Tag Archives: Peru

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Author: Justin Anderson

Co-Authors: Kelsey Newhook, Ella MacKinnon, Alina Schroeder, Eileen Molloy

A picture of a group of Q’ero known as the “weavers of light”.

According to a 2006 survey conducted by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática (INEI), 59.5% of Peruvians self identify as Mestizo, 22.7% as Quechua, 1.7% as Aymara, 1.8% as Amazonian, 1.6% as Black/Mulatto, 4.9% as white, and 6.7% identify as other. Also, as of 2016, there is an estimated total of 15 uncontacted Amerindian tribes that live in Peru. (Peru Population 2017)

Indigenous Groups of Peru

The Quechua are actually a series of several different ethnic groups, all tied together by their use of the same language, Quechua. In Peru, the two major Quechua speaking groups are the Q’ero and the Wankas (or Huancas). The Q’ero are subsistence farmers who live high in the Andes at an elevation between 12,000 and 15,000 feet. Due to the remote nature of Q’ero communities, they are very vulnerable to environmental change. Drought, excessive rainfall, or potato disease could cause their crops to fail which would have dire consequences on Q’ero communities. (Quechua) Wankas people occupy the Southern part of the Junin region located in central Peru. Quechua is the second official language of Peru and is spoken by roughly 16% of the population. In recent years the Peruvian government has made efforts to teach indigenous languages throughout the country in the hopes that doing so will prevent those languages from dying out. (Peru Is Fighting) The Aymara are the indigenous people of the Altiplano. They live high in the Andes mountain on Lake Titicaca on and around the Bolivian border with Peru. There are about 500,000 Aymara Indians living in Peru making them one of the largest group of indigenous people in Peru, be hide the Quechua. The elevation of the region makes farming difficult. (Aymara)

Issues Regarding Indigenous Groups

In recent years indigenous groups have come into conflict with both mining and timber operations as the need for resources has increased. These operations could destroy the ancestral lands of these people and by extension, their way of life. (video)

 

Many of the difficulties that indigenous communities face continue to persist. As recent as last month a the AIDESEP, the national indigenous organization in Peru, has taken actions to sue Peru’s Ministry of Culture for allowing Canadian oil companies to explore the Yavari Tapiche, an proposed reserve for indigenous people. The AIDESEP had fought for the creation of the reserve for 14 years with no success. (Peru: Indigenous)

Summary Factoids

What percentage of Peruvians speak Quechua? 16% of Peruvians speak Quechua.

What are the two major groups of indigenous Peruvians who speak Quechua? The Q’ero and the Wankas are the two major groups that speak Quechua.

What percentage of Peru’s population identifies as Aymara? 1.7% of Peruvians self identify as Aymaran.

 

Citation

“Aymara.” Countries and Their Cultures. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2017.
<http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Afghanistan-to-Bosnia-Herzegovina/Aymara.html>.

“Peru: Indigenous people sue government over uncontacted tribe.” Peru: Indigenous people sue government over uncontacted tribe – Survival International. N.p., 09 Feb. 2017. Web. 05 Mar. 2017.

“Peru Is Fighting to save 17 Languages That Are in Danger of Dying out.” TheJournal.ie. N.p.,
11 Feb. 2017. Web. 05 Mar. 2017. <http://www.thejournal.ie/peru-fight-indigenous-languages-3226618-Feb2017/>.

“Peru Population 2017.” Peru Population (2017). N.p., 08 Feb. 2017. Web. 05 Mar. 2017.
<http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/peru-population/>.

“Quechua: The cultural heart of the Andes | Peru For Less.” The Latin American Travel Blog.
N.p., 20 May 2016. Web. 05 Mar. 2017. <https://www.peruforless.com/blog/quechua-cultural-heart-andes/>.

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Author: Alina Schroeder

Co-Authors: Kelsey Newhook, Ella MacKinnon, Eileen Molloy, Justin Andersom

Background Information:

   A global leader in the mining industry, Peru is one of the world’s biggest producers of metals. This industry is critical to the national economy of Peru since Peru is an export-dependent country. Peru’s long history of mining and exporting natural resources has been associated with both a job provider and a reason for the growth of the Peruvian economy. However it’s major metal projects and copious mining escapades have caused discontent among indigenous groups and regions. Concerned not only about the adverse health effects of mining, these individuals and groups are worried about the environment. Although Peru’s reliance on mining has modernized the country it has failed to relieve poverty which has created widespread inequality.

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Workers at one of Peru’s many mines.

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Workers at one of Peru’s many mines.

Mining Protests:

   Although the outlook concerning mining in Peru may seem positive due to merits such as an economic growth and job opportunities, many are opposed to this industry. Protesters are increasingly concerned about the environmental effects of mining with such projects as the Minas Conga project. The government has twice declared states of emergency due to violent protests against mining. The government even gave the police extended power to search homes and suspended freedom of assembly due to two mining protests: One over Southern Copper’s Tia Maria project and protests at the La Bambas project.

   Civilians are discontent because of environmental concerns, health problems, foreign companies, and lack of real job opportunity. Deforestation, pollution of water, and destroyer of landscapes are all problems that Peru has due to mining. There has been debate over health concerns regarding mining. Heavy metal exposure, in mining areas, are associated with adverse health outcomes. However in many regions of Peru the exposure to metals and the pollution of water has caused health problems and ailments. Since foreign companies are coming into Peru to mine and sometimes bringing their own workers into the country with them, Peruvian miners are losing jobs and becoming unable to find new ones. Outrage concerning the decimation and devastation of the environment by foreign companies is very prevalent in Peru.

Illegal Gold Mining:

   Due to the high price of gold, illegal gold mines have become prevalent in many parts of Latin America. However since Peru is one of the world’s premier gold producers, the problem is extremely bad. A reporter describes the scene at one of Peru’s illegal mines: “Huge sandy craters, mounds of pebbles and poisoned waterways were everywhere. Garbage — rags, plastic bags, plastic foam food containers — clung to the freshly cut tree branches piled up in the river’s nooks and crannies” with water the color of milky coffee. Even though the environmental damage inflicted by corporate miners is serious, illegal miners are more destructive. While mining companies focus on specific areas, illegal miners move quickly through a vast amount of territory. It could take up to 500 years or more for an area to recover from illegal mining.

   Likewise, this mining doesn’t come without health costs. Since miners use mercury to test gold, a lot of mercury has been let out into not only the forests of Peru but also the water supply. A state of emergency has been declared in the Madre de Dios region of Peru last may due to mercury testing. Tests that took place in 97 villages found that more than 40 percent of people there have absorbed dangerous levels of mercury. Mercury poisoning affects people in many different ways such as chronic headaches and kidney damage. However mercury poisoning is most harmful to children who will likely suffer brain damage. A study in the US has found that more than 500 kilometers of Peru’s Amazon River is contaminated with mercury which many people in Peru use as drinking water.

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Environmental damage caused by Peru’s illegal mines.

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Aerial view of more damage caused by illegal mining in Peru.

Summary Factoids:

1.) What is one negative outcome of illegal gold mining in Peru?

Possible answer: One negative outcome of illegal gold mining in Peru is the adverse health problems caused mercury. Mercury poisoning is known to cause brain damage in children and chronic headaches and kidney damage in adults.

2.) What did the mining industry fail to improve?

The mining industry in Peru failed to improve the lives of the poor residents of Peru.

References:

(2016) The Report: Peru 2016. Retrieved from oxfordbusinessgroup.com

Daley,S (August 23,2016) Peru Scrambles to Drive Out Illegal Gold Mining and Save Precious Land. Retrieved from nytimes.com

Diringer, Sarah E., Beth J. Feingold, Ernesto J. Ortiz, John A. Gallis, Julio M. Araújo-Flores, Axel Berky, William K. Y. Pan, and Heileen Hsu-Kim. “River transport of mercury from artisanal and small-scale gold mining and risks for dietary mercury exposure in Madre de Dios, Peru.” Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts 17.2 (2015): 478-87. Web.

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By Eileen Molloy

Co-Authors: Kelsey Newhook, Ella MacKinnon, Alina Schroeder, Justin Anderson

This photo shows a young boy between the age of 6-10 who works in the La Rinconada gold mine in Peru

Peru is one of the world’s top producers of gold, and  “mining is the dominant sector of the Peruvian economy”.   However, much of Peru’s mining economy is fueled by the illicit use of children workers in hazardous exploitative conditions. Child miners are rarely paid, and endure many severe health issues such as malaria and mercury poisoning.

The Facts

According to the International Labour Organization, “28% of all girls and boys in Peru have to work for a living”. Child labor not only has a detrimental on the children who are exploited, but also to Peruvian society because children are working and not receiving an education.

What’s being done?

In 2012, the United States donated money to help set up a plan that will “boost access to education to education for children in three of Peru’s poorest regions”. This project used 13 million dollars to improve education in rural areas in Peru. In addition to children having the opportunity to receive an education, parents in these regions will receive help in managing their incomes so children aren’t forced to work. This means that children will return to school and not be exploited in labor intensive work.

Hope for the Children of Peru

Children are returning to school, and their families don’t have to rely on their labor to make money. This short video shows the progress being made in Peru to advocate for child workers who are exploited.

 

The Progress

With increased awareness of exploitative child labor and government implemented projects, the child labor rate is decreasing. According to Children and Youth in History online article, “the number of children at work in the region has fallen by two-thirds, with just 5 percent of children now engaged in unsatisfactory child labor.” However, there are some people that oppose any child laws being made. Some argue that children have helped in the fields since Inca times, and believe that “this tradition should continue as part of the normal development of people growing up in rural areas.”  The Peruvian government is working to eliminate child labor, and in doing so they also have to find solutions for the poverty that is prevalent in Peru. Poverty is the main reason why children are forced to work, and it is estimated that 60% of children live in poverty.

Summary Factoids:

  1. What is “the dominant sector of the Peruvian economy? Mining, specifically gold
  2. Who is being exploited in the mines of Peru, and what impact does this have on society? Children are being forced to work labor intensive and hazardous jobs. This effects society due to the fact that large numbers of children are not receiving an education.

Work Cited

“Child Labor at La Rinconada [Photograph],” in Children and Youth in History, Item #412, https://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/primary-sources/412 (accessed March 5, 2017).

Hastings, Deborah. “Child Labor, Sex Slaves i Peru’s Gold Mines.” NY Daily News. N.p., 11 Feb. 2014. Web. 03 Mar. 2017.

“Peru Launches Project to Fight Child Labour.” BBC News. BBC, 12 July 2012. Web. 03 Mar. 2017.

 

 

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Author: Ella MacKinnon

Co-Authors: Kelsey Newhook, Eileen Molloy, Alina Schroeder, Justin Anderson

Peru’s Connection to Its Past From A Health Perspective

Peru has an interesting past and current relationship with public health. Infectious diseases were the main cause of the decline of the Incan Empire, the original inhabitants of Peru. Native people had no immunity to any of the diseases the Spanish invaders brought with them, and as a result were killed off in dramatic numbers. Today, the risk for infectious disease is very high in Peru, with ailments ranging from hepatitis A to malaria, Zika virus, and dengue fever (The World Factbook). The WHO reports that the average life expectancy is 74 for men and 77 for women, which is higher than the global averages. However, the country spends a mere 5.5% of its GDP on healthcare related expenses.

Traditional Peruvian Shamans

Peru’s Healthcare System Today

Since the collapse of the Peruvian healthcare sector in the 1980s and ‘90s, the country has been able to increase health services and clinics available (especially in rural areas) and decrease infant mortality and malnutrition. However, significant issues are still at hand. There are vast disparities between the level of health care available for the lower- and upper-middle classes in Peru. Lower income citizens generally are less educated and are subjected to unsafe environmental conditions, which coupled with decreased access to health services, leads to circumstances such as the surprisingly high infant mortality rate considering the country’s GDP (WHO). In one rural community in the Peruvian Amazon called Flor de Primavera, a nurse technician named Senaida Marinas has been working with the community for the past 4 years in an effort to bring healthcare to the roughly 1,100 people living there. She has been assisted by USAID‘s Quality Healthcare Program (Chemonics). This provides a possible solution to address the lack of access many remote and lower-class communities have to healthcare. 

In 2015, over 20,000 public health care workers went on strike to put pressure on the government to implement important changes that had been agreed upon the previous year. These changes included making temporary positions into permanent ones, increasing the number of health care workers employed by the government, and raising salaries (Mora 2015). Another factor to consider when looking at Peru’s overall public health situation is that 45% of the population is indigenous, and many indigenous Peruvians either utilize a combination of government and shamanic health care, or rely solely on shamans for their medical needs.

Peruvian Public Health Care Workers on Strike (Mora 2015).

Feminism and Public Health in Peru

During the regime of Alberto Fujimori, many Peruvians experienced a dark and unpromising time that has since come to be called fujimorismo. This part of Peru’s history was characterized by an authoritarian regime and reactionary policies, and it was also the time in which Peru’s government pushed forced sterilization on to many Peruvian women (Ygarza). In 2006, a group was created called the National Federation of Female Peasants, Artisans, Indigenous, Native and Salaried Workers of Peru, or FENMUCARINAP. This organization was founded with the intent of defending women’s rights in Peru, including control of the female body and empowering women politically, economically, and socially. It now is made up of roughly 126,000 members located in 19 different regions of Peru. FENMUCARINAP also continues to seek justice for the more than 300,000 women who were forcibly sterilized under Fujimori’s rule.

Lourdes Huanca Atencio, president of FENMUCARINAP (Ygarza).

Summary Factoids:

  1. What is an example of an infectious disease that Peruvians are at a high risk for contracting? Dengue fever
  2. What percentage of its GDP does Peru spend on health expenditures? 5.5%
  3. What does FENMUCARINAP stand for? the National Federation of Female Peasants, Artisans, Indigenous, Native and Salaried Workers of Peru. 

 

Works Cited

Fafard, Mark and Rob Haley. “Natural Resource Profits and the Implications for Peru’s Public Health System.” International Journal of Sociology & Social Policy, May 2014, pp. 392-400. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1108/IJSSP-07-2013-0069.

Mora, Rael. “Peru: 20,000 Public Health Care Workers Strike.” TeleSur English. N.p., 09 Sept. 2015. Web. 03 Mar. 2017.

“Peru.” World Health Organization. World Health Organization, 2017. Web. 03 Mar. 2017.

“Quality Healthcare Reaches Remote Peru.” Quality Healthcare Reaches Remote Peru | Chemonics. Chemonics International Inc., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2017.

“The World Factbook: PERU.” Central Intelligence Agency. Central Intelligence Agency, 12 Jan. 2017. Web. 03 Mar. 2017.

Ygarza, George. “Peru: In Defense of Land, Culture and the Female Body.” Nacla: Reporting on the Americas since 1967 03 June 2016: n. pag. Print.

 

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Author: Kelsey Newhook

Co-Editors: Eileen Molloy, Ella Mackinnon, Alina Schroeder, and Justin Anderson

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The flag for the Shining Path. The red represents socialism, communism, and the left-wing.

The Shining Path (also called Sendero Luminoso) was born in 1970 under the control of Abimael Guzman, a philosophy teacher (“Shining Path”). They’re a guerrilla communist militant group created in Peru with the goal of overthrowing the government “and replace them with a communist peasant revolutionary regime” (“The Rise and Fall of Shining Path” 2008). The Shining Path was formed under “models such as Stalinist Russia and the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia”. But, Shining Path was most heavily influenced by Marixism. Guzman created the Shining Path under Marxist beliefs and took his inspiration from a Peruvian Marxist, Jose Carlos Mariategui. The term Shining Path comes from a passage written by Mariategui, stating

“Marxism-Leninism will open the shining path to revolution.”

Shining Path began growing popularity with college students before forming militas in the late 1970’s (“A Brief History of the Shining Path” 2006). Their first act of violence was after the first democratic election in the 1980s where they attacked polling stations. The Shining Path grew more popularity after this and with little concern from the government, they expanding into a destructive, dangerous group. By 1991, the Shining Path had taken over a number of towns, spread into cities (such as Lima) and were responsible for “attacks on power stations and industrial areas… burning down shopping malls” (“A Brief History of the Shining Path” 2006) and bombings. They also eliminated “non-maoist movements, killing politicians, members of trade unions, and other communists who were against murder. It also began killing priests who shielded those who they wanted dead.”(“A Brief History of the Shining Path” 2006). By the end of their popularity, the Shining Path had killed 25,000 people (“Peru: Long-diminished Shining Path,” 2015). In 1992, Guzman was captured, which led to the – supposedly – end of the Shining Path (“The Rise and Fall of Shining Path” 2008). In 1997, the Shining Path was officially called a Foreign Terrorist Organization.

http://www.revleft.com/vb/group.php?do=discuss&gmid=46360

Guzman put in a cage for public humiliation by Fujimori (the current president at the time) after his arrest

Below is a speech from Guzman, days after being captured and placed in a cage for a public press conference as a form of public humiliation.

Long Live the Communist Party of Peru!

The People’s War Will Inevitably Be Victorious!

We Salute the Future Birth of the People’s Republic of Peru!

We say: Glory to Marxism-Leninism-Maoism!

Finally we say: Honor and Glory to the People of Peru!

But where is Shining Path now, in 2017? It can’t be entirely gone, right?

In 2008, Shining Path members were found to be involved with drug traffickers. During an anti-drug patrol, they killed one police officer and wounded 11 other people (“The Rise and Fall of Shining Path” 2008). In 2012, the leader following Guzman, Comrade Artemio, was captured (“Peru admits Shining Path rebels,” 2015). This led to the assumption that the Shining Path was officially over, with no hierarchy to control it. However, in 2015 it was said that the group still had 350 members and 80 fighters. In 2016, the guerrilla group performed another attack by killed 10 military and civilian personnel while they were transporting election materials (“Shining Path”). This attack occurred a day before an election to decrease Peru’s coca production. Currently, Shining Path has an alliance to drug traffickers, providing them security in exchange for weapons and money. Now, in 2017, the Peruvian army discovered a slave camp in the Apurimac-Ene and Mantaro River Valley kept by the rebels where 39 people were rescued – most of which were children. This isn’t the only time Shining Path has been discovered keeping slaves, with a similar event happening in 2015. Only a few days ago (as of March 3rd, 2017) Guzman, the creator of Shining Path is facing trial for a second life sentence. He was already issued one life sentence for trying to overthrow the government and is in the process of being issued another for ordering a bombing in Lima, an attack that killed 25 people in 1992 (“Shining Path founder Guzman,” 2017).

http://www.nbcnews.com/slideshow/shining-path-violence-haunts-peru-election-decades-later-n552721

Villagers are mourning and burying loved ones from the attacks done by the Shining Path decades after

Two decades after, the Shining Path is still alive and active. Their activities aren’t as threatening and are more condensed to drug trafficking rather than politics. However, it’s still present and they’re still viewed as a terrorist group. The current leader of Shining Path who ordered the attack before the April election in 2016 is being sought for $600,000 by the government (“Shining Path ambush kills 10”, 2016). The Shining Path has decreased significantly in size and has lost control under a leader but is long from being gone. Peru has not yet terminated this group and still have years before that may happen.

Summary Questions

  1. Who created The Shining Path? Abimael Guzman
  2. When was Guzman captured? 1992
  3. Under what ideology was The Shining Path formed? Marxism
  4. When was The Shining Path created? 1970s

Works Cited

Martel, F. (2015, August 6). Peru: Long-diminished Shining Path terror group may now have up to 350 members. Retrieved from breitbart.com

Post, C. (2016, April 12). Shining Path ambush kills 10 on eve of Peru’s election. Retrieved from perureports.com

(2006, November 28). A Brief History of the Shining Path. Retrieved from enperublog.com

(2008, May 6). The Rise and Fall of Shining Path. Retrieved from coha.org

(2015, August 6). Peru admits Shining Path rebels have not been ‘exterminated’. Retrieved from bbc.com

(2017, February 28). Shining Path founder Guzman faces second life sentence in Peru. Retrieved from reuter.com

Shining Path. Retrieved from perureports.com