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Published: August 15th 2006
Mandy and I first came into Peru on a colorfully panited and smelling bus from Bolivia. Puno was the first city we were stopping at, and the place we were going to use as a base to explore a few islands in Lake Titikaka. This place immediately began to form our imppression of Peru. There was amazing things to see here, but we needed to be much more careful as travelers.
With little effort we figured out that there was a very heated presidential race going on, with the final elections occuring just three days after we were to leave. Everywhere there were fences and buildings painted with campaign slogans and candidates names. People were more than willing to give their opinion about the candidates, and we weren't shy about asking for it either. Everybody from cab dirvers, cafe workers, and our new missionary friends laid out their fears and concerns about the two candidates. During our time there I also read many stories about Peru's politics over the internet. However, I think my deepest impressions came from the countless people who gave us thier opinions, and the mind numbing campaign reteoric that was constantly being broadcast or printed.
Cusco
Cusco is a wealthy city with beautiful churches and colonial houses. Unfortunately, it is surrounded by many communities trying to eek out a living from the land. Also, many of the people previously living in the country have flocked to cities like Cusco to try to make money in the tourist industry.Sometimes the catchy slogans still run through my brain even weeks later.
We soon discovered that we had to work well as a team and have a definite plan in mind while we were traveling in Peru. We were left with little time to think or ask the other's opinion while being bombarded by everybody touting hotels, taxis, and tours at the same time. We also found out fairly quickly that many dealings weren't the most honest. This need of a heightened awareness encompassed all areas of our lives while we were in Peru. There was the typical price hiking for tourist that is common in less developed countries. Unfortunately, on top of that, we found that many people didn't really mean what they said, everything had to be in writing, and then the wording had to be read over carefully. As far as the price hiking goes, it isn't healthy for the economy to pay a much higher price than something is worth because it leads to inflation and hardship on those that aren't envolved in the tourist industry (In a sense, if you are not a savvy traveler, you could be damaging a part of the culture
Olllanta screaming
A good depiction of Ollanta's tough-guy style. that you are traveling to see). The honestly issue was a little bit harder for us to take, and I'm left with little choice but to view it as a lack of ethics that I optimistically hoped was limited to Peru's tourist industry.
The epitome of how far some of the people go with tourists came when a little girl approached Mandy and I at a cafe and asked us to buy her an icecream. We looked at each other confusingly, sometimes Mandy and I do this to buy time to think things over, then we noticed her well-fed appearance, descent clothes, glasses, and two nicely dressed ladies standing somewhat behind her. Mandy can read pretty much any kid like a book so she came out with the questions over this request. Soon, the little girl told us that those ladies were her aunts, and they told her to ask us if we could buy her the icecream she wanted. It took a while for the gravity of this situation to sink in. We were pretty dumbfounded that not only were there plenty of poor and hungry people asking for help, there were also many others that needed no
Olllanta showing his patriotism
This multi-colored flag represents the farming communities. This symbol is used both in Peru and Bolivia. help who were eager to take advantage wherever they could.
At first thought, these dealings with Peruvians over everday normal traveling needs might not seem to be politically relevant. However, when one of the two candidates in the upcoming presidential election is advocating a socialistic redistribution of wealth, I am left with major doubts at how this would benefit society (I'm talking about the whole buy a man a fish or teach a man how to fish argument here). These dealings also left me with a somewhat pessimistic outlook at the political future of the country. If everyday transactions came with such a struggle for fairness and honesty, how could those in power, with no one above them, be expected to operate without corruption. I had to keep telling myself that I was only dealing with a small percentage of the population, with the rest being more genuine and honest.
As with much of South America, Peru was on the verge of some major political changes. We happened to be there during the eve of a very important presidential election (what presidential election isn't important?). Pressure was coming from all sides. The U.S was pushing trade agreements, which
A Pisco Family
This family came out to see what all the campaign hype was about, but seemed more interested in having their picture taken than anything else. could benefit many sectors of the economy. Other countries were pressuring for a more socialist reform, which included state take-over of key economic areas and promises of help for much of the people who live in poverty. The two candidaets in this election were a part of a much larger power struggle. Would Peru follow the leftward trend toward socialist reform in Latin America, or would the perceived benefits of capitalism and ecomonic ties with the U.S. win out?
After a previous runoff election, there were two candidates left. One candidate was Alan Garcia who referred to himself as "Alan Peru" (very catchy to make it sound like your last name is Peru), and the other Ollanta Humas. Alan was previously the president of Peru back in the late 80's and early 90's, but after his term was up he fled the country to avoid being tried on corruption charges. Their statute of limitations was up in 2000, which was when he returned to Peru and to politics. After returning to Peru, and before running for president in these elections, Alan had been a congressman for a major district there. He would also be concidered as a left-wing candidate
Jesus is Watching
Just one of the many large scale Jesuses that overlook cities in Latin America. by our US political standards.
Ollanta, the other candidate in the election, had not previously been in politics, but had been an army general, and was taking that experience to the political arena. He was so sure that he was the right man for the job that he allegedy said that even if he didn't win the election he would control Peru anyways. (this is a little bit scary coming from a person that led a failed coup attempt in 2000). During the time we were in Peru the polls showed the race being very close, but usually giving Ollanta at least a 5 % lead.
Politics were such a heated issue in Peru at the time we were there that it was easy to ask people's opinion of the two candidates. Even though there was that huge corruption question over Alan, many people that we talked to didn't seem to be that bothered. They might laugh about it and shrug their shoulders. It was easy to tell who they would cast their vote for with reactions like this. As for our new friends from JV ministries, they were adamant that Alan was the right man for the job (or at least the better man). In the past Alan had been very willing to give his support for the humanitarian efforts that JVM has been undertaking- on top of being extra willing to pose for photo opps. Ollanta, on the other hand, was discussed with fear and worry. They were quite worried that if he were elected their work would be much more difficult or would have to cease altogether. They conveyed that Ollanta wouldn't want foreigners having such a large influemce on Peru's population. Instead, they thought there was a good chance that he would kick them all out of the country. We also learned that most of his campaign was financed by Chavez, who contributed so much money that there was about five times more adds for him than Alan. I can't say that Chavez's motives were all bad, but I think that his desire to build an anti-U.S. coalition is driving his political moves, not his concern for the Peruvian people. From other people we heard stories about military autrocities that happened under the militant leadership of Ollanta, on top of the more fickle things like his mother making statements that all gays should be killed - etc. etc.
One night Mandy and I inadverently saw Ollanta at a campaign rally. I haven't been to very many political events in my life, but what we saw on this Saturday night, about two weeks before the election in a town called Pisco, was nothing short of riveting. There were the usual campaign slogans. Someone would yell "Ollanta!", and the crowd was suppose to yell back "Futuro!"(you non-spanish speaers could even probably figure this out). The jingles played over the loudspeakers were especially catchy. It wasn't until later that we learned about Chavez's funding, then the well-done cheezyness made sense. There was alo the regular empty and vague promises of better education and healthcare for all people. This leaves a person wondering how these good things would ever be paid for. However, what left the biggest impresion on me was the phanitical style in which the whole rally was conducted. The speakers, including Ollanta himself, would scream at the top of their lnugs until thier voices were hoarse and sweat was pouring off of them, and then continue on screaming. To me, this seemed more like a cheap TV evangelist than a presidential candidate. Also, the crowd didn't seem to be echoing his enthusiam. Apparently Pisco wasn't where most of his constituents were.
This election seemed to be the epitome of having to choose the lesser of two evils (at least the outcome of this contest would mostly just effect Peruvians). Because of this, I felt guilty actually choosing a side, but I did. I just thought that "Alan Peru" would screw up the country less than "Ollanta Futuro". Even his campaign slogan was, "for responsible change". With that said, who were all of the people that were giving their support to Ollanta? Were they the people that wanted free handouts and to benefit from a redistribution of wealth? Possibly. But more importantly, these were the poeple that the previous "democratic" system had miserably failed. Peru's economy has steadly grown over the last decade, but a majority of the population hadn't seen any improvement of their very poor standard of living. Peru would be a good example of how false the trickle-down economic theory really is. Economic opportunity and upward mobility doesn't trickle down much. Instead, it's dry as a bone by the time it gets down to the masses. While much of the country is still in poverty, parts of Lima, Peru's capital, could be plopped into any nice metropolitan area of the U.S. (except you can't drink the water).
Life has continued to be very difficult for many Peruvians. As a result, the people of Peru are willing to take chances, and a candidate that is unconventional and promissing to change the status quo could sound pretty good. After all, they don't have that much to loose. Part of me would want to see if someone like Ollanta could make any positive change. Unfortunately, if he were to be elected, it could be the last election for a long time. Ollanta's model leader is the military dictator that took control of the country during the 70's. So, merely fulfilling my curiosity would not be a worthwhile risk. More importantly, people often become further repressed when leaders try to impose their ambitious socialist ldeals. There's no doubt that Peru's economy would suffer greatly if Ollanta were to be elected, and all of his campaign promises would take plenty of money. Power also quickly goes to people's heads, especially those who already seem to enjoy it a little to much, and creating their legacy can soon take on a greater role than helping the masses out of poverty.
Three days after we left Peru, the elections were held. We were in Spain at the time, but eagerly looked for news about the results. Much to our surprise Alan had won, and Ollanta had actually conceeded the election to him without acusations or threats of a takeover. With muted happiness we read through the stories. I was impressed that the people of Peru didn't take the candidate that promised so much with such little effort. However, now that Peru was saved from a potential dictator, where did that leave them. Would the economy continue to grow while still excluding the masses from a better life? Hopefully not. Instead, I hope that the closeness of this election serves as a wake-up call to those who hold the political and economic power in Peru. If they want to continue to run and do business in this country they better enact policies and practices that include all of the people. In previous decades, only guerilla groups were active against oppressive regimes, and the main populations had no political voice. Now, many of these countries are democracies and the people have learned that they have a political voice through their votes. So, if Alan's next term doesn't prove to benefit the people in a much greater way, Ollanta or somebody like him will almost certainly come into power.
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Frances
non-member comment
difficult decisions
Talk about being between a rock and a hard place! I know many South American countries have terrible governments. It really makes you realize that as bad as ours sometimes is, it is still almost a miracle. If only we could learn that Jesus is not a statue over some hill, that He wants to be the role model for our everyday lives. What a difference that would make in the world! Bless our hearts no wonder we need a Savior.