Living in Peru : your everyday companion

LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

Chilean Foreign Minister Mariano Fernandez declined to comment on the arrest of Peru's Air Force NCO Victor Ariza Mendoza, on charges of espionage for Chile.

"We don't have official information and we are not making comments,” Fernandez told the press in Singapore, as several Chilean medias report today.

Fernandez, who is accompanying President Michelle Bachelet on her tour through Asia, is currently in Singapore, attending the Asia Pacific Forum (APEC).

According to Peruvian press, Ariza Mendoza, who served in the Peruvian Embassy in Santiago, would have provided Peruvian Military information to Chile's Armed Forces, receiving a monthly free that ranged between US $ 5,000 and US $8,000.

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

The President of Peru's Ministers Council, Javier Velásquez Quesquén, reported that the government agreed to withdraw its petition of dissolution of the Interethnic Association for Development of the Peruvian Rainforest (AIDESEP), aiming to ease the way for the dialogue tables.

He said that some Amazonian leaders have used that petition as a reason for not participating in the round tables, so the government is retiring it.

Regarding this, Velasquez Quesquen handed the official document in to the Agriculture's Minister, Adolfo de Cordova.

The document instructs the ad hoc prosecutor for Amazonian cases to withdraw any request of dissolution of AIDESEP.

"We hope that this will help the dialogue tables to work without problems, and that the conclusions can be ready by December,” said Velasquez Quesquén.

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

Lima's City Mayor, Luis Castañeda Lossio, leads (29%) the voting intentions in Lima and Callao, heading towards presidential election of 2011, according to the most recent poll of the Peruvian Company of Market Studies and Public Opinion (CPI) conducted between November 3rd and 6th.

Congresswoman Keiko Fujimori ranks second with 22% and President of Popular Christian Party, Lourdes Flores Nano is in third place, with 12% of the voting intentions.

Former President Alejandro Toledo (10.6%) and Nacionalist Party leader Ollanta Humala (6%) are fourth and fifth.

Moreover, 2.7% of the polled picked former Economy Minister Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, while 2.2% said they would vote for General Edwin Donayre.

Production Minister Mercedes Araoz is sixth with 1.8% and former Premier Yehude Simon is seventh with only 1.6%.

The same poll indicates 85.5% of approval for Mayor Castañeda's management at Lima Municipality, while 13.3% think the opposite.

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

Peru's Production Minister, Mercedes Araoz, confirmed that she will have an official meeting with Chile's President Michelle Bachelet in Santiago, on November 18th.

According to “TV Peru Noticias,” Peru's Ambassador to Chile, Carlos Pareja, has just confirmed this information.

The meeting's agenda will cover the Peruvian proposal against the arms buildup in the region.

She said that the Peruvian delegation will include two opposition lawmakers who are supporting this initiative, which comes from the State and not from the government.

Araoz, who on Monday explained the Peruvian proposal against arms buildup to Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, praised the positive reception that this campaign has received, and remarked that implementing the Peruvian proposal against massive arms purchases will reduce the poverty levels in the region.

Have other topics you'd like to see in our news section? If you or someone you know would like to contribute a news article to Living in Peru, whether it's translated or based on a personal investigation, send it to editor@livinginperu.com.

LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

The Andean parliamentarian Elsa Malpartida said today that she was forced, like many other people, to join the terrorist group Shining Path when she lived in Tingo Maria during the 80's, in the village of El Milagro.

In a interview to Radioprogramas del Peru (RPP) she recalled that this subversive group used to gather the people, assign an alias and an certain job to to each of them, and that people usually accepted due to fear.

"That was part of our daily life,” she said, “and the army did the same thing.”

Malpartida denied that her brother had belonged to Shining Path: “he was forced, like everyone else,” she remarked, and she also denounced “a political persecution against coca farmers that dared to come into politics.”

Have other topics you'd like to see in our news section? If you or someone you know would like to contribute a news article to Living in Peru, whether it's translated or based on a personal investigation, send it to editor@livinginperu.com.

LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

President Alan Garcia will travel to Singapore to participate in the 17th Meeting of Leaders of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and will visit to Japan and South Korea to deepen bilateral relations with both countries.

Garcia's trip will begin at Tokyo on November 10th and 11th, to meet Emperor Akihito, Chancellor Yukio Hatoyama, JICA's civil servants and managers form some Japanese companies.

Negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement between Peru and Japan are currently very advanced.

On November 12th Garcia will arrive to South Korea to meet President Li Myung-bak and representatives from some Korean companies: another Fair Trade Agreement is being negotiated with Korea.

Energy and Mining Minister, Pedro Sanchez, will also be in Seoul on November 10th and 11th, where he will discuss natural resources and energy in the High Level Forum for the Cooperation between South Korea and Latin America and Caribe 2009.

President Garcia will conclude his Asian tour after participating at APEC on November 14th an 15th in Singapur, where he will have a talking round with several leaders from the 21 economies members of the economic forum.

Peru has a deep rapprochement politics with several Asian countries and has signed three Free Trade Agreements with Thailand, Sinagpur and China.

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

In the middle of a controversial public opinion debate on the matter, Peru's Justice Minister, Aurelio Pastor, told Peru21 that he thinks that bill on decriminalizing eugenesic abortions and abortion after rape will not be passed by Congress, since "there is no way" to achieve the required number of votes.

"We're engaged in a discussion that can be approached from many perspectives; religious, legal, principles, etc. But the truth is that there is no way to be approve this. In real terms, I don't think this is going to pass. There are not enough votes and there is  no will from the majority of Congressmen," he said.

Yesterday, the Commission for Revising the Penal Code had approved a proposal to change some articles, decriminalizing the aforementioned types of abortion.

"The bill still needs to be approved by the complete Justice Commission, which in turn will send it to the Congress' President. And then it would still need to be sent to the Council of Ministers, which could observe the law," Pastor remarked.

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

The bill establishing a system of “cultural sponsorship,” which would provide tax incentives for firms which donate funds for activities related to theater, film, music, dance, crafts, digital art and literature, or with investing in the restoration of historical heritage, is backed by most of the parliamentary groups.

This was announced by congressman Luciana León, the bill's author.

Her proposal establishes two categories for companies to finance cultural projects: benefactors and sponsors. Benefactors will deduce from their taxes the 100% of what they donate to cultural sponsorship, while sponsors will have a deduction of only 50% but will have the chance to "link"their image to the project they choose to support.

The project also considers building infrastructure for shows and the sponsoring studies of persons nominated by entities accredited by the INC.

The bill will be discusses in Congress on Wednesday.

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

The possible amendments to Peruvian Penal Code that would decriminalize eugenesic abortion in Peru are currently in discussion in the Congress, but not yet in the Council of Ministers, said Prime Minister Javier Velasquez.

He added that the Government would set its position on the decriminalization of eugenesic abortion and abortion in case of rape if Congress actually decides to allow it and sends the respective text to the Executive Branch.

Velasquez stressed that “once they send the final text, we will examine it and either observe it or approve it.”

He remarked that the Defense Minister, Rafael Rey, has not conditioned his permanence in the cabinet to the decision of the Executive Branch on this issue, like some press reports suggested.

Have other topics you'd like to see in our news section? If you or someone you know would like to contribute a news article to Living in Peru, whether it's translated or based on a personal investigation, send it to editor@livinginperu.com.

LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

Despite the opposition of the Defense Ministry, the Peruvian government will create the Museum of Memory to remember 20 years of violence, according to Peruvian Chancellor José Antonio García Belaunde.

In response to Mario Vargas Llosa's claims regarding alleged “obstacles” to build the Museum, Garcia Belaunde made clear that those are not coming from the government.

“The position of some persons related to the government is only a matter of their personal opinion,” he said, adding that he has communicated to Vargas Llosa the “good disposition” of the government regarding to this matter.

“The government's position is clear since we agreed on creating the Museum of Memory,” he said.

The "Museum of Memory" project is supported and funded by the Federal Government of Germany, which has  offered a donation for its construction.

Have other topics you'd like to see in our news section? If you or someone you know would like to contribute a news article to Living in Peru, whether it's translated or based on a personal investigation, send it to editor@livinginperu.com.