Peruvia

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FLASH: The latest Associated Press piece declares that AToledo will stick with Carlos Ferrero Costa as Prime Minister in his new cabinet.

Toledo and Sympathizers: The Associated Press follows the cabinet shuffle and reviews AToledos' meetings with union leaders and state governors on Friday. Note: "Protests [are] planned [next month] by Peru's largest union confederation and the governors of 13 of the nation's 25 state-like regions." The story declares that El Peruano says that "Prime Minister Carlos Ferrero presented Toledo with a list of 34 candidates for the 16-member Cabinet." No consultations were held with Alan Garcia nor Lourdes Flores who were blamed by Javier Perez de Cuellar for "playing into the hands" of Fujimori. (See AFF below; see AG and LF dance together here). A slightly earlier Associated Press piece (both AP articles were written by Drew Benson) includes a quote from John Maisto, U.S. ambassador to the OAS: "We are confident that the [OAS] resolution ... will help the [Peru] find a way out of its current, complex political situation." In addition to support from the OAS (see the video of Eduardo Ferrero Costa's OAS comments from Thursday as well as the OAS resolution supporting Peru) and Jacques Chirac, Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi joins the mix. The Agenzia Giornalistica Italia, (Italy's government's news agency) offered this: "Berlusconi - according to a statement - is following the situation in Peru with great interest along with other leaders of the International community in admiration for the steps president Toledo is taking to improve democracy in his country."
The Associated Press and Reuters accompanies this story-line with photos, including this one from the Accion Popular team.
ALSO: The USA State Department offered a press release which "congratulates the Governments of Peru, Brazil, and Colombia on the February 11 signing of an agreement to cooperate in combating narco-trafficking and other transnational crimes on the rivers that border the three countries." Also included: "the hemisphere's scourges." (See "Borders" in Thursday's Peruvia below.)

Toledo and Detractors:
Political: Agence France Press reports that AFujimori is calling for early elections. "New general elections must be called to elect not only a new president but also a new congress as soon as possible," according to RPP Radio. AFP also obliges with a photo. Japan's Kyodo News, meanwhile, reports on an official Peruvian delegation arriving in Japan next Wednesday for AFujimori extradiction talks. "The delegation, headed by Martha Chavarri Dupuy, vice foreign minister in charge of Asian affairs, will discuss the issue with Japanese officials from the foreign and justice ministries."
Economic: Dow Jones reports that all this "political noise may threaten investments" according to the general manager of the American Chamber of Commerce in Peru, Aldo Defilippi. Others cited in the article include: Trade & Tourism Minister Alfredo Ferrero, and CONFIEPs' Leopoldo Scheelje.

Molotov in Lima: The Associated Press offers several photos of 'Molotov's' performance in Lima, including Randy Ebrigth, Tito Fuentes, and Miguel Huido. Just for good measure, Reuters also offers a picture.

Macro/Micro Econ:
- BNAmericas and Canadian Press on Barrick net income up 4%.
- Reuters on "Telefonica 2003 net 21.9 mln soles."

Valentines Day: Several paisanos in love including those in Boston and California. Also: the Toronto Star headlines this: "Enjoying beef heart on a stick takes raw courage; Peruvian fare a standard meal."

Ruinous Rain: The Associated Press reports from Chanchamayo on the heavy rains which "has not only flooded Tulumayo River, but also Nueva Vista and Playa Hermosa."

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FLASH: The OAS's Permanent Council met yesterday "to hear a presentation by Peru's Permanent Representative Ambassador Eduardo Ferrero Costa, and consider a resolution on the efforts of the Peruvian Government to strengthen the democratic process there." (Ferrero Costa has been named Ambassador to Washington.)

Toledo - Nat'l & Int'l Reactions: An updated Associated Press includes "talk that Congress may declare the presidency vacant and Peru's ambassador to Washington told an emergency session of the Organization of American States on Thursday the situation was 'a serious threat to democratic stability.' " (See the original story here.) The article places AToledo's "worst political crisis" in the context of international support for the president. The Organization of American States expressed their "support for Toledo" (see this OAS press release), and French President Jacques Chirac. Also: a new DATUM poll shows "45 percent of those asked believed that Toledo should step down and that new elections should be held." (Datum numbers are not yet online; see earlier CPI poll.) The story ends with a nostalgic note over BMerino. (See yesterday's Peruvia below for BMerino at the World Bank.)
In an opinion piece, the Washington Post's columnist, Marcela Sanchez, suggests that North Americans should take some of the blame for AToledo's troubles. After some Latin American generalizations, she calls the OAS to be Auditor-in General for Peru.

No Deal: Latinamerica Press reports on the dissolution between Manhattan Minerals and the community of Tambogrande. "Manhattan failed to prove that it has capital of US$100 million nor could it show that it had the capacity to process 10,000 tonnes of ore a day nor could it show it had a partner that could provide the required investment."

Lots of Coke: Tuesday's Miami Herald reports that a Peruvian court has "thrown out a drug trafficking retrial involving the founder of Peru's Aero Continente airlines, Fernando Zevallos, on a technicality and plans to open another one in March." The trial's main feature is a "3.3-ton shipment of cocaine headed to Mexico in 1995." (On Jan. 13, : the Associated Press reported that Zevallos was "Banned From [Entering] the USA."

Perú Negro: The Miami Herald welcomes Perú Negro for Saturday's show and includes quotes from José Marcos Rodríguez, cultural affairs attache at Perú's Miami consulate, and Javier León, an ethnomusicologist at Tulane University. It credits Juan Velasco Alvarado for financial help and Juan Morillo, a Los Angeles-based Peruvian promoter, for help with foreign tours. The Washington Post reviews Peru Negro's new album, Jolgorio, in anticipation of their Washington DC concert next week. (For the WashPost, Peruvia readers can log-in as peruvia@peruvia.com with peruvia as the password.)

JDF: The New York Times reviews the Metropolitan Opera's performace of Rossini's 'L'Italiana in Algeri' which begins tonight. Lindoro is played by Juan Diego Flórez, "the Peruvian who has few rivals for the title of today's best light lyric tenor." The article includes performance photographs and audio clips from Flórez' 'Rossini Arias' compact disc. The article also includes a conversation with the Peruvian tenor and states that "it's clear he knows how to work for his success: his knowledge about singing is impressive." It also gives a preview of upcoming roles for Flórez.

MPicchu in Colorado: Denver's The Rocky Mountain News and Daily Camera review "'Machu Picchu: Unveiling the Mystery of the Incas" at the city's Museum of Nature & Science." Separately, the News lists a dozen other related activites to the exhibit, including a lecture by Marita Landaveri Porturas, Consul General del Peru in Denver. The Denver Post profiles curator Lucy Salazar and includes a video of the exhibit.
(See also Museums and Mining Co., in Peruvia yesterday, below.)

Glued Peruvian? The Toronto Star reports that "a Peruvian man reportedly tried to avoid going to jail by supergluing himself to his girlfriend."

Nazca and Trash: CNN re-publishes this Associated Press piece by Drew Benson on "Tourists, grave robbers, tractor trailers leaving their mark." (See, for example, "Trash and Tourists in Nazca" in Peruvia, February 1 with background links.) Today's CNN version, however, accompanies the article with nice photos.
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Toledo Told To Step Aside: The Associated Press reports on an El Comercio editorial urging Toledo "to cede power and assume a figurehead role if he wants to salvage his presidency." (See the front page editorial in yesterday's El Comercio.) The article interviews El Comercio's political editor Juan Paredes Castro who explains that "Toledo has lost his ability to govern" and is "facing a constitutional ultimatum." The New York Times' version (written by Juan Forrero in Colombia) includes El Comercio's editorial, and suggests that Carlos Ferrero's future as Prime Minister was "unclear." It repeats the APRA point from yesterday and adds a Rolando Breña Pantoja quote: "A new republic has to be built." Also named: Raul Diez Canseco, "his young girlfriend," and Beatriz Merino.
ALSO: The Associated Press offers a photo of newspaper kioskos in Lima - - but doesn't show El Comercio. Reuters offers photos of disgruntled Pais Posible party members showing their feelings. The Associated Press offers a Toledo/Olivera photo.

Coca Rises: Reuters runs a piece on the Confederación Nacional de Productores Agropecuarios de las Cuencas Cocaleras del Perú (CONPACCP) who warn they will take "radical measures" against AToledo's DEVIDA program "after giving it one last chance to draft a credible plan for eradicating illegal coca." This reprises the coca farmer's marches from a year ago including demands for freedom for their jailed leader, Nelson Palomino." Quoted in the article are CONPACCP's Nancy Obregon Peralta and Elsa Malpartida Jara and their announcement of their three-day convention in Lima starting February 18.

Borders: The BBC and Reuters report on a new joint effort between Peru, Brazil, and Colombia to combat arms and drug smuggling across their shared borders. The BBC states that the agreement was "signed by the three countries' defence ministers on a boat" in Tabatinga. Reuters names the boat: Patrol Vessel Pedro Teixera. The Associated Press shows all the security in Tabatinga for the participants, Roberto Chiabra Leon (Peru), Jose Viegas Filho (Brasil), and Jorge Alberto Uribe Echavarria (Colombia). Not included in either article is the change to allow Peruvians and Brazilians to enter each others countries without passports.

Museums and Mining Co.: The Denver Post relates that the exhibit, "Machu Picchu: Unveiling the Mystery of the Incas," opens tomorrow at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, and "showcases the power of a place with no written history to maintain its mystery." However, Denver's Westword focuses on the exhibit's $25,000 sponsor, Newmont Mining. After recalling the 300 pounds of mercury spilled at Yanacocha three years ago, the essay gets quotes like: "It's like a slap in the face." Says a Newmont representative: "We're one of the largest taxpayers in Peru." The article also quotes Marita Landaveri-Porturas, the consul general of Peru in Denver who collaborated on the exhibit. The piece calls (positive) attention to "Colorful Cuadros: Stitching Stories of Peruvian Life" at Denver's Museo de las Américas "which features textiles created by Peruvian women who have been displaced from their homes because of terrorism."

For Valentine's Day, cont: California's North County Times (near San Diego) does a full profile of Mariella Balbi and her Guanni Chocolates enterprise. (See an earlier story in "For Valentines Day" in February 10 below.) The article details where she sells her wares and offers the names for the bonbons: 'Loreto,' 'Capuli,' 'Cuzco,' and 'Cocoroco.' Best of all, the article provides the web page for Guanni Chocolates.

Macro/Micro Econ:
- The Financial Times reports that Peru "has fallen off the list of investible emerging equity markets” at Calpers, the California Public Employees' Retirement System, although it may offer Peru "a one-year cure period, in which to improve their standing in order to avoid exclusion from the portfolio." (See Calper's February Report.)
- Canada's Vancouver Sun reports on the 'No Dirty Gold' campaign "targeting the gold industry for its mining practices and alleged implication in human rights violations" by Earthworks and Oxfam America. Among the campaign targets are Tambogrande and Yanacocha.
- Reuters reports that the USA is "eagerly" purchasing Peru's clothing and textile exports which have “surged 28 percent in 2003.” Among the named USA buyers are Van Heusen and DKNY. The source of this change: the Andean Trade Preferences and Drug Eradication Act.

People:
- The Boston Globe reports that Roman Catholic Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley is in Peru "where he is attending a meeting of the Missionary Society of St. James the Apostle, an association of priests who volunteer to work in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru."
- A widely dipsersed Knight Ridder story (ostensibly from the Orlando Sentinel) includes this puzzling line: "[A]s if the Olympics never were touched by commercialism before Michael Jordan dunked on that poor Peruvian."
- The Korea Times quotes Peru's Ambassador to Seoul, Jorge Bayona Medina, on the "Dream Program's" winter athletics. "Three girls, three boys and a coach will attend the event from Peru, where trekking is the most popular winter sport."
- Reuters and the Associated Press say that Spain is ready for the "friendly soccer international against Peru in Barcelona on February 18."
- The University of Colorado, Boulder writes up a profile of paisana Jessica Kaplan and her nonprofit EMPOCO, "that currently helps women in Peru ... including a sexual education program."

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Cabinet Definitions: Reuters reports that the Toledo government's "junior coalition parter," the Frente Moralizador Independiente, is withdrawing from the Toledo cabinet and, presumably, from further cabinet consideration. (It currently runs two Ministries). While the party's leader Fernando Olivera made the change after conferring with the president, the Toledo government "has been under opposition pressure to ditch the FIM as he strives to muster cross-party approval for a new Cabinet he hopes to unveil next week." The article includes ultimatums for Toledo, quotes from Fernando Rospigliosi and Alvaro Rojas, and states that APRA "has flatly refused so far even to discuss candidates for a new cabinet, saying the government has not yet distanced itself from corruption." Olivera gets to keep his job and title in Madrid.
ALSO: The Financial Times declares that Toledo "considers cabinet shake-up" in their report from Santiago. The piece suggests another ministerial resignation (at the Ministry of Labor) and includes quotes on AGarcia and AFujimori. The print New York Times offers a paragraph (by Juan Forero in the 'America's Briefing' column) focused on APRA declaring "it would not take part in a new cabinet." The Voice of America (using AP and Reuters text and photo) headlines "Peru's President Reshuffles Cabinet" but inside only reports that "Mr. Toledo is expected to unveil the new cabinet next week."

Bank Definitions: The Washington Post's diplomatic reporter writes up that Beatriz Merino "will join the World Bank as a tax specialist, serving as a consultant to countries needing advice on tax issues." Who provides the news? None other than a World Bank Senior Vice-President .... Roberto Dañino. After reporting on the Peruvian civilians, the story relates that Eduardo Ferrero has been appointed (but not yet accredited) as the new Peruvian Ambassador to the USA. Somehow, the story repeats this questionable line: "Before coming to office, Toledo also worked at the World Bank."

UFO in Peru? Russia's Pravda headlines this: "UFO rams the Andes." The piece explores whether a meteorite was the "bright object" that shook southern Peru on February 2. "Witnesses claim they heard major explosion and noticed smoke," but the University of San Agustin's Armando Antonio Salinas Sánchez (at the Geophysical Institute) suggests there was no earthquake. But not to worry: "A team of scientists has been sent to the place of the mysterious crash. (In Spanish, Reuters and 24 HORAS confirm the story.)

Micro Econ: Just-Style reports on "textile and apparel exports up 21%" in 2003 and suggests that the "positive result was primarily due to an increase in exports to the United States under the Andean Trade Preference Act."

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Medical Research - Peru & USA: The USA Navy Newstand reports on the Lima-based US Naval Medical Research Center Detachment, or NMRCD, and their new, long-distance, clinical research training program offered by the USA National Institutes of Health. "This is the first time NMRCD is using videoconference capacities for training. ... Current participants are from the laboratory, the Peruvian Navy and Ministry of Health, and local universities." Included as a participant is Dr. Sixto Sanchez Calderon, head of Epidemiology at Hospital Nacional 2 de Mayo. "Lima has been home to NMRCD for more than 20 years. The detachment's principle field site is remotely located in Iquitos, on the Amazon River. The primary mission of NMRCD is to identify and assess infectious disease threats of military relevance in the Southern Joint Command Region."

More Pachacutec: The Associated Press offers more photos of how the economy is affecting individual lives in the shantytown of Pachacutec. (See 'AToledo: Still Unpopular' in yesterday's Peruvia below.)

For Valentines Day, cont.: California's San Diego Union Tribune has a nice Valentine's Day piece (for the opposite, see yesterday's Valentine's report below) on Mariella Balbi and her Pisco and Guanni chocolates, which she makes for a restaurant in Rancho Peñasquitos. "Her Criollo pieces are filled with elements of Manjar Blanco." A bit of her history is included: "Balbi sells her chocolates from $1.50 for individual pieces to $25 for 16-piece gift boxes. But before living out her dream as a chocolatier, she was, just a few years ago, cleaning homes in North County."


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