Peru Epilogue

Peru Today[]

Constitution[]

The current constitution of Peru was enacted on December 31st, 1993. It was replacing the 1978 constitution and is currently the fifth one in the history of Peru. The major difference between the 1993 and the 1978 constitution, is that the newer constitution grants more power to the President. Today Alan Garcia is the President and was elected in 2006. The President's popularity is going down because people are voicing their concerns about finding good jobs, personal security, and persistent scandals involving questionable government purchasing practices. The President also has the power to dissolve Congress when they censure two cabinet members, and is then allowed to rule by his own decree. Congress is unicameral, containing 120 members, elected for 5 year terms. The constitution of 1933 declared Peru a republic with a centeralized government, this concept is also continued into today.

Government[]

The leader of Peru is a president, officially titled as the President of the Republic. Who, much like the American President is the chief of state and represents Peru in foreign affairs and demonstrates a free-trade agreement with the U.S. After a dismal term from 1985-1990 the president, Alan Garcia, was reelected into office in June of 2006. Since which he has helped improve poverty levels, "39.3% of Peruvians were “poor”, including 13.7% “extremely poor” in 2007."[1]

However one problem he has faced is that with an inflation of prices in 2008. These caused a quick drop in public support; however, his ratings are recovering.

Alan-garcia — Current day Peruvian president: Alan Garcia Perez

[2]Current Goverment Positions:

President--Alan GARCÍA Pérez
First Vice President--Luis GIAMPIETRI Rojas
Second Vice President--Lourdes MENDOZA del Solar
President of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister)--Yehude SIMON Munaro
Foreign Affairs Minister--José GARCÍA BELAÚNDE Antonio
Minister of Defense--Antero FLORES Aráoz
Minister of Economy and Finance--Luis CARRANZA Ugarte
Minister of Interior--Mercedes CABANILLAS Bustamante
Minister of Justice--Rosario FERNANDEZ Figueroa
Minister of Education--José Antonio CHANG Escobedo
Minister of Health--Oscar URGARTE Ubillus
Minister of Agriculture--Carlos LEYTON Muñoz
Minister of Labor--Jorge VILLASANTE Araníbar
Minister of Trade and Tourism--Mercedes ARAOZ Fernández
Minister of Energy and Mines--Pedro SANCHEZ Gamarra
Minister of Transportation and Communications--Verónica ZAVALA Lombardi
Minister of Production--Elena CONTERNO Martinelli
Minister of Housing--Enrique Javier CORNEJO Ramírez
Minister of Women--Carmen VILDOSO Chirinos
Minister of Environment--Antonio BRACK Egg
Ambassador to the United States--Luis VALDIVIESO Montano
Permanent Representative to the United Nations--Gonzalo GUTIERREZ Reinel
Ambassador to the Organization of American States--María Zavala

Economy[]

Another problem in Peru today is the economy. There are many people in poverty and without jobs. However, this isue is being resolved, causing the numbers of impoverished people to go down. As of 2008, inflation rates were at about 6%, due to increasing food and oil prices worldwide. Furthermore, it remains one of the lowest percents in Latin America. Currently their economy can make life difficult on the people; however, it slowly continues to get bettert. Recent economic expansion can be linked with construction, exports, and private investments.

Social Statistics[]

Peru vs US pop — Peru vs. US Population Graph CultureGrams WorldEdition

Peru vs. US Infant Mortality Rate Graph CultreGrams WorldEdition

These graphs compare Peru to the U.S. These rates are lower in all regards, discluding their high population. A possible factor affecting this would be due to the fact that the US has significantly larger land mass than Peru. In addition, although Peru produces large amounts of precious minerals in foreign trade, immigration and birth rates typically grow much higher. Looking at the literacy rate and the life expectancy, Peru isn't lagging very far behind the U.S. This demonstrates that Peru's poverty rank may not be as low due to the fact that the Peruvian government can afford to educate their country. The major concern is their infant mortality rate. Reviewing the graph, it is clearly much higher than the United States'. The question that should be investigated is why Peru's life expectancy rate is very similar to the U.S.'s even though their overall poplation numbers are far less. Therefore, although pediatric care may not be as refined in Peru as it is in the United States, healthcare and other respects must be well organized and specialized to the needs of Peruvian adults suffering from sickness. Overall, the only thing that the revolution did to affect these levels is the time period of when it occurred. If the revolution had occurred earlier, these rates may have been higher due to a greater amout of time to improve them. However, it may be time for these results to change for the better. At this point, Peru seems to be in an a generally stable state. [[3]]

Demographics[4][]

Nationality: Peruvian.
Ethnic groups: Indigenous (45%), mixed background ("mestizo") (37%), European (15%), African, Japanese, Chinese, and other (3%).
Population (2008): 28.7 million. Approximately 30% of the population lives in the Lima/Callao metropolitan area.
Annual population growth rate (2007): 1.6%.
Religions: Roman Catholic (81%), other (10%).
Languages: Spanish is the principal language. Quechua, Aymara and other indigenous languages also have official status.
Health: Infant mortality rate (2006)--29.96/1,000. Life expectancy (2007)--68.33 years male; 72.04 years female.
Unemployment in Lima (2008): 8.4%; underemployment (2008): 49.7%.

Current Events[]

Spies Arrested

Over the past few years there have been tensions between Chile and Peru. These tensions reached a high as two Chilean military officers were arrested and accused of being spies. They were suspected of bribing a Peruvian officer for national secrets. However, Chilean foreign minister denies Chile's involvment in this espionage. The Peruvian officer was arrested and charged with spying as he had been working in the Peruvian embassy in 2003. [5]

Peru Battles Through Drug Trade [6]

Currently in Peru, the government is having a difficult time dealing with the production and trafficking of cocaine. Originally, Colombia was Latin America's number one producer of cocaine. However, with recent help from Bogota, Colombia has stepped down and put Peru into the number one position. Government officials are worried because some politicians have already turned to cocaine to help find answers to money problems. One Congress advisor was discovered of 140 kilos of cocaine in this past week, causing another worry that the drug traffickers have been "financing politicians, who in turn return favors." Another worry is that, money laundering and violence have been a result of the drug trafficking.