The widespread dissatisfaction with conservative politicians in indigenous and farming communities swept Ollanta Humala – a left-leaning nationalist - to the presidency in July. Now his supporters are waiting for Humala to begin the promised social revolution, but in many parts of the country, patience is wearing thin.
Carla works nights at a beeper answering service. At 29, like most of Peru’s young people, she doesn’t earn enough money to move out of her mother’s home in a lower-income neighborhood of Lima, the capital city. Without post-secondary training, she has few prospects of finding a good job in the future and her boyfriend can’t find work, but Carla says life could be much worse – she could be struggling to feed, clothe, and raise a child.
When she was just 19 and pregnant, Carla’s mother took her to a doctor who was a friend of the family and known in the community as "safe."
"Everyone has the right to take part in the government of their country, directly or through freely chosen representatives … the will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be universal and equal suffrage."
-Article 21, Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Shouts of "democracy" and "the dictatorship is going to fall" rose from the throng of 2000-some students, workers, and professionals gathered in front of Peru’s Congress. Inside, legislators rancorously debated a proposed referendum on President Alberto Fujimori’s bid to run for a third term before the resolution was defeated by his Change 90-New Majority party, which dominates the House of Representatives. When the results were finally announced, the crowd surged in collective anger and frustration at the corruption of their country’s democratic institutions. More than 200 riot police responded with violence to disperse the crowd.
Copyright Toward Freedom 2019