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PERU
BASIC FACTS
Formal Name: Republic of Peru
Short Form: Peru
Capital: Lima
Population: 29,546,963 (world rank: 39)
Official Language: Spanish, Quechua (Native American language)
Ethnicities: Amerindian 45%, mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 37%, white 15%, black, Japanese, Chinese,
and other 3%
Religions: Roman Catholic 81.3%, Evangelical 12.5%, other 3.3%, unspecified or none 2.9% (2007 Census)
People Overview: Peru is the fifth most populous country in Latin America (after Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and
Argentina). Twenty-one cities have a population of 100,000 or more. Rural migration has increased the
urban population from 35.4% of the total population in 1940 to an estimated 74.6% as of 2005.
Most Peruvians are either Spanish-speaking mestizos--a term that usually refers to a mixture of
indigenous and European/Caucasian--or Amerindians, largely Quechua-speaking indigenous people.
Peruvians of European descent make up about 15% of the population. There also are small numbers of
persons of African, Japanese, and Chinese ancestry. Socioeconomic and cultural indicators are
increasingly important as identifiers. For example, Peruvians of Amerindian descent who have adopted
aspects of Hispanic culture also are considered mestizo. With economic development, access to
education, intermarriage, and large-scale migration from rural to urban areas, a more homogeneous
national culture is developing, mainly along the relatively more prosperous coast. Peru's distinct
geographical regions are mirrored in a socioeconomic divide between the coast's mestizo-Hispanic
culture and the more diverse, traditional Andean cultures of the mountains and highlands.
Brief History: Ancient Peru was the seat of several prominent Andean civilizations, most notably that of the Incas
whose empire was captured by the Spanish conquistadors in 1533. Peruvian independence was
declared in 1821, and remaining Spanish forces defeated in 1824. After a dozen years of military rule,
Peru returned to democratic leadership in 1980, but experienced economic problems and the growth
of a violent insurgency. President Alberto
Fujimori’s election in 1990 ushered in a decade
that saw a dramatic turnaround in the economy
and significant progress in curtailing guerrilla
activity. Nevertheless, the president's increasing
reliance on authoritarian measures and an
economic slump in the late 1990s generated
mounting dissatisfaction with his regime, which
led to his ouster in 2000. A caretaker government
oversaw new elections in the spring of 2001,
which ushered in Alejandro Toledo Manrique as the new head of
government - Peru's first democratically elected president of Native
American ethnicity. The presidential election of 2006 saw the return
of Alan Garcia Perez who, after a disappointing presidential term
from 1985 to 1990, has overseen a robust macroeconomic
performance.
GOVERNMENT
Type: constitutional republic
Executive Branch:
Chief of State/Head of Government: President Alan Garcia Perez (since 28 July 2006); First Vice President
Luis Giampietri Rojas (since 28 July 2006); Second Vice President Lourdes Mendoza del Solar (since 28
July 2006)
*note: Prime Minister Javier Velasquez Quesquen (since 12 July 2009) does not exercise
executive power; this power is in the hands of the president
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for nonconsecutive
reelection); presidential and congressional elections held 9 April 2006 with runoff election held 4 June
2006; next to be held in April 2011
Legislative Branch:
unicameral Congress of the Republic of Peru or Congreso de la Republica del Peru (120 seats; members
are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
Judicial Branch:
Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are appointed by the National Council
of the Judiciary)
Major Political Parties and Leaders:
Peruvian Aprista Party (Partido Aprista Peruano) or PAP [Alan GARCIA Perez] (also referred to by its
original name Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana or APRA): oldest and most stable
Central Front (Frente Del Centro) or FC (a coalition of Accion Popular, Somos Peru, and Coordinadora
Nacional de Independientes) [Victor Andres GARCIA Belaunde];
Peru Possible (Peru Posible) or PP [Alejandro TOLEDO Manrique];
Union for Peru (Union por el Peru) or UPP [Aldo ESTRADA Choque]]
Major Political Pressure Groups and Leaders:
General Workers Confederation of Peru (Confederacion General de Trabajadores del Peru)
or CGTP [Mario HUAMAN];
Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) or SL [Abimael GUZMAN Reynoso (imprisoned), Victor QUISPE Palomino
(top leader at-large)] (leftist guerrilla group)
Participation in Other International Organizations:
APEC, CAN, FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD (Int’l Bank for
Reconstruction and Development), ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO,
Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC,
NAM, OAS, OPANAL (Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America & the Caribbean),
OPCW (Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons), PCA, RG, UN, UNASUR, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO (UN Industrial Development Organization), Union Latina, UNMIL, UNMIS,
UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU (World Federation of Trade Unions), WHO (World Health
Organization), WIPO, WMO, WTO (World Trade Organization)
*Meanings of acronyms and initialisms: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_international_organizations>
ECONOMY
Overview: Peru's economy reflects its varied geography - an arid coastal region, the Andes further inland, and
tropical lands bordering Colombia and Brazil. Abundant mineral resources are found in the mountainous areas, and
Peru's coastal waters provide excellent fishing grounds. The Peruvian economy grew by more than 4% per year
during the period 2002-06, with a stable exchange rate and low inflation. Growth jumped to 9% per year in 2007
and 2008, driven by higher world prices for minerals and metals and the government's aggressive trade
liberalization strategies. Peru's rapid expansion has helped to reduce the national poverty rate by about 15% since
2002, though underemployment and inflation remain high. Despite Peru's strong macroeconomic performance,
overdependence on minerals and metals subjects the economy to fluctuations in world prices, and poor
infrastructure precludes the spread of growth to Peru's non-coastal areas. Not all Peruvians therefore have shared in
the benefits of growth. President GARCIA's pursuit of sound trade and macroeconomic policies has cost him
political support since his election. Nevertheless, he remains committed to Peru's free-trade path. The United States
and Peru completed negotiations on the implementation of the US-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA), and
the agreement entered into force February 1, 2009, opening the way to greater trade and investment between the
two economies.
Peru's economy has shown strong growth over the past seven years, averaging 6.8% a year, helped by
market-oriented economic reforms and privatizations in the 1990s, and measures taken since 2001 to promote
trade and attract investment. GDP grew 9.8% in 2008, 8.9% in 2007, 7.7% in 2006, and 6.8% in 2005. President Alan
García and his economic team have continued these policies. Recent economic expansion has been driven by
construction, mining, private investment, exports, and domestic consumption. Inflation (annual average) jumped to
5.8% in 2008, due mostly to substantial global foods and oil prices increases, and the fiscal surplus (third year in a
row) was 2.1% of GDP. Thanks to pre-payments, public external debt in 2008 dropped to $19.2 billion, and foreign
reserves were a record $31.2 billion.
Peru's economy is well managed now, and better tax collection and growth are increasing revenues, with
expenditures keeping pace. Private investment is rising and becoming more broad-based. Peru obtained
investment grade status in 2008. The García administration is pursuing decentralization initiatives, and is focused on
bringing more small businesses into the formal economy. However, the 2008 global financial crisis will make a dent
in the Peruvian economy in 2009, with GDP growth expected to drop to 3.5%.
GDP: ranked 44
Currency: Nuevo Sol (PEN)
Agricultural Products: asparagus, coffee, cocoa, cotton, sugarcane, rice, potatoes, corn, plantains, grapes,
oranges, pineapples, guavas, bananas, apples, lemons, pears, coca, tomatoes, mango, barley,
medicinal plants, palm oil, marigold, onion, wheat, dry beans; poultry, beef, dairy products; fish, guinea
pigs
Industries: mining and refining of minerals; steel, metal fabrication; petroleum extraction and refining, natural
gas; fishing and fish processing, textiles, clothing, food processing
Exports: $31.53 billion (2008 est.) (world rank: 62nd)
commodities: copper, gold, zinc, crude petroleum and petroleum products, coffee, potatoes,
asparagus, textiles, fishmeal
partners: US 20%, China 15.2%, Canada 8.3%, Japan 7%, Chile 5.8%, Brazil 4.2% (2008)
Imports: $28.44 billion (2008 est.) (world rank: 65th)
commodities: petroleum and petroleum products, plastics, machinery, vehicles, iron and steel, wheat,
paper
partners: US 23.7%, China 10.6%, Brazil 7.5%, Ecuador 6.5%, Chile 5.1%, Argentina 5%, Mexico 4.5% (2008)
MILITARY
Branches: Army of Peru (Ejercito Peruano), Navy of Peru (Marina de Guerra del Peru, MGP (includes naval air,
naval infantry, and Coast Guard)), Air Force of Peru (Fuerza Aerea del Peru, FAP) (2008)
Expenditures: 1.5% of GDP (107th in world)
CONFLICTS/HISTORY
Contemporary History:
Military Rule and Return to Democracy (1968-1980) The military has been prominent in Peruvian history.
Coups have repeatedly interrupted civilian constitutional government. The most recent period of military
rule (1968-80) began when General Juan Velasco Alvarado overthrew elected President Fernando
Belaunde Terry of the Popular Action Party (AP). As part of what has been called the "first phase" of the
military government's nationalist program, Velasco undertook an extensive agrarian reform program and
nationalized the fishmeal industry, some petroleum and mining companies, and several banks.
Because of Velasco's economic mismanagement and deteriorating health, he was replaced in 1975 by
General Francisco Morales Bermudez. Morales Bermudez tempered the authoritarian abuses of the
Velasco administration and began the task of restoring the country's economy. Morales Bermudez presided
over the return to civilian government under a new constitution and in the May 1980 elections, President
Belaunde Terry was returned to office by an impressive plurality.
Instability in the 1980s (1982-1990) Nagging economic problems left over from the military government
persisted, worsened by an occurrence of the "El Niño" weather phenomenon in 1982-83, which caused
widespread flooding in some parts of the country, severe droughts in others, and decimated the fishing
industry. The fall in international commodity prices to their lowest levels since the Great Depression
combined with the natural disasters to decrease production, depress wages, exacerbate unemployment,
and spur inflation. The economic collapse was reflected in worsening living conditions for Peru's poor and
provided a breeding ground for social and political discontent. The emergence of the terrorist group
Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) in rural areas in 1980--followed shortly thereafter by the Tupac Amaru
Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) in Lima--sent the country further into chaos. The terrorists were financed in
part from alliances with narcotraffickers, who had established a stronghold in the Peruvian Andes during
this period. Peru and Bolivia became the largest coca producers in the world, accounting for roughly fourfifths of the production in South America.
Amid inflation, economic hardship, and terrorism, the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA) won
the presidential election in 1985, bringing Alan García Pérez to office. The transfer of the presidency from
Belaunde to García on July 28, 1985, was Peru's first transfer of power from one democratically elected
leader to another in 40 years.
The Fujimori Decade (1990-2000) Economic mismanagement by the García administration led to
hyperinflation from 1988 to 1990. Concerned about the economy, the increasing terrorist threat from
Sendero Luminoso, and allegations of official corruption, voters chose a relatively unknown mathematicianturned-politician, Alberto Fujimori, as president in 1990. Fujimori felt he had a mandate for radical change.
He immediately implemented drastic economic reforms to tackle inflation (which dropped from 7,650% in
1990 to 139% in 1991), but found opposition to further drastic measures, including dealing with the growing
insurgency. On April 4, 1992, Fujimori dissolved the Congress in the "auto-coup," revised the constitution,
and called new congressional elections. With a more pliant Congress, Fujimori proceeded to govern
unimpeded. Large segments of the judiciary, the military and the media were co-opted by Fujimori's
security advisor, the shadowy Vladimiro Montesinos. The government unleashed a counterattack against
the insurgency that resulted in countless human right abuses and eventually quashed the Shining Path and
MRTA. During this time he also privatized state-owned companies, removed investment barriers and
significantly improved public finances.
Fujimori's constitutionally questionable decision to seek a third term, and subsequent tainted electoral
victory in June 2000, brought political and economic turmoil. A bribery scandal that broke just weeks after
he began his third term in July forced Fujimori to call new elections in which he would not run. Fujimori fled
to Japan and resigned from office in November 2000. A caretaker government under Valentin Paniagua
presided over new presidential and congressional elections in April 2001. The new elected government, led
by President Alejandro Toledo, took office July 28, 2001.
The Toledo Administration (2001-2006) The Toledo government successfully consolidated Peru's return to
democracy, a process that had begun under President Paniagua. Despite being a frequent target of
media criticism, Toledo maintained strong commitments to freedom of the press. The government
undertook initiatives to implement the recommendations made by the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission (TRC), which had been charged with studying the circumstances surrounding the human rights
abuses and violations committed between 1980 and 2000. Criminal charges for corruption and human
rights violations were brought against former President Fujimori. Fujimori was detained in Chile in November
2005, and was extradited to face criminal charges in Peru in September 2007. On December 11, 2007,
Fujimori was convicted of ordering an illegal search and seizure of documents, and was sentenced to six
years in prison. He was convicted on human rights charges in April 2009.
Under President Toledo, Peru signed a Trade Promotion Agreement with the U.S. Toledo also unveiled the
construction of a road that will connect Brazil and Peru's isolated interior to the Pacific coast. Toledo's
economic management led to an impressive economic boom in Peru that remains strong. Poverty
reduction was uneven, however. Although poverty in some areas decreased by up to 37% during the
Toledo Administration, nationally it only decreased by 5.6% and nearly half of Peruvians were still living
below the poverty line. In 2005 the government implemented "Juntos," a program to double the income of
people living in extreme poverty.
2006 Elections and the García Administration On June 4, 2006, APRA candidate Alan García Pérez was
elected to the presidency by 52.5% of the voters in his runoff with Ollanta Humala, who ran under the Union
for Peru party banner, with the support of his Peruvian Nationalist Party. APRA also won 36 congressional
seats and controls the largest voting bloc. After a disappointing presidential term from 1985 to 1990, García
returned to the presidency with promises to improve Peru's social condition, balancing economic stability
with increased social spending. During his term, García has overseen a robust macroeconomic
performance, including strong GDP growth and declining poverty levels (39.3% of Peruvians were “poor”,
including 13.7% “extremely poor” in 2007). Despite this broad success, however, global inflation in 2008
pushed up prices for basic goods consumed by the poor, causing a steep decline in García’s level of
public support. Since the onset of the international financial crisis in late 2008, prices have begun to drop
and Garcia’s popularity has begun to recover. Internationally, García has sought to improve relations with
Peru's South American neighbors and with the United States, and to present Peru's democratic and pro-free
trade path as a model for the region. García helped convince the U.S. Congress to pass the U.S.-Peru Trade
Promotion Agreement. He signed deals with Canada, Singapore, and China, and began trade
negotiations with the European Union and others. He also successfully hosted two international summits in
2008, the European Union-Latin America and Caribbean summit and the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ summit.
FOREIGN RELATIONS
Overview: Peru generally enjoys generally friendly relations with its neighbors, despite occasional bilateral
tension with Chile.
In November 1999, Peru and Chile signed three agreements that put to rest the remaining
obstacles holding up implementation of the 1929 Border Treaty. (The 1929 Border Treaty officially ended
the 1879 War of the Pacific.) In late 2005, a declaration of maritime borders by Peru's Congress set off a
new round of recriminations with Chile, which claims that the maritime borders were agreed to in fishing
pacts dating from the early 1950s. The Garcia administration submitted arbitration of this dispute to the
International Court of Justice at The Hague in hopes of finding an acceptable, apolitical solution, but
the dispute remains in the headlines and continues to cause occasional friction.
In October 1998, Peru and Ecuador signed a peace accord to resolve once and for all border
differences that had sparked violent confrontations. Peru and Ecuador are now jointly coordinating an
internationally sponsored border integration project. The U.S. Government, as one of four guarantor
states, was actively involved in facilitating the 1998 peace accord between Peru and Ecuador and
remains committed to its implementation. The United States has pledged $40 million to the PeruEcuador border integration project and another $4 million to support Peruvian and Ecuadorian
demining efforts along their common border.
In 1998, Peru became a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum,
facilitating closer ties and economic relations between Peru and Asian nations. Peru hosted the APEC
summit in 2008.
Peru has been a member of the United Nations since 1949, and was a member of the Security
Council in 2006 and 2007. Peruvian Javier Perez de Cuellar served as UN Secretary General from 1981 to
1991.
Peru maintains 210 troops in peacekeeping operations in Haiti under the UN's MINUSTAH.
“Enemies”: Bolivia, Chile (tension over borders)
Permanent Representative to the United Nations: Gonzalo GUTIERREZ Reinel
Summary of Statement at General Debate (63rd Session):
JOSÉ ANTONIO GARCÍA BELAÚNDE, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Peru, said the struggle against poverty and
the creation of opportunities was a priority for the Government of President Alan García, and the Peruvian
Government welcomed the General Assembly’s recognition of poverty as an issue that required a comprehensive
global response. The increase in food and energy prices was felt most intensely by the poor. The Government was
working to find an appropriate sustainable solution to enhancing food security and adopting measures to cater to
the needs of the most impacted sections of society. New and more ambitious formulas were needed to deal with
poverty and increasing food prices.
The new global threats were threatening to overwhelm efforts to battle poverty and there was a need for a
decisive response by the developed countries to eliminate those crises, he continued. His Government had a
policy of growth and had created jobs and a social policy that reduced poverty and promoted equal
opportunities. Policies also included using advanced technology and management techniques to improve
production and exports, and create jobs. Thousands of small- and mid-size entrepreneurs had entered the
economy, as a result.
Another priority for the Peruvian Government was expanding health, education and all basic services.
There had been a 5.2 per cent reduction in poverty and significant achievements in maternal health, literacy and
other indicators. All that demonstrated that Peru would achieve the Millennium Development Goals before the
deadline of 2015. Peru recognized the role of international cooperation in improving the social fabric of the
country.
Turning to migration, he said it was a problem that should be globally resolved, and migration could
generate opportunities and those factors should be discussed in international forums. The United Nations and other
organizations should insure the human rights of migrant workers and their families. The matter could be handled
with information-sharing mechanisms.
The issue of global warming required working with the international community to reduce carbon emissions,
he said. Peru believed it was important to advance the platform adopted in Bali last year and work together
towards a comprehensive, broad-based agreement in Copenhagen in 2009 to reduce emissions to avoid future
natural disasters.
Globalization and fragmentation of the world was leading to increasing social inequality, he said. Other
emerging threats were terrorism, the degradation of the environment and the flouting of international law as a
means of settling disputes. Those issues jeopardized the collective security of all. An international law based on
peace was necessary and that called for strengthening the role of the United Nations to deal with the affairs of the
international agenda, particularly peace and security, sustainable development, environmental protection and
human rights.
CURRENT EVENTS
Cocaine Trade Helps Rebels Reignite War in Peru: March 17, 2009 from NY Times
CANAYRE, Peru — First the soldiers came to Río
Seco, a coca-growing village in the lush mountain
jungles of southern Peru. “They called us subversives
and they opened fire,” said Benedicto Cóndor, 55, a
coca farmer. They shot dead four people at close
range, including a woman who was five months
pregnant, witnesses said. Two children, ages 6 and 1,
disappeared and are believed dead.
Four months later, the guerrillas arrived, accusing
the villagers of helping the military. They abducted the
village leader, who has not been seen since.
The harrowing tales of violence trickling out of the
jungle as dozens of families have fled their villages in
recent months raise an ominous specter: a brutal war
that terrorized the country for two decades may be
sparking back to life.
The war against the Shining Path rebels, which took
nearly 70,000 lives, supposedly ended in 2000.
But here in one of the most remote corners of the
Andes, the military, in a renewed campaign, is battling a
resurgent rebel faction. And the Shining Path, taking a
page from Colombia’s rebels, has reinvented itself as an
illicit drug enterprise, rebuilding on the profits of Peru’s
thriving cocaine trade.
The front lines lie in the drizzle-shrouded jungle of
Vizcatán, a 250-square-mile region in the Apurímac and
Ene River Valley. The region is Peru’s largest producer of
coca, the raw ingredient for cocaine.
As the military and the rebels skirmish for control of
isolated coca-producing hamlets, the reports of rising
body counts and civilians killed in the cross-fire, still far
lower than the carnage at the height of the Shining
Path war in the 1980s and early 90s, are rousing ghosts
most Peruvians thought were long dead.
“The soldiers think we are all terrorists, and with
that idea they believe they can destroy anything that
moves,” said Alfredo Pacheco, 45, a coca farmer who
fled his village, Nueva Esperanza, in September, after
soldiers burned the mud huts there in pursuit of the
rebels.
Military officials contended that the huts were
coca-leaf maceration pits and cocaine labs.
Such conflicting views are practically built into the
system. Coca, the mildly stimulating leaf chewed raw
here since before the Spanish conquest, is largely
legal; cocaine is not.
Coca, a hallowed symbol of indigenous pride, is
ubiquitous here. Qatun Tarpuy, a pro-coca political
party, paints images of it on mud huts. Women harvest
coca in clearings along the winding dirt road, and
children dry the leaves in the sun.
It is also nearly impossible to find a coca farmer
here who admits that his crops are sold for anything
other than traditional use, but somehow, studies have
found, as much as 90 percent of the coca goes to
produce cocaine.
In 2007, the latest year for which data is available,
coca cultivation in Peru increased by 4 percent,
reaching the highest level in a decade, according to
the United Nations. At the same time, Peru’s estimated
cocaine production rose to a 10-year high of about
290 tons, second only to that of Colombia.
Since the Shining Path retreated here after the
capture of its messianic leader, Abimael Guzmán, in
1992, it has followed the much larger Colombian rebel
group, the FARC, in melding a leftist insurgency with
drug running and production.
While the Shining Path was involved in coca
before, now it is a major focus. According to military
and anti-drug analysts, the faction here, while still
professing to be a Maoist insurgency at heart, is now in
the business of protecting drug smugglers, extorting
taxes from farmers and operating its own cocaine
laboratories.
“The guerrillas now operate with the efficiency
and deadliness of an elite drug trafficking
organization,” said Jaime Antezana, a security analyst
in Lima, Peru’s capital, who estimates that the Shining
Path employs about 500 laborers in the cocaine trade,
in addition to about 350 armed combatants.
Concerned about the resurrected rebels and
mounting cocaine, the government intensified the
counterinsurgency campaign last August, and the
killings spiked.
The guerrillas killed at least 26 people in 2008,
including 22 soldiers and police officers, the bloodiest
year in almost a decade, according to security
analysts.
Human rights groups, meanwhile, are demanding
inquiries into claims that Peruvian soldiers killed at least
five civilians, as well as into the disappearance of the
two children in Río Seco and the displacement of
dozens of families from far-flung villages.
Military officials chafe at the reports of abuses.
“Human rights people say, ‘Some civilians have been
killed, how horrible,’ ” Defense Minister Ántero Flores Aráoz
said in an interview in Lima. As for Rosa Chávez Sihuincha,
the pregnant woman killed in Río Seco, he suggested that
she got what she deserved.
A funeral was held for Marco Montaro, a member of
the Peruvian National Police. “What the hell was she
doing in Vizcatán?” he said. “Was she praying the rosary?
No way. Either she was transporting coca leaves for
processing or she was taking chemical products or she
was part of the logistics of this Shining Path group.”
While the United States is not directly involved with the
counterinsurgency campaign here, it provided about $60
million in anti-drug aid last year, about 11 percent of what
it spends annually on anti-drug and counterinsurgency
efforts in Colombia.
Officials here admit that they were slow to recognize
what they were up against when Mr. Guzmán, a former
philosophy professor, unleashed his peasant revolt in the
1980s, an experience they bring to bear as they try to
decipher today’s rebels.
“There are those who say, ‘Why worry about a few
hundred fighters in the jungle?’ ” said Alberto Bolívar, a
counterinsurgency expert. “But they easily forget the
Shining Path began their armed struggle in 1980 with just a
few hundred guys. Two decades later, 70,000 people were
dead.”
But the Shining Path appears to have learned lessons,
too.
Coca farmers here describe today’s Maoists as a
disciplined, well-armed force, entering villages in groups of
20 in crisp black uniforms. Little is known about their
leaders, aside from the belief that two brothers, Victor
Quispe Palomino, known as José, and Jorge Quispe
Palomino, alias Raúl, are at the helm.
Soldiers speak respectfully of the rebels’ command of
the jungle terrain and of their ability to harass with gunfire
more than a dozen forward operating bases that have
been established in recent months. “Their columns seem to
melt into the jungle,” said Maj. Julio Delgado, an officer at
a base in Pichari, one of the largest towns in the valley.
A resupply mission from that base on a Russian-built
MI-17
helicopter
offered
a
glimpse
into
the
counterinsurgency’s challenges. For half an hour, the
helicopter flew over what Peruvians call the “ceja de
selva,” the eyebrow of the jungle, where green canopy on
jutting peaks provides impenetrable camouflage.
The helicopter landed at a tiny special forces base in
Sanabamba, where commandos pointed rifles at the
surrounding terrain, waiting to hear from their hidden
quarry. Once the helicopter took off again, green jungle
quickly swallowed the mountaintop outpost.
Coca harvesters below did not even bother to glance
up.
The rebels contend that they no longer assassinate
local officials or sow terror with tactics like planting bombs
on donkeys in crowded markets, atrocities the group was
infamous for in the 1980s. This metamorphosis was
confirmed by testimony from villagers who had come in
contact with them, interviews with imprisoned rebels and a
45-page analysis written by the rebels, tracing the group’s
evolution from its origins under Mr. Guzmán, that was
captured by military intelligence here in December.
According to the document, they consider Mr.
Guzmán a “revisionist” traitor and condemn another
Shining Path faction, in the Upper Huallaga Valley in
the north, for its openness to negotiations.
Perhaps the most notable difference between the
new Shining Path and the old is the new group’s
relationship with the villagers, which ostensibly favors
paternalism over terrorism.
The villagers refer to the guerrillas as “los tíos,” the
uncles, although any familial affection is enforced by the
threat of violence.
It is a volatile arrangement well understood from the
highest generals to a fruit peddler like María Auccatoma,
48, who sells mangoes near the village of Machente at a
spot marked with crosses for the three civilians and five
policemen killed by the guerrillas in an ambush.
“We can live in peace,” Ms. Auccatoma said quietly,
“as
long
as
we
obey
the
uncles.”
Op-Ed: Stretching the Reach of Law: May 31, 2009 from the NY Times
When Peru’s Supreme Court found former
president Alberto Fujimori guilty in April of the
kidnapping, injury and murder of civilians in the 1990s
and sentenced him to 25 years in prison, the historic
verdict resonated around the world: the first
conviction of an elected Latin American leader for
human rights abuses by his own country.
Fujimori joins a growing list of former leaders
facing charges of human rights abuses in domestic
and international courts. They include Charles Taylor
of Liberia; Hissène Habré of Chad; Jean-Pierre Bemba
of the Democratic Republic of Congo; and Kaing
Guek Eav of Cambodia.
This year, the International Criminal Court, the
world’s first permanent court to investigate and try
individuals accused of committing genocide war
crimes, and crimes against humanity, issued the first
arrest warrant for a sitting head of state — President
Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan.
These cases demonstrate the growing power
and reach of a developing system of international
justice that includes the International Criminal Court,
special
tribunals
and
regional
courts
and
commissions. This system is working toward a new era
of accountability for atrocities and is having a
profound influence on national courts.
Two factors have brought about this important
trend. The first is a mature global network of human
rights organizations.
In the Fujimori case, Human Rights Watch
gathered evidence that connected the former
president with the military intelligence officers who
massacred civilians in 1991 and 1992. The
International Center for Transitional Justice helped
Peruvian officials establish rules for a fair trial,
supplying the Supreme Court with resources about
theories of criminal responsibility. Other organizations, such
Access to Justice in Nigeria, the Blacksoil Center for the
Protection of Media Rights in Russia, and Pro Juarez in
Mexico, do similar work in other cases.
The second factor is the credibility of the new institutions
of international justice.
As chief prosecutor for the international criminal tribunals
for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, I helped investigate
and prosecute some of the worst crimes of the last decades
of the 20th century. In 1994, when we began our work, the
horrors and trauma were still fresh. Our work was urgent, and
there was every temptation to rush to judgment.
Instead, we insisted on establishing and observing due
process. If the courts were to be instruments of real justice
and have credibility in the eyes of the world, our
proceedings had to be as transparent, fair and thorough as
we could make them. Firsthand testimony from witnesses
and surviving victims was important — but so was a strong
defense for the accused.
I believe these principles have helped make the case for
international justice and prompted national courts, from
Peru to Cambodia, to take action. The prosecution of crimes
against humanity is not an exercise in partisan score-settling.
It is an assertion of the core values of civilized society.
The international community affirmed its commitment to
these values in the Responsibility to Protect, adopted by the
United Nations in 2005, which asserts the duty to intervene
when nations fail to protect, or persecute, their citizens.
Fujimori’s conviction demonstrates the progress we have
achieved toward making these values normative. With a
coalition of local and worldwide human rights defenders, an
international system of justice that commands growing
respect, and a global commitment to defend the innocent
in every nation, the elements are in place for a more just
and peaceful future.
Sites Used:
Facts: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35762.htm
CIA Factbook: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pe.html
Summary of Statement at 63rd General Debate: http://www.un.org/ga/63/generaldebate/peru.shtml
Bolivia/Peru Relations: http://www2.lse.ac.uk/IDEAS/programmes/latinAmericaProgramme/pdfs/peruandBolivia.pdf
Other sites to look at:
BBC Country Profile: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1224656.stm#overview
More Current Events from Peru: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/peru/index.html
Peru’s UN Site: http://www.un.int/wcm/content/site/peru