Peru
By Larry Habegger | Permalink |
No Comments | May 30th, 2001 | Trackback
President Alberto Fujimori, reelected less than four months ago in an election marred by fraud, announced Sept. 16 that he would schedule new elections within six months and would not run, essentially resigning from office. The announcement shocked the nation and was prompted by the release of a video showing the head of Peru’s intelligence agency, a close Fujimori ally, bribing an opposition congressman to support the president in the election. The coming months will be a political scramble as the country comes to grips with Fujimori’s decision and a fresh campaign for the presidency. All access roads and the single railway line to Machu Picchu were blocked Sept. 13 by demonstrators protesting government neglect in the region. The protests, which paralyzed the area for several days, started a few days after a historic Inca sundial was damaged in a shoot for a beer commercial.
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Peru
By Larry Habegger | Permalink |
No Comments | May 30th, 2001 | Trackback
When a private plane was shot down in Peru’s Amazon basin April 20 killing an American missionary and her 7-month-old daughter, it was the first reported mistake by the Peruvian air force in its efforts to stop drug flights in the area. But it has had a chilling effect on local pilots, who worry that the air force is operating with impunity, and fear for their own safety. Air charter companies in Iquitos have dropped from about 70 in 1995 to only four now, flying to remote jungle locations in small planes. If traveling in the area, consider going by boat rather than charter aircraft. Regularly scheduled passenger flights in and out of Iquitos are not a target of the air force’s drug interdiction efforts.
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Peru
By Larry Habegger | Permalink |
No Comments | May 30th, 2001 | Trackback
A runoff presidential election is scheduled for June 3 with the new president’s inauguration July 28. Political rallies will be spirited and may cause disruption in Lima and elsewhere. Demonstrations during the campaign have been generally peaceful, but they always have the potential for violence.
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