Latest News Peru and South America

Peru - February 15th, 2008
Peru negotiates free trade deal with Australia

A Red Cross psychosocial support program helps children recover from the aftermath of the Peru Earthquake
By Jessica Fallas Hidalgo, Psychosocial Support Delegate, American Red Cross
“Doctor, doctor, are you a psychologist?”
I looked up to find the face of a concerned woman with a young boy by her side.  The woman explained that since the earthquake struck six months ago, her son appeared nervous and afraid, was having problems in school and no longer wanted to talk.
I gently inched closer to make contact with him, but his frightened expression restrained my first attempt. “What is his name?” I asked his mother. She replied, “Juan” (name changed for confidentiality).   
Taking a stuffed animal out of my bag, I return my attention to the little boy. “Hi Juan, I want to introduce you to my friend who came to play with the children of Perú.”
Still looking fearful, but with eyes filled with curiosity, Juan looked at the doll. Little by little, Juan allowed “Paco the Hippopotamus” to get closer to him, until with a slightly trembling hand, he took Paco and hugged him.

Red Cross Response to Earthquake in Peru
While earthquakes last only minutes, the emotional impact on individuals endures much longer. More than 655,000 people were affected by the August 15, 2007 earthquake that struck off the coast of Peru.  Within days, the American Red Cross responded with life-saving emergency assistance.
Six months later, the American Red Cross continues to assist survivors by helping people get back on their feet and regain normalcy in their lives.
In total, the American Red Cross has designated nearly $2 million for immediate response and early recovery following the massive quake.  Working in partnership with the Peruvian Red Cross, the American Red Cross is helping provide transitional shelter, psychosocial support and health and hygiene education to five target communities including Chincha, where Juan and his mother live. 
The psychosocial support program is designed to engage people in community-based activities such as games, singing, dancing and arts and crafts.  These activities help reestablish important community and social networks that are often stressed or broken during a disaster.
Emotional Support to Help Children Recover
While I stood with his mother, Juan stayed nearby playing with Paco.  Suddenly, a voice spoke out. “My house fell down.”  
In one moment, the boy who didn’t want to talk slowly continued to describe how his house trembled, how a wall tumbled towards him and how he had to run to protect himself.
“I ran to see if my mom and little brother were alive,” he explained.
Thanks to early recovery programs like psychosocial support as well as the generosity of donors and the efforts of the American Red Cross and the Peruvian Red Cross, Juan and his family will get the support they need to rebuild their lives. 
As I turned to leave, Juan thanked me and asked, “Are you going to come back?”

After having been evaluated by Peru's Ministry of Education last year, 115,000 teachers were approved to receive 457 soles each from the government for the purchase of a laptop. This grant is to be combined with a $450 loan they will be provided by the Banco de la Nación.
Manuel Cok Aparcana, head of the Education Ministry's Computer Science Office, told La Republica daily that the cheapest laptop costs 1,599 soles and teachers will be allowed to pay 28-sol installments for 36 months.
"We are aware that the money the government has granted is not enough for a machine, that is why the loan the Banco de la Nación is providing is indispensable", explained Cok.
According to President Garcia and the Minster of Education, José Antonio Chang, the purpose of the "21st Century Teacher: One laptop per teacher" program is to contribute to the professional development of the people that dedicate themselves to public-school teaching.
"There is no doubt that the use of a computer in educational work serves to increase learning and teaching potential", affirmed Peru's Education Minster.
Wilson Baca Altamirano, vice president of SUTEP, a teacher's union, stated that technology was important but that it did not determine the level of teaching.
He stated that while SUTEP was not against the program, it considered it unfair that 200 thousand teachers would not receive the grant because they did not go to the evaluations.
The government should also set up virtual libraries, said Altamirano, stating that computers were useless without an internet connection.

In 2008, the development of rural community tourism in Cusco will be boosted to help excluded areas take full advantage of this activity, announced today the Regional Director of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Jean Paul Benavente.
“We will focus on rural community tourism, also known as alternative tourism, to make those areas benefit from tourism growth”, he told Andina news agency.
He pointed out that this initiative is to be developed in the river valley of Vilcanota, in the province of Canchis, The Sacred Valley of the Incas, Santa Teresa, Vilcabamba, Quillabamba, Ocongate, and others.
Benavente added that the aim is to enhance and diversify tourism in Cusco, where visitors can enjoy its main attractions such as the fortress of Sacsayhuamán and the citadel of Machu Picchu (one of the seven new wonders of the world) as well as other sites.
Benavente also explained that efforts would be focused on the promotion of this province, aiming to place the name of “Cusco-Machu Picchu” in the world. The number of visitors to the city of Cusco has risen this year to one million tourists, a 20 percent increase when compared to the number of visitors in 2006.
The city of Cusco is 1,650 kilometers southeast of Lima, and is known as the Archeological Capital of the Americas.

Peru - Dec 24, 2007
Christie’s International Auction House to Sell Paintings from Peru

Machu Picchu was in the top ranking throughout the New 7 Wonders contest until it finally won a place as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
Now that voting has begun for the New Seven Wonders of Nature, the Amazon River - a nomination shared by Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela - is currently ranked number one in a list of almost two hundred natural wonders around the world.
Some two hundred nominations have already been submitted to the New7Wonders Foundation, the group organizing the New 7 Wonders of Nature campaign.
The foundation has reported that nominations can be submitted for the campaign until December 31, 2008. A panel of experts will then create a list of 21 candidates from which voters worldwide will elect the 7 wonders of nature.
The selected 21 candidates will be announced January 2009.
New7wonders.com gives the following description for the Amazon River:
The South American Amazon is the largest river in the world by volume, with a total flow greater than the top ten rivers worldwide combined. It accounts for approximately one-fifth of the total world river flow and has the biggest drainage basin on the planet. Not a single bridge crosses the Amazon.

Other nominations in Peru included:

Peru - Dec 18, 2007
$2 Billion Could be Invested in Ethanol Production in Peru

$2 billion could be invested in the production of ethanol in Peru in 2008, stated the president of the Peruvian Association of Sugar and Biofuel Producers (APPAB, for its Spanish acronym), Pablo Bustamante.
"The sugar industry will meet the country's demand by next year and therefore, thanks to ethanol, it is expected to double, triple or increase five times the size of this powerful industry, especially in the northern provinces in terms of social impact”, Bustamante said.
He added that there is a strong demand for ethanol production in the international market, and although Peru does not produce this fuel yet, his association has requested to include ethanol in the Agrarian Promotion Law, in order to have the same regulation as sugar production.
Thus, only a 15 percent tax would be paid on ethanol, otherwise it would present a higher risk to sugar companies that have other important investments, stated Bustamante.
"The sugar industry is still recovering from the past years’ disaster and there are many aspects to improve, there is a lot to do, I think this decision is quite simple and we can’t wait to see results”, he said.
Bustamante pointed out that there are several companies interested in investing in this sector like Maple from the United States, and several other national companies.
“Thanks to the ethanol industry we can promote new agrarian exports amounting to $1 billion a year”, he concluded.

Peru - Dec 13, 2007
Third Tallest Waterfall in the World Discovered in Peru

What was believed to be the third tallest waterfall in the world has been replaced by a new discovery. According to a study done by Peru's National Geographic Institute (ING), the third tallest waterfall in the world is in Peru's Amazon in the district of Cuispes.
Studies done by Peru's ING revealed that Yumbilla waterfall is 895.4 meters (2,937 feet) high and higher than Gocta waterfall, which is 771 meters (2,529 feet) high and located in Chachapoyas, said Peru's Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Mercedes Aráoz.
Yumbilla waterfall is the third tallest waterfall in the world and the highest in Peru's Amazon if we consider that Gocta is 771 meters high, said a press release. The waterfall has four large drops.
Gocta waterfall, in the northern area of Chachapoyas, was discovered on March 9, 2006 by Stefan Ziemendorff, a German citizen working on a project with the Potable Amazon Water Company (Emusap).
According to Peru's RPP news, before the discovery of Yumbilla, the only waterfalls known to be higher than Gocta were El Salto del Ángel in Venezuela and Tugela Falls in South Africa.
A 2-day tour is being organized by Peru's Ministry of Tourism so that tourists can view Yumbilla, Gocta and Chinata waterfalls.
The World Waterfall Database reports that Yumbilla is actually the world's fifth tallest waterfall and that Tres Hermanas in Ayacucho is the world's third.

Peru - Dec 13, 2007
Manpower Inc. Reveals Peru has Highest Hiring Prospects in the World

Peru - Dec 12, 2007
New Fiber-Optic Network to Reduce Telecommunication Prices in Peru

It is estimated that telecommunication prices will be reduced by twenty to thirty percent now that a new fiber-optic network has been set up by the Colombian company Internexa, reported Peru's Expreso daily.
The daily said the new Colombian company is to compete with Telefonica del Peru, which up until recently had the only fiber-optic network in the country.
The new network will provide telephone and internet connections as well as other such services.
"Our intention is to tell telecommunications operators, whether it's Claro, Telefonica or Nextel, to use our equipment to reach more areas on Peru's northern coast", said Martin Elera, an engineer for Internexa.
He also explained that a $16 million investment had been made to set up the 1,200 kilometer (745 mile) network, which ran from Lima to Ecuador.
The new fiber-optic network joins the cities of Lima, Chimbote, Huarmey, Trujillo, Chiclayo, Piura and Tumbes. The company plans to expand in more of Peru's regions such as Lima, Arequipa, Tacna and Cusco.

(LIP-ir) -- Cusco, Peru continues to attract Hollywood stars. On this occasion, Woody Harrelson and Owen Wilson arrived to the famous Inca city not only to enjoy its beauty and majesty but also to visit a children's shelter they founded together.
Upon their arrival to Cusco Wednesday afternoon, they headed towards the Paucarpita shelter located in Calca, approximately an hour from the Imperial City. Harrelson and Wilson stayed at the shelter with the 40 children living there for several hours.
The shelter, which used to be the home of writer Clorinda Matto de Turner, is the home to dozens of children that are homeless in the Calca area. The two Hollywood stars fund the program, reported Peru's RPP News.
Although the stars were seen doing good deeds while in Cusco, it was also reported that they lost their cool with reporters Wednesday evening, attacking one and holding another against his will.
Nilo Romero, a cameraman for entertainment program Magaly TeVe was held by Owen Wilson in his room while a cameraman for Channel 5 was attacked by the two actors, reported Peru's La Republica daily. Those attacked have filed police reports against Woody Harrelson and Owen Wilson.
In a report written for La Republica daily, Flor Huilca writes that the two Hollywood actors stopped several times to request help from Peru's police, asking them to keep people from following them. When the two stars were approached at a store, they were visibly irritated and once again requested police assistance, writes Huilca.

Quito - Ecuador, Nov 22:
World Cup Football: Ecuador trumps Peru 5-1

Peru, Nov 21:
National Geographic Lists Salkantay trip as one of the 25 Best in the World

Peru is in the spotlight again as National Geographic Adventure Magazine named the Salkantay-Machu Picchu route one of the world’s 25 best trips. After recently being chosen as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, Machu Picchu is again gaining worldwide attention, since it’s the major destination on this route. The article called the trip innovative, action-filled and guaranteed to change your life.

Camino Salkantay is a little known route compared to the Inka Trail. It has approximately 30 visitors per day as opposed to the Inka Trail’s nearly five hundred in the high season. The trail is described as the “savvy traveler’s alternative to the Inka Trail” in the magazine. It boasts jungles, glaciers and high Andean peaks all in one trip.

La Paz - Bolivia, Nov 21:
Bolivia, Cuba Boost Trade Links

As a move to share benefits derived from tourism with the local population, Cusco’s Tourist Ticket Office has started a campaign called “Valorando nuestro patrimonio cultural” (Valuing our cultural patrimony).  It will be bringing two hundred Peruvians to Sacsayhuaman, the ruins located above Cusco, every week, free of charge.

Fermin Diaz, the organization’s director, says that the ticket office collected more than one million soles so far this year with the Tourist ticket, which is a five percent gain over the previous year. 

The Mayor of Machu Picchu, Edgar Miranda, has stated that the artifacts that were excavated from Machu Picchu and sent to Yale University at the beginning of the twentieth century, will be included in a new museum to be built in Cusco. In September of this year, Yale already agreed to return the huge collection of artifacts, which include ceramic, metal, stone, and bone pieces. There were over 4,000 pieces taken from the site between 1912 and 1915 on the excavations led by Hiram Bingham lll.

Santiago - Chile, Nov 19 Chile:
Oxfam supports population affected by earthquake in Northern Chile