Adjusting to Lima

The sky is not always grey… hard to believe in Lima at this time of year. I’ve been here a week and the fog has been constant. It’s hard to imagine months on end of this whiteness…

Going from sunshine to fog is not the only thing that takes some getting used to in the journey from Quito to Lima. If inequality is striking in Quito, in Lima it is overwhelming. The shiny wealthy districts of Lima and the ‘pueblos jovenes’ are like different worlds. The ‘young towns’ are the areas on the outskirts which for decades have been established by a flood of migrants (fleeing terrorism or rural poverty) who squat the land and set up rudimentary shelters. Then, if they manage to stay, begin turning them into new neighbourhoods and with streets, brick houses and eventually water and electricity. Parts of Miraflores (rich neighbourhood in the centre) feel like Milan or some other wealthy European city.

It really hit me one lunch time when I was sitting in Miraflores in a trendy wholefood organic vegetarian restaurant which wouldn’t be out of place in London, eating a US$ 7 lunch and sitting under a ludicrous patio heater, whilst reading statistics saying that over half the population in the country is classified as poor (living on less than $2 a day). Only 15% of the economically active population have adequate employment according to the UN…etc.

Politically things also seem pretty grey here. In Ecuador there is a lot of political optimism at the moment. The new left wing President Rafael Correa still has high opinion poll rating and is living up to some of his manifesto promises. NGOs and social movements are working to prepare candidates and proposals for a new assembly which is to rewrite the countries constitution. And there is some hope that it could change things for the better

In Peru on the other hand, the president Alan Garcia’s popularity has plummeted. For the last 4 months protests have overtaken the country. The economy is booming but the wealth is not trickling down to the people who need it and many seem to feel that the president’s priorities lie with the demands of foreign mining companies, the armed forces, the USA, and the market rather than the poor.

The government is pushing ahead with measures which favour extractive industries and foreign companies at the expense of local communities and NGOS also fear that he is trying to restrict the power of civil society and clamp down on opposition. For example a new law requires NGOS to register with a body which has the power to shut down those which are not working towards ‘the goals of the government’. NGOs say this violates the constitution including in respect of the right to freedom of expression and association. There is also a new and frightening amendment to the Penal Code which gives the armed forces and national police impunity from criminal prosecution if they cause injury and death in the performance of their duties.

Lets hope that the sky is not always grey…