tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413493203849579481.post7618793021035760734..comments2023-10-23T18:27:06.378+01:00Comments on PoliticalBetting - Channel 2: “A choice between having cancer and AIDS” : Mario Vargas LlosaMike Smithsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961547389548912471noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413493203849579481.post-26999783459228324832011-04-17T09:08:12.798+01:002011-04-17T09:08:12.798+01:00Thank you. That was very interesting I knew little...Thank you. That was very interesting I knew little about Peru and its politics and now I have a handle on the background to the elections.tawnynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413493203849579481.post-32605293277029054232011-04-17T06:29:28.342+01:002011-04-17T06:29:28.342+01:00An example of how crazy things are in Peru right n...An example of how crazy things are in Peru right now:<br /><br />http://willax.tv/seguridad/bandera-roja-en-miraflores/<br /><br />An English history teacher gets arrested for a red flag...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413493203849579481.post-50996988777773049112011-04-16T15:51:59.441+01:002011-04-16T15:51:59.441+01:00Thank you both.
To answer your questions:
1. Tha...Thank you both.<br /><br />To answer your questions:<br /><br />1. That is the great unknown. <br /><br />Humala is one with many rumours most of which are clearly rubbish but believed - an example doing the rounds in elite circles today was he has proposed "the nationalisation of children" - I kid you not - that after the age of 3 all children will become state property. Thats clearly nonsense - but is believed.<br /><br />The concern with both is that they will break the constitution for their own ends. The constitution here is very fragile and it was only 10 of so years ago the daddy Fujimori put tanks in front of congress and dissolved both it and the constitution. I would expect both to push the limits but would be suppressed if they succeed. Both need to compromise in order to form a coalition and my guess is Humala with form an alliance with Toledo and act as a Lula character - though he will probably seek to change the constitution allowing him to run again in 2016.<br /><br />2 PPK was the only candidate with dual citizenship - he is a US citizen too - Toledo in the debates hammered him on this always referring to him as "Mister PPK" emphasising his difference. He is also white unlike the others. In a country as ethnically divided as Peru, where the rich "white" elite dominate - he was always a candidate who would not appeal beyond his class. A blinkered elite who could never see that. That shows how out of touch with ordinary Peruvians they had become - its why the centre lost.<br /><br />3. The Peruvian economy is booming - 10% last year - it has been one of the best places to invest for the last five years. The result though has been increasingly obvious income inequality - the rich have got much richer - areas like San Isidro and Miraflores and are almost first world now - yet life in the shanty towns has basically remained the same. The current government of Alan Garcia has done well with its poverty reduction programme and the provision of clean water. For most the growth has passed them by - and example - every winter in the Southern Andean regions of Peru many die of cold - not just a few but thousands. That reveals the inequality and is the shame of Peru - no coincidence it is also the area of Humala's strongest support.<br /><br />4. Most Peruvians regard the government and politics as something that is done to them rather than controlled by them - the results of hundreds of years of conquest by Inca's, Spanish, genocide and dictatorship. Plus the concept of "peruvian" is somewhat artificial - the different between Lima, Lima elites, desert folk, mountain people and the jungle tribes is immense. Each there fractures and looks to their own sectional group. It's a shame.<br /><br />I hope that helps and thank you for the interest.<br /><br />Any more questions please ask.Macchu Picchunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413493203849579481.post-25453600213586144862011-04-16T14:19:37.404+01:002011-04-16T14:19:37.404+01:00Very interesting article, Mr. Picchu.
What's ...Very interesting article, Mr. Picchu.<br /><br />What's the state of Peru? Is it, like Brazil, powering ahead economically, and how politically engaged are most Peruvians?Morris Dancernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6413493203849579481.post-76463054741040275632011-04-16T08:43:35.163+01:002011-04-16T08:43:35.163+01:00Really interesting piece, thanks! A serious and an...Really interesting piece, thanks! A serious and an unserious question:<br /><br />- What do you think Humala and Fujimori would be like if elected?<br /><br />- Why didn't the other candidates have the "genital" problem when campaigning?Nick Palmernoreply@blogger.com