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Friday, February 27, 2004

Strike in the Sky: Reuters reports on a strike by Aero Continente, Peru's largest airline. "The stoppage, organized by the company's staff including pilots and cabin crews, caused chaos at Lima's Jorge Chavez airport, where thousands of disgruntled passengers had shown up for flights that had been canceled." Quotes come from Aero Continente President Lupe Zevallos, representatives of Lan Chile/Peru, and disgruntled passanger Luis Espichan. An updated Reuters piece includes quotes from Lan Peru's Managing Director Vlamir Damic who "denied his company had obtained flight authorization irregularly" and then offered planes to help stranded Aero Continente passengers. Reuters offers photos of the scene at the Arequipa airport, the Piura aiport as well as photos of the Lima airport.

Transportation Strike, Over?: The Associated Press offers a few photos of the standstill in the transportation strike. (See "Transportation Strike in yesterday's Peruvia.) The Miami Herald reports this morning that the "inter-province bus companies [have] ended a strike after three days when the government agreed to reduce fuel taxes," eventually by 20%. Quoted is Joaquin Ormeno, owner of Expreso Internacional Ormeno SA and Luis Marcos, a spokesman for the association for the bus owners. At first glance, only the official government newspaper, El Peruano, is leading with this story.

The 3rd Strike: Reuters offers photos of Peruvian HIV/AIDS sufferers who "lie on the pavement outside the Justice Palace Lima, during a protest to demand more help to fight the disease."

AFF, cont: China's People Daily catches up with the efforts to extradite AFujimori from Japan. Special Prosecutor Luis Vargas Valdivia gets a quote and Baltasar Garzon presence in Lima is noted. The Agence France Press relates that Peru believed "any politically based refusal by Japan to extradite former president Alberto Fujimori to face charges of human rights violations was 'unacceptable.' " The quotes are mainly from Ambassador Martha Chavarri.

Doe Run: The Associated Press relates that Doe Run Peru has admitted that "lead poisoning of children by the facility's emissions was a serious problem." The Peruvian government has set a 2006 deadline for the cleanup in La Oroya but Doe Run Peru's President, Bruce Neil, declared that they "would not be able to significantly reduce the contamination until 2011" and sought an extension. Doe Run subsequently offered a press release (in .pdf format) suggesting that "local Leaders in Peru express support for [this] Doe Run Peru Initiative." The press release is based in large part to "a report published Thursday in the newspaper Correo, from Huancayo" which quotes support for the company from Clemente Quincho Panez, the mayor of the Yauli district in La Oroya. See "Doe Run's Solution" in February 18's Peruvia.

Macro/Micro Econ:
- BNAmericas reports on the "scheme for further private sector involvement in the Port of Callao" which will not be available until September at the earliest, according to the Ministry of Transport and Communications Silvio de Vega. Under consideration: a feasibility study for a new container terminal at Callao, in conjunction with the 2025 development master plan.
- Dow Jones reports that "Peru's past-due bank loans rose slightly in January from the previous month due to an increase in overdue loans," according to the Peruvian Banking Association, ASBANC.
- the Economist reviews the attempts to change the laws regulating the taxi industry.
- Bharatt Textile reports that Peruvian trade officials are in China debating textile policies between the countries.

AToledo the Athlete: Reuters has photos of AToledo "kick[ing] a soccer ball as children look on" to peg with the upcoming story on his promise to "invest $5 million in improving the soccer fields in the stadiums where the upcoming Copa America tournament will be held next July." The Associated Press shows the president in full action.

People:
- the Associated Press offers a photograph of a "Peruvian-Belgian United Nations officer stationed in Haiti, Pablo Isla, who saw his wife Ana and son leaving the UN compound in Port-au-Prince.
- Harvard University's Gazette reports on Hernando de Soto delivery of the 2004 Albert H. Gordon Lecture on Political Economy and his frequent stories about passports and apples. You can see the video of it here.
- the Associated Press notes Guatemalan singer Ricardo Arjona in concert in Lima's Monumental Stadium with a photo.

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