El Comercio Editorial: Telephone tapping is against democracy

Published in El Comercio Oct.29, 2008

Over the past few days, a terrible sensation has been gradually increasing that the country is literally being blackmailed, by an illegal system of telephone and private communications interception, controlled by some anonymous puppeteer. And that, though it may be redundant to say so, does nothing less than progressively undermine democratic stability and governance.

The issue at stake is particularly serious because the blackmail and scandal involve, day after day, a number of political figures, authorities and the media. Read more…

Apology to Peruvian Times readers for technical glitches on the Web site

This past week, while the world suffered the gyrations of the worst financial meltdown since the Great Depression, and President Alan Garcia succumbed to a mushrooming oil kickback scandal that forced the ouster of most of his Cabinet, Peruvian Times had some problems of its own.

We  switched our site’s hosting in the United States and, in the process, suffered a perfect storm of technical glitches, deleted news entries and disappearing story archives.

The end result was that our coverage suffered and was lacking, and for that we apologize to our loyal readers.

We are back on keel and will again be delivering the English-language news stories you expect from us.

Best regards,

Rick Vecchio
Managing Editor

El Comercio: Luis Carranza’s legacy for the future

Excerpted editorial from today’s El Comercio newspaper:

Amid the foreign turbulence and the internal pressure, Luis Carranza’s management of the Economy and Finance Ministry has been more than satisfactory. Not only because of his prudent management of fiscal accounts, but also because he put emphasis on increasing public investment, becoming the essential architect of Peru’s economic achievements.

However, it is true that in a country characterized by such a deficit in infrastructure and pending social tasks, what has been achieved is still insufficient and we would like more to be done. But Minister Carranza, in moments so sensitive that the slightest error in spending could pressure the inflation rate, was able to maintain the fiscal accounts and the national economy in a precise equilibrium.

A bid for public works and public investment, in spite of the exasperating slowness, is the best way to lay the foundations of the future. Now that there are resources, as Carranza has said, it is vital to encourage and consolidate competitiveness to generate infrastructure and better the quality of education and public health care.

For such a change, it has been necessary to reduce and contain, as much as possible, common spending, and this is why he has had problems and argued forcefully with his colleagues in the Cabinet, who naturally push for additional funds for their ministries.

Nevertheless, his commitment to policies within perspective has kept him impassive and in favor of readying the country to diversify the economy and not depend only on minerals, which have a fluctuating price. In this respect, he upheld the efficient macroeconomic management established in an outstanding manner by his predecessor, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who is one of those responsible for the blue numbers which marked the end of Toledo’s administration.

Another significant aspect of Carranza’s management was obtaining investment grade rating, which is the best sign of seriousness in the management of the economy. Also the increase in international reserves (now estimated at US$35 billion) with which the country is now better protected from international crisis whose effects cannot be underestimated in the present situation.

We are not in the best of periods. The prices of oil and food are rising, a recession is possible, and the international prices of our products could make things difficult for us. For this reason, Carranza’s successor must be as prudent and calm. He must pay attention to the increase in inflation as well as the internal and external factors that cause it. He must address the pending public investment agenda, especially in the country’s most neglected and backward regions. Today there are resources to interconnect towns with highways, to bring them electricity as well as indispensable sewage and waste management services.

The outgoing minister has shown signs of intelligence and serenity. His successor is organized and there is continuity in the economic model, which must not be affected by politicking or demagoguery. Heterodoxy and populist experiments bring instability, corruption and make the poor poorer.

El Comercio Editorial: FTA with China has no set deadline

Excerpted editorial from today’s El Comercio newspaper:

The fourth round of negotiations between Chinese and Peruvian representatives to reach a free trade agreement (FTA) has been very arduous. This is mainly due to the fact that China has hardened its position concerning very sensitive issues for Peruvians, though commitments had previously been made by both parties.

This Chinese backtracking necessarily obliges our authorities to redefine the future negotiation strategy. It must be guided by eminently technical criteria that will benefit national interest without making any unnecessary concessions simply because of the “straight jacket” deadline and desire to sign the treaty during the next meeting of APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum) in Lima this November.

The Chinese negotiators are now not only petitioning for a 10-year period to eliminate tariffs on fish meal, but they are also putting restrictions on the import of other products considered key for Peruvian exporters, such as asparagus.

Also, the Chinese have rejected Peru’s proposal to exclude 10 percent of the total of registered tariffs from the negotiation, for example on textiles, shoes and metal-made mechanical products that Peru considers sensitive, and insists that the percentage be reduced to 8 percent.

In view of this situation, the Peruvian response must be firm and coherent, as it was recently with the Peru-U.S. FTA. And if we can’t demand that the Chinese regime broaden the margins of liberty for its citizens, well, we can at least request that they honor their word for issues such as working conditions and environmental protection, as is the norm.

China is the second biggest destination for Peruvian exports. Today, an ample middle class with greater purchasing power makes for an extremely attractive market. Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean that we should give in on everything. As it is a fundamental principle in a treaty, we must search for equity and defend our interests, without pressure or having anything imposed upon us.

Shoving Peru out of the Andean Community of Nations

Excerpted editorial from today’s El Comercio newspaper:

Another ungrateful junkyard dog. This time it’s an Andean breed with two heads? Once more, the Bolivian and Ecuadorian governments have made obvious their obstructionist agenda and politicking within the Andean Community of Nations (CAN).

Bolivia and Ecuador maliciously insist on throwing a monkey wrench into the works in order to hinder the international commercial projects being promoted by Peru. This intensely revives the national debate concerning the feasibility of remaining within this sub regional forum, which has repeatedly proved its incompetence for regional integration. Read more…

EU-LAC Summit aftermath: mixed reviews

By Eleanor Griffis~

The party is over, everyone has gone home, and the assessments begin on what was truly achieved at the Fifth EU-LAC Summit held in Lima last week.

The focus of this summit was twofold: poverty, inequality and inclusion as the social dimension; and climate change, environment and energy as part of sustainable development. Work groups from both the European Union and countries in the Caribbean and Latin America prepared reports on these issues over weeks and even months before the Summit, and they are the focus of the Lima Declaration signed by all the heads of state.

Yet these issues were generally glossed over in the local media. The greater emphasis pushed enthusiastically by both Peruvian government officials and private entrepreneurs appeared to be squarely placed on future business and investment possibilities. State TV commentator Carlos Espá undoubtedly expressed some of their sentiments when he commented to environmental lawyer Jorge Caillaux that the country hardly needs lots of pesky, environmentalist NGOs making life miserable for mining investors. Caillaux cautioned to handle such a concept with kid gloves, but precious TV sound bytes were immediately switched to another subject.

In private business, the Summit has brought some positive results. David Lemor, executive director of the government’s investment promotion agency, ProInversion, praised the success of the business deals closed during the first EU-LAC Investment Forum, which he says could bring up to $1 billion in investments to Peru. Plans also were initiated for future business missions between Latin American and Caribbean countries. Read more…

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