National Water March Arrives In Lima

Participants in a national water march, which is aimed mainly at rejecting Newmont Mining’s Minas Conga copper-gold project, began to approach Lima on Thursday, the head of the march’s organizing committee said.

Environmentalist Marco Arana told Ideeleradio that over 2,000 participants are beginning to arrive in Peru’s capital eight days after the march began in the northern region of Cajamarca.   The leaders of the march have planned a rally in the Plaza San Martin and will present a bill to Congress to protect the headwaters of  river basins and “highly vulnerable ecosystems.”

The participants have passed through Cajamarca, Lambayeque, La Libertad and Read more…

Environmentalists Begin National Water March

Environmentalists and civil society groups in three Peruvian regions began on Wednesday a national water march, aimed mainly at rejecting Newmont Mining’s Minas Conga project.  The marchers plan to converge in Lima by next week.

In Cajamarca region, where Conga is located, about 500 people began the march at the Cortada lake, Ideeleradio reported.

Supporters of the march also participated in Peru’s southern Arequipa region, which has also seen a number of conflicts over plans by mining companies to use Read more…

Truth Commission Report Could Be Added To Curricula In 2013 – Minister

Education Minister Patricia Salas said Monday that in 2013 the government may begin to include information in school curricula from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report on Peru’s bloody 1980-2000 internal conflict, newspaper El Comercio reported.

Salas said the violence perpetrated by the Maoist Shining Path insurgency is part of the country’s contemporary history, which should be known by all students.

“We need children to know history, so it is not repeated again,” Salas said. “That means the formation of citizen values, it means deepening the capacity for dialogue, to learn mutual respect, the rule of law, and those aspects are part of the current teaching agenda in Peru and we are going to strengthen them.”

Salas said that “all sources of information” on the conflict will be considered for Read more…

Poll: Humala’s Approval Rating Down to 48 Percent

President Ollanta Humala’s approval rating has slipped below 50 percent for the first time since taking office, according to a recent poll released in the Gestion business daily on Friday.

The polling company, Datum, said that Humala has a 48 percent approval rating in December, down nine points from November and the high of 70 percent in September.

Datum said that in southern Peru, where Humala had some of the strongest Read more…

Family Members Behind Most Human Trafficking in Peru – IOM

Human trafficking in Peru is largely driven by families of the victims, rather than organized crime, the International Organization for Migration coordinator, Dolores Cortes, said during an interview with daily El Comercio.

Cortes said that in 2010 the IOM reported 253 cases of human trafficking in Peru, with 120, or 47 percent, in Lima, the capital. In second place for the number of victims is Cusco, where 14 percent of the cases were reported, followed by the Read more…

President Humala awards Order of the Sun to Bedoya Reyes

President Ollanta Humala has awarded the Grand Cross of the Orden del Sol to Luis Bedoya Reyes, founder of the Partido Popular Cristiano, PPC, and a charismatic and iconic figure in center-right politics for the past 50 years.

President Humala said the award had been given in recognition of Bedoya’s honesty, decency and defense of democracy, and his use of dialogue, consensus and intelligence as his weapons.

“We hope that all of us politicians will always learn from you. It is people like you who raise the bar of politics and one would hope there were more like you. We need more teams, less scandals.” Read more…

Govt: Implementation Of Prior Consultation To Be Clear

The implementation of the Prior Consultation Law will be clear and guarantee the participation of all sectors, according to Peru’s new Deputy Intercultural Minister, Ivan Lanegra.

Lanegra said that the specific norms will be modified in each sector and in each level of the national, regional and local governments to facilitate the implementation of the law, state news agency Andina reported.

Lanegra, who succeeds Vicente Otta as deputy minister, is a lawyer who served in the Public Ombudsman’s office of Environment, Public Services and Indigenous Read more…

Over 34,000 Areas at Risk from Natural Events

More than 34,000 populated areas in Peru are located in areas of risk due to natural events, state news agency Andina reported.

A report presented by lawmaker Marco Falconi said that disasters between 2003 and 2009 caused the deaths of 1,387 people; 4,050 injuries; and 800,762 people left without homes.

Falconi, of ex-President Toledo’s Peru Posible party, said the total number of people affected by natural disasters was 6.17 million during the six-year period. Read more…

Legislators criticized for receiving re-location payment

Peruvian legislators re-elected to represent districts in Lima have come under fire this week for accepting a payment that is intended to help new lawmakers cover installation expenses.

Lawmakers in Peru are paid a bonus of 15,600 soles (approximately $5,700) when they take office. The money is intended to help legislators that represent districts outside of Lima, to move to the capital city and set up an office.  This bonus has only recent  years included those elected to Congress from Lima and Callao.

Congress allows for all legislators to receive the payment, even though many are already well-established. This has led to criticism in local media and the broader community. Members of the governing Gana Peru party chose not to accept the Read more…

Anti-drugs chief says Peru must better use foreign funds

Peru’s new chief of the anti-drug agency Devida, Ricardo Soberon, said that the government will look to better utilize funds from the United States to combat the country’s growing drug trade.

Soberon said during an interview with Ideele radio that he is scheduling meetings with the U.S. Embassy and Drug Enforcement Administration to discuss plans to increase drug seizures in Peru and strengthen the anti-drug police office, Dirandro.

“In the minds of the Americans, it is very important to spend the money well [to combat the drug trade] Read more…

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