousand bonds worth 36 million soles had been given to earthquake victims.

On the other hand, he admitted that only 9,000 of the 20,000 property deeds to be issued had been given to needy families.

Mendoza explained a major problem was that there was not any legal paperwork for at least sixteen thousand homes that had been destroyed.