Candidates for the regional president of Peru’s north eastern Loreto department have proposed the creation of a university mainly for indigenous communities, daily La República reported.
The Intercultural University of the Amazon would work to improve the conditions of indigenous people in the department, where there are high levels of poverty.
“It would allow indigenous nationals to form their own teachers, their professionals and managers,” candidate Noe Malpartida said. “Without our own managers, it is not possible to have development. If it continues as it is, leaders will continue to send managers from [the city of] Iquitos and they won’t take into account indigenous people in the area.”
Another candidate, Fernando Melendez, agreed with the proposal. In addition, he added that the next government should work on building roads to improve access to isolated areas. “The highways are what will improve the development of our people,” Melendez was quoted as saying.
There are seven candidates running for the regional president of Loreto. The elections are planned towards the beginning of October.
I’m Canadian. Canada has many post secondary education colleges for American Natives and in fact American Natives have strong presence in art and sport activities and are starting to expand this presence into others fields like media, politics, business and technology. If it is very good for Canada why won’t be for Peru? In fact, Peru and the entire Latin American continent indeed needs to truly integer American Natives, so called despectively Indians, fully into their societies if it want to succeed instead to be a giant ghetto for Natives.