Global IssuesPERU: Humala Promises Boom Will Reach Poor
The new president of Peru, retired lieutenant colonel Ollanta Humala, promised to make the fight against poverty and marginalisation the top priority of his administration. But his inaugural address was short on specifics, according to activists and analysts.
To the surprise of the rightwing opposition and other critics who expected him to announce nationalist or populist measures, Humala only spoke in his swearing-in ceremony Thursday about taking steps to make sure that Peru's economic boom reaches the poor, especially in the country's Andean highland and Amazon jungle regions.
'I will dedicate all my energies to laying the foundation for wiping out, once and for all, the painful face of exclusion and poverty, to build a Peru for everyone, and my constant focus will be on the most fragile of our brothers and sisters,' said Humala, who is described by analysts as centre-left or leftwing.
'Democracy in Peru will be complete…when equality is the patrimony of all and social exclusion has vanished, even in the most remote corners of the country. We want the phrase itself, 'social exclusion', to be wiped out forever from our language and our reality. I will assume that challenge with my words and my life,' he said in his inaugural speech.
Peru's poverty rate was reduced from 48 to 34 percent between 2005 — Humala's predecessor, Alan García, took office in 2006 — and 2009, and to 31 percent in 2010, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INEI).
But experts say the reduction of poverty by just three percentage points between 2009 and 2010 contrasts with the high rate of GDP growth, of 8.8 percent in 2010. They also note that poverty levels remain high in 14 of the 25 regions in this country of 28 million people.
The poverty rate is well above the national average in highlands areas like Huancavelica (66 percent), Apurimac (63 percent), Huánuco (58.5 percent) and Puno (56 percent). In other words, little to no progress was made in fighting poverty and extreme poverty in historically impoverished areas in the Andean and Amazon regions.
Humala, who staged a failed coup 11 years ago against imprisoned former president Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000), added that poverty is a form of discrimination, which explains the escalation of social protests around the country over the last few years.
'The disproportionate increase in social conflicts, many of which are absurdly violent, show us day after day that we must urgently address the injustices, correct our course and renew dialogue in our society,' he said.
According to the Ombudsperson's Office, June was a particularly conflict-ridden month, with 217 protests and strikes, half of which ended in violence. Of that total, 118 involved social and environmental issues, and took place in Peru's poorest regions.
Marco Arana, a Catholic priest who heads the GRUFIDES grassroots human rights and environmental movement, said that while Humala mentioned the problem of poverty, he failed to outline concrete measures to be taken to combat the phenomenon.
'The failure to say what policies would be followed with respect to the socio-environmental conflicts was a big lapse, since it is an extremely serious problem left by García,' he told IPS. 'Another gap in the president's speech involves the question of prior consultation with indigenous communities with respect to the use of their territory,' added Arana, whose movement is an Oxfam partner.
'It is worrisome that he did not mention it, because a number of the conflicts were caused precisely by the fact that projects are carried out behind the backs of indigenous communities,' he said. By law, native peoples must be consulted in advance on any development or industrial initiative that directly affects their territory, such as mining, logging and oil industry projects in Amazon jungle regions inhabited mainly by indigenous people.
© Inter Press Service (2011) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service