Living in Peru : your everyday companion

By Jobana Soto

APEC Youth Camp declare final assessment on sustainable development in Asia-Pacific
This afternoon, the APEC Youth Camp comes to a close as their trip in Puno ends with the group's anticipated release that describes the findings from the group's intensive four-day discussion and debate. Delegates are expected to write up a Declaration on the subject, Caring Sustainable Development in the Asia-Pacific Region.

After being approved by a general agreement, the Declaration will be disclosed to the public later today. 

Philippine president to attend APEC summit
Today, Philippine president Gloria Arroyo agreed to attend the 16th annual APEC leader's summit in Lima, Peru this November.

"She (President Arroyo) is willing to meet my President (Peruvian President Alan Garcia) to discuss issues of global agenda," says Carlos Mendiola Velasco, the new Peruvian ambassador to the Philippines.

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

In an interview with the U.S. Ambassador to Peru, Peter Michael McKinley, El Comercio's Mariella Balbi asked the diplomat to comment on a series of domestic and international issues, including the U.S. financial crisis, its effects on Peru and a U.S. military base in the Andean country.

When asked how the U.S. financial crisis had begun, the U.S. Ambassador explained it had started with problems related to U.S. mortgages and had evolved into what it is now - the need for a $700 billion rescue plan.

He affirmed that different measures had been taken to face the crisis but that - as President Bush had stated - a more global response was needed.

Furthermore, McKinley stated the U.S. was not officially experiencing a recession, stating that while the crisis had affected financial institutions and had slowed down the economy, it was not known how deeply this would affect the country's citizens.

"The objective of the rescue plan is to keep the crisis from having an overall effect on U.S. citizens and the citizens of many other countries," said McKinley.

Stating that Latin American countries had diversified their markets and were in a good position to withstand changes in a global economy, McKinley confirmed Peru continued to grow.

"In Peru's case we've seen a growth rhythm near 9 percent, exportation to the U.S. increased over 30 percent and importation 50 percent," said the U.S. ambassador.

"It is estimated that trade between the two countries will reach $11 billion, last year it was less than $7 billion. Overall, there hasn't been an impact. There are sectors that will more or less be affected, which is normal."

After confirming that the U.S. government had no intention of establishing a military base on Peruvian soil, McKinley clarified that what was taking place in the region of Ayacucho was humanitarian aid.

With respect to protests held because of the presence of U.S. troops in the region, the diplomat stated it had been a small group and that U.S. troops had left the country after building three clinics, remodeling two schools and donating medical equipment.

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

In a bulletin released by Peru's ministry of agriculture (MINAG), it was confirmed that the price of food was decreasing in Lima.

According to MINAG, products had gone down as much as 13 percent in markets in Lima.

The price of chicken, which is a great concern to the majority of Limean households, dropped to 4.20 soles per kilogram.

The prices of fruits and vegetables have also decreased. Limes, which cost 3.37 soles, have gone down 12.9 percent to 2.93 soles per kilo.

This was also the case of peas, which have gone from 2.38 per kilo to 2.10 per kilo ( an 11.58 percent drop).

MINAG reported that while the price of huayro potatoes had gone down, the prices of yellow and tumbay potatoes had remained the same.

Products that slightly went up were carrots, which saw a 6 percent increase and yellow cassavas, which increased almost 11 percent to 1.05 soles per kilo.

By the end of this year, the National Institute of Culture (INC) will finish a report to create the new Ministry of Culture, the director of that entity, Cecilia Bakula reported Sunday.

This proposal will depend on the number of meetings held since March this year with different people involved in cultural activities, she explained.

Under the sponsorship of the Spanish Agency of International Cooperation and Development (Aesid), the INC has held a number of meetings with cultural managers, archaeologists, artists, publishers and others, concerned with heritage and arts.

The goal is to collect proposals and ideas on what a cultural policy in the country should be.

Bakula said that the climax of this task would be in early December in the context of the First National Congress on Cultural Policy of Peru, which will systematize the ideas that have been collected in recent months.

The resulting document will be submitted to Congress by the INC to serve as the basis for the future Ministry of Culture.

Bakula said her proposal did not focus on details such as the budget that has to be assigned to the new institution or what the organizational calendar will be.

"The idea of these meetings is not to determine whether the Ministry of Culture has two or five secretaries", she said recalling that the aim was to create consensus on cultural policies.

News source: ANDINA

The international financial crisis spawned by the sub-prime mortgage upheaval in the United States is spreading rapidly to other parts of the country as stock markets and banks from around the world are becoming more at risk.

In a globalized economy, it's no surprise the events of the U.S. financial crisis are effecting countries like Russia, England, Germany, Ireland and more. While no immediate effects are hitting the Asian market, China is starting to see profits turn to a slow hault in their stock market shares.

With this chain reaction, the Asia Pacific Cooperation Forum (APEC) will use Leader's Week as an opportunity to discuss possible solutions for the global financial crisis, said former congress president Luis Gonzales Posada.

“Today we see an interconnected world to APEC, the United States has a close relation with China, Japan and Korea. It is an integrated circuit that forces us to analyze the depth of the crisis and find altogether a set of measures to minimize the impact", he said.

According Gonzales, the financial phenomenon affecting the U.S. will also hurt Asian-Pacific and Latin American countries since the financial businesses live in a time where markets are related to each other.

"It is quite natural because APEC is not only about pre-established topics, but on current issues that impact the global economy", Gonzales added.

News Source: Andina

The King and Queen of Spain, Juan Carlos de Borbón and Sofia de Grecia are to visit the archaeological complex Huaca de la Luna ("Shrine of the Moon") in Trujillo, the capital of La Libertad department, on October 28, stated the dean of the Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, Carlos Sabana Gamarra.

Sabana said that the royal couple accepted the invitation issued by this university to visit the tourist attractions of "The Capital of Eternal Spring", Trujillo, among which is the center of power of the millenary Mochica, a culture that developed from 100 to 900 A.C.

The university authority issued the invitation to the royal couple during a visit to Madrid in March 2005, when Sabana and a delegation of distinguished people of Trujillo, received from the hands of the Queen of Spain the IV Reina Sofia International Award for Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage 2005 awarded to the archaeological project of Huaca de la Luna.

Huaca de la Luna, a large adobe brick structure built mainly by the Moche people of northern Peru, together with the Huaca del Sol, is part of Huacas de Moche, the remains of an ancient Moche capital city called Cerro Blanco by modern archaeologists.

News source: ANDINA

The head of state, Alan García, started today a working visit to the departments of Cusco and Arequipa to inspect the route along which Peru’s South Natural Gas Pipeline “Gasoducto del Sur” will be built.

Accompanied by Premier Jorge Del Castillo, the president arrived this morning to Arequipa to fulfill a working day.

Previously, at 8:40 hours (13:40 GMT), both visited the city of Cusco.

Last Friday, the government announced it had granted the Concession Contract for the Natural Gas Transportation Pipelines to Peruvian company Kuntur Transportadora de Gas, benefiting people from the south of the country.

On a supreme resolution published on September 10th, the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) granted the concession of the project, running from the initial point of the transport system in Las Malvinas area, in the province of La Convention, Cusco; to the cities of Juliaca, Matarani and Ilo.

The concession also includes delivering points to the transportation or distribution systems of the natural gas through a pipeline network to the cities of Quillabamba, Cusco, Puno, Arequipa, Moquegua and Tacna.

The South Gas Pipeline, 1,085 kilometers long with a 26-inch diameter, has an estimated cost of 1.33 billion dollars. To ensure its execution, Kuntur has presented a 66 million dollar bank guarantee, equivalent to 5% of the cost of the construction work.

The pipeline will start operating in 2012, carrying 145 million cubic feet of gas to reach over 800 million cubic feet in 2025.

News source: ANDINA

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

After firing the president of a state company, President Alan Garcia accepted Monday morning the resignation of the country's Minister of Energy and Mines, Juan Valdivia.

Stating he had nothing to hide and would submit to any investigation, Valdivia announced he would resign.

His resignation came after several high-ranking officials were caught receiving bribes to influence the auction of several oil blocks in the regions of Pisco and Madre de Dios.

Recordings and documents to support the claims were presented by Fernando Rospigliosi on Cuarto Poder, an investigative news show.

Documents and recordings showed that Alberto Quimper, head of the state energy agency Perupetro and Rómulo León, a prominent member of President Alan Garcia's APRA party, made a deal to favor Discover Petroleum of Norway in oil block auctions.

While the president of Peru's state oil and gas company (Petro-Peru), César Gutiérrez has also resigned, Rómulo León has challenged the government to send authorities to his home.

After accepting Valdivia's resignation, Alan Garcia stated the decision had been a rational one, affirming the former minister's honor had not been affected by the scandal.

"I accept the resignation so that it is known that our administration is a politically responsible one," said Garcia.

It is currently not known who will replace Juan Valdivia as the next Minister of Energy.

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

As Peru's economy continues to progress and as an increasing number of construction companies continue to build throughout the country's most populated region, the price of real estate has jumped in some parts of metropolitan Lima while it has remained the same in others.

Even though districts may be just kilometers from each other, there is a significant difference in the price of land when going from one area to another.

One square meter (10 square feet) of land can cost up to $3,000 in seaside districts such as Barranco, San Isidro and Miraflores while it can cost less than $300 in districts such as Rimac and Breña.

According to El Comercio newspaper, this dramatic difference in property prices has to do with a district's safety, the organization of its traffic and the type of view it has - whether it be the ocean or parks.

In the case of districts such as Barranco, San Isidro and Miraflores there is real estate that has gone up three times its value.

Furthermore, there is real estate in the districts of Jesus Maria, Pueblo Libre, Magdalena and San Miguel which has doubled in price.

On the other hand, there are also districts in Lima like Rímac, Cercado, Breña, Lince and Surquillo which have not seen a rise in the value of real estate.

Property value has a lot to do with how safe a district is, said security specialist Gabriel Prado.

Another important aspect is the organized flow of traffic, says appraiser Diego La Rosa, explaining there were districts in Lima that had gone up in value because of a better organization of traffic.

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

As a global financial crisis continues to spread, Peruvian citizens are experiencing blows to their economies in several different ways.

Among Peruvians that have been hit hardest by the crisis are those that have pension funds, which have seen dramatic drops over the past few months.

Julio Paredes' case was published in a local newspaper. The 47-year-old man, who has a 49,338-sol pension fund, was notified - by mail - that he had lost 4,801 soles in one month.

"It's unfair that while my funds drop, pension fund companies continue to profit," said Paredes. "We should both share the loss."

A drop in the price of minerals along with the instability of the U.S. economy has taken a heavy toll on the Lima Stock Exchange, which is where pension fund companies have the majority of their clients' money invested.

The Lima Stock Exchange has lost 28 percent of its value this year alone, reported La Republica newspaper, confirming that between March and September over 85 billion soles had been lost.

The 85-billion-sol loss was compared to the national budget, which is 73 billion soles for 2009.

According to Peru's regulatory banking authority (SBS), the country's top four pension fund companies, Integra, Prima, Horizonte and Profuturo, have lost over 6.7 billion soles in the past twelve months.

The value of pension fund companies in Peru dropped to 54.17 billion in September.