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Friday, July 23, 2004

Peru is Melting: Reuters reports that "if climatic conditions remain as they are, all the glaciers (in Peru) below 18,000 feet will disappear by around 2015," according to Patricia Iturregui, president of Peru's National Environmental Council (CONAM). NOTE: Pastoruri in Huaraz "is one of 18 glacier-capped mountains in Peru suffering the effects of climate change." CITED: Mario Aguirre (head of the glacier study unit at INRENA). ALSO: "Peru is particularly vulnerable to climate change because some 70% its energy comes from hydroelectric plants, supplied mainly by meltwater from Andean glaciers."

Economics and Tourism: The Financial Times has several articles today. The first is on ecotourism as FT editor Richard Lapper goes to Puerto Maldonado and profiles Eduardo Nycander and his Rainforest Expeditions. The second article is a travel piece for Lima tourists and includes eating, shopping, Herman Melville, and Mario Vargas Llosa.

War of the Pacific, cont.: Knight Ridder and Pravda explains the geo-political context of how gas can be exported from Bolivia. ALSO: The Financial Times profiles Bolivian President Carlos Mesa.

Perez de Cuellar Resigns: The Miami Herald (registration: peruvia@peruvia.com/peruvia) (last item) and Agence France Press report that "former U.N. Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar resigned Thursday as Peru's ambassador to France ... for personal reasons," according to Minister of Foreign Relations Manuel Rodriguez.

Nuevo Contintente, cont.: The Associated Press and the Voice of America report that Nuevo Continente "resumed flights Friday, days after transferring company ownership from suspected drug traffickers on a U.S. government blacklist . NOTE: "Aero Continente announced on Wednesday that seven investors had bought the airline for about $3.5 million, and changed the airline's name to Nuevo Continente." ALSO: "U.S. Ambassador James Curtis Struble told reporters that the U.S. Treasury Department was reviewing whether the ownership transfer represented 'the total separation of the company from people known to be involved in drug trafficking'." See Also: 'Nuevo Continente' in yesterday's Peruvia.

USD280 Million to Peru: Bloomberg reports that "the Andean Development Corp., a regional multilateral bank, said it will lend $860 million to five Latin countries, its biggest loan in its history." NOTE: "Peru will receive a $280 million 12-year loan." The Miami Herald offers summaries on the Nuevo Continente airline, and on a "$280 million 12-year loan from the Andean Development Corp. to help the country finance its budget gap."

Protecting Nahua-Kugapakori: CorpWatch.org includes the financial shenanigans surrounding the Nahua-Kugapakori reserve in Peru, "quite possibly, the last place on earth one would want to place a pipeline" and "home to some 7,000 Nahua, Kirineri, Nanti, Machiguenga, and Yine indigenous peoples." "The reserve faces an even more permanent threat, the massive Camisea Natural Gas Project, a $1.6 billion project to pump oil and natural gas across the Andes to a newly-built gas terminal in Lima, constructed by Halliburton's Kellog, Brown & Root."

The Flying Condors: National Geographic reports on Andean condors in the Colca Canyon. According to Maurico de Romaña, an area hotelier and president of the conservation organization PRODENA-Arequipa, "In the area around the Condor Cross there is a well-known permanent group. On some occasions, when there is food, I have succeeded in observing 24 condors together." NOTE: "The species is listed by the World Conservation Union as 'vulnerable.' One of the world's largest flying birds, the condor soars on ten-foot (three-meter) wingspans and can weigh up to 33 pounds (15 kilograms)."

Nazca Lines Disappering: The Associated Press reports that "the first comprehensive aerial photos taken by Peru's government since 1973 of the Nazca Lines showed destruction that conservationists have long feared. Tire tracks and disregard for the site are irreparably scarring the mysterious lines and animal figures that a pre-Columbian civilization etched into a 56-kilometre stretch of Peru's southern desert centuries ago." ALSO: "Peru's ancient spiral-tailed monkey is losing its tail." CITED: Jesus Cabel Moscoso (National Institute of Culture in Ica)

MINING: Reuters reports that "miners bidding for Peru's world-class Las Bambas copper deposit will not have to pay two royalties to exploit the deposit after Congress on Thursday amended a controversial new law to exclude projects that already include such a payment." CITED: Jose Olivera (congressional adviser). Reuters also reports that "Southern Peru Copper Corp.'s second-quarter net was $121 million, five times the $22 million net it reported a year ago, is rising amid a spike in copper prices." A third Reuters story reports that "lower operating costs, rising production and booming gold and silver prices fueled a second-quarter earnings surge at Peru's biggest precious metals miner, Compania de Minas Buenaventura," according to the company. NOTE: "Buenaventura, which owns 43.65 percent of Latin America's largest gold mine, Yanacocha, reported a 141% rise in net income to $66.1 million in the April to June period, compared with the same period last year." SEE ALSO: The Numbers. Finally, Pan American Silver announced in a press release their "US$36.7 million cash offer, through the Peru Stock Exchange, to purchase the voting shares of Compania Minera Argentum S.A. which owns the Morococha silver mine.

IronMan Champion: New York's Press Republican reports that "triathlete Daniel de Montreuil Iturri has come from Lima, Peru, to participate in Sunday’s Lake Placid Ironman. He will participate with the support and encouragement of Children Come First, a non-profit corporation based in Arlington, Va., and Chorillas, Lima, Peru." NOTE: "De Montreuil is the seven-time Peruvian champion in the event. Humbly, he said the title is not as impressive as it sounds. 'The level of competition in Peru is not as tough.' "

Montoya Walks the USA: New Jersey's Princeton Packet tracks Julio Montoya's eastern shore trek. SEE ALSO: 'Montoya to Walk the USA' in July 12's Peruvia.

Flying To Peru? North Carolina's Fayettville Observer reports that the children Red Springs Presbyterian Church's Vacation Bible School program travelled to Peru without ever leaving their church.

Peruvian Forger: The Indianapolis Star reports on Ricardo Herrera, a Peruvian national living in the United States legally, who plead guilty to forgery and false use of passports earlier this year.

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Thursday, July 22, 2004

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UPDATED: Managing the Rainforest, Kuczynski to DC, Costly Congress

Managing the Rainforest: The Economist reports on the pressures of wealthier countries and their (citizens) interest in the fate of the world's rainforests. The magazine suggests that they "should put its money where its mouth is. Peru, for example, offers 'conservation concessions' to groups with the means and know-how to manage forest rich areas."

Mr Kuczynski Goes to Washington: Dow Jones reports that Minister of Economy and Finance Pedro-Pablo Kuczynski "is traveling to New York and Washington for meetings Thursday and Friday with officials." Kuczynski will meet with "officials of the International Monetary Fund, the Inter-American Development Bank and the U.S. Treasury Department."

Most Expensive Congress: Latinamerica Press reports that Peru's Congress "continues to be the most expensive legislature in the Andean region," according to the study "Citizen’s Eye in the Congress" of the Consortium Democratic Society (CONSODE). NOTE: "Although the 2004 budget of Peru’s Congress was reduced by 9%, ... the budget of the one-chamber Congress surpasses US$101 million and most of its spending is on salaries, purchases of goods and services and other non-recoverable costs. Only 1% was used last year for capital and investments to improve infrastructure and services."

Peru(vian) Beats Spain(ish): Reuters has several photographs of a goateed Luis Horna defeating Albert Costa 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, at the Generali Open in Kitzbuehel, Austria. SEE ALSO: 'Peru(vian) Defeats Colombia(n)' in yesterdays Peruvia. The BBC notes that Horna will meet Gaston Gaudio in the quarter finals.

FIFA Finale: Xinhua Net reports that Joseph Blatter, President of the International Soccer Federation, will be present during this Sunday's Copa America final match in Lima. NOTE: "Blatter will arrive Friday in Lima and pay an official visit to Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo in the afternoon."

More Electricity: Siemens Westinghouse announced in a press release that they "signed a contract with Etevensa to convert one combustion turbine from a simple cycle to a 1x1 combined cycle in order to provide more efficient electricity generation for Peru. ... The combined value of the contracts total more than $200m and completion of the combined cycle conversion project is scheduled for May 2006." NOTE: Their turbines "were recently modified in preparation for the conversion to natural gas operation, which will begin in August 2004 with the arrival of Camisea Gas to the site."

MINING I: Aguila American Resources announced in a press release that they have "the receipt of good title to the 900 hectare exploration claim as an integral part of its Angostura project in South Eastern Peru. This property, known as Angostrura II, was ruled by the Mine Registry office in Lima, Peru as having simultaneous staking with more than 6 legal claims filed for ownership. "

MINING II: Ventura Gold Corp. and International Minerals Corp. announced in a press release that they have "signed a letter agreement for Ventura to option IMC's 100% held Vetaspata gold project in southern Peru, approximately 160 kilometres northeast of Juliaca in the province of Puno. The project area comprises 12 mining concessions totalling approximately 41 square kilometres, which are held by IMC's 100% Peruvian subsidiary, Minera Oro Vega."
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(Earlier Edition)
Nuevo Continente? The Associated Press, the BBC and Reuters report on the rebirth of Aero Continente as Nuevo Continente. The AP and BBC uses only government sources, quoting Ministry of Transportation Jose Ortiz: "that the company has transferred 100% of its capital to the company's 1,500 managers, employees, flight crews and workers." Reuters uses only airline sources and says that "the airline has been sold to its staff and will resume flights on July 23 under the name Nuevo Continente," according to its new president Miguel Halabi who said "the deal to transfer ownership of Peru's biggest airline was worth 'a nominal 12 million soles ($3.5 million) ... obviously the company is worth much more'. Halabi said a new '100%' insurance deal was in place with British reinsurance company Houlder." NOTE: "A U.S. official in Lima, who asked not to be named, said the 'kingpin' act had provisions for targeted companies that sought to evade the sanctions. "I don't think it will affect it at all," he said. ALSO: An earlier Reuters story is pegged not on Miguel Halabi but airline spokesperson Gonzalo Iwasaki. The Miami Herald (last item) uses an abbreviated version of the AP story.

War of the Pacific, cont.: Dow Jones and the UPI report on Minister of Foreign Relations Manuel Rodriguez' press conference yesterday in which he declared that "Bolivia has expressed interest in signing a letter of intent that would make Peru the route for any of its natural gas exports." NOTE: "A route through Chile would be shorter, but public opinion in much of Bolivia has been strongly opposed to the Chilean route since Bolivia lost its coastline on the Pacific Ocean in a late 19th century war with Chile." However, "at the same press conference, Peruvian Energy and Mines Minister Jaime Quijandria said that it was still premature to discuss concrete measures that Peru and Bolivia could take." ALSO: The Miami Herald offers an opinion piece on Bolivia by Marifeli Pérez-Stable, a professor at Florida International University.

Mr Garcia Goes to Washington: An APRA-related press release and yesterday's Washington Times (see last item) note that Alan Garcia will give a press conference at the Washington DC Press Club at Noon today. (See the Club's calendar as well.) NOTE: "The main theme of the conference will concentrate on Peru's political situation and the treaty of free commerce between Peru and USA." ALSO: "President Garcia will stop in Washington DC on his way to attend the Democratic Party National Convention." SEE ALSO: 'Mr Garcia Goes to Washington' in yesterday's Peruvia.

Trans-Amazon Highway: Xinhua Net's reports that the Peruvian Foreign Ministry announced in a communique that the presidents of Peru, Bolivia and Brazil will hold a summit in August to advance the integration of common borders of the three countries ... and will also examine the project of the "Transversal Integration Highway", which connects southwestern Peru with Brazilian states of Acre and Rondonia." Note: As part of the summit agenda, a bridge over the River Acre between Peru and Bolivia will be inaugurated along with the projects linking the Peruvian locality of Itapari with Brazil's Assis as part of the inter-oceanic highway linking the Pacific with the Atlantic." Editorial Note: It is likely that they are referring to Iñapari and not Itapari. SEE ALSO: 'TransOceanic Highway' in April 4's Peruvia and this June 2003 National Geographic article.

Beer Wars, cont.: The United Press International offers a long piece with plenty of history on "the fallout from a bitter million-dollar battle between Peruvian beer interests and those of Colombian and even Venezuelan producers. NOTE: "There are literally hundreds of millions of dollars at stake. ... All of this began with the desires of the Colombian brewery Bavaria to enter into the Peruvian market in the same way that it has done in Ecuador and Panama." ALSO: "Backus & Johnston ended up with a near monopoly over the Peruvian beer market. Since 1996, it had bought up three other companies -- the National Beer Co., the Northern Brewery and the Beer Society of Trujillo. ... the three families that owned Backus & Johnston -- Brescia, Bentín, and Romero -- had made a private pact not to sell their shares in the company in order to avoid the entry of new capitalists into the business." SEE ALSO: 'Beer Wars' in July 13's Peruvia.

Autori Keeps Job: Reuters and Xinhua Net report that "Paulo Autuori will remain as Peru coach despite their disappointing quarter-finals exit from the Copa America," according to Manuel Burga, the head of Peru's football federation. "Autuori's tactic of fielding just one striker for the match was criticised by sports commentators." Said Burga, "We've got to carry on (with Autuori) because we've still got a long way to go and a difficult road ahead in the (2006 World Cup) qualifiers." NOTE: "Peru have not been to a World Cup finals since 1982."

It's Arg v. Bra: The Miami Herald (again written by the BBC's Hannah Hennessy), Reuters, Sporting Life, and a wire story in the Washington Post report that "Brazil reached the final of the Copa America for the first time since 1999, beating Uruguay, 5-3, on penalty kicks following a 1-1 tie last night in Lima." ALSO: The Associated Press reports that "angry Costa Rica players are arriving home in portions from the Copa America quarter-finals because their national federation made travel plans expecting them to fall in the first round."

Russian Beats Peruvian: Agence France Press notes that Russian Elena Likhotseva beat Peruvian qualifier Vilmarie Castellvi 6-3, 6-2 in a first-round clash WTA Tour hardcourt tournament at the Home Depot Center.

Cajamarca Mining: Reuters reports that the Shahuindo gold deposit in Cajamarmca, "one of several new projects springing up in the country's booming mining industry, has economically viable reserves of 340,000 fine ounces and could start production in 2005," according to ATIMMSA's general manager Belisario Esteves. NOTE: "But Lima-based ATIMMSA will first have to clear up an ownership dispute with miner Sulliden Shahuindo, a unit of Canada's Sulliden Exploration which also claims the land where the deposit is located in northeastern Peru."

Telefonica Pricing: The United Press International reports that Telefonica "will appeal an order forcing it to lower its landline rates 10.07% annually through 2007. The Supervising Body of Private Investment in Telecommunications, Osiptel, said Wednesday that landline telephone use charges must be reduced an average of 10.07% each year between 2004 and 2007." CITED: Juan Revilla, the general manager of Telefonica Peru. SEE ALSO: 'Yankee Says Telefonica Doesn't Charge Enough' in July 8's Peruvia.

Peruvian Food in Seattle: The Seattle Weekly runs a positive review for Raul Villalobos' new restaurant 'El Chalan.' CLAIM: Villalobos suggests that "friends and fellow Peruvians in Southern California opened what he says was the first Peruvian restaurant in America, and today those friends own 85 restaurants." SEE ALSO: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer review of the restaurant from January of this year.

Global Soda: The Miami Herald has a feature story on 'Tropical Pop' on soda/pop from other countries that quickly mentions 'Inca Kola' and you have to make it to the fifth of five slides to see an Inca displayed. SEE ALSO: 'Inca Kola: Still #1' in May 15's Peruvia.

Priest Killed: The Associated Press and the Miami Herald (second item) report on the murder of the Rev. Juan Julio Fernandez Suliduz, a Peruvian priest from Chiclayo, "who was assigned to a suburban parish [in Puerto Rico] and reportedly did charity work in poor communities. One 22-year-old suspect, a Dominican citizen, told detectives he killed the Fernandez after the Roman Catholic priest made unwanted sexual advances." The Associated Press offers a photograph of the priest and a photograph of the chapel where he served.

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Wednesday, July 21, 2004

UPDATED: More War, New Poll, Toledo’s Past, Pilgrims and Polleria

War of the Pacific, updated: A wire story reports that Minister of Energy and Mines Jaime Quijandri­a Salmon and Foreign Minister Manuel Rodri­guez Cuadros "will meet their Bolivian counterparts in 10 days to prepare ... for negotiations later this month in Bolivia over the use of Peruvian ports for the export of Bolivian gas." Meanwhile the Houston Chronicle offers the best summary so far of the impact of last Sunday's referendum in Bolivia, the internal and regional politics as well as the business calculations. "Until nine months ago, energy executives and government officials considered Chile the logical place from which to ship Bolivia's liquefied natural gas, or LNG.  … In a nationally televised interview Monday, Mesa conceded that exporting through Chile 'isn't viable.' He said Bolivia would pursue plans to build export facilities for LNG in Peru, with the intention to supply the Mexican and U.S. markets." CITED: Boris Yopo (University of Chile's International Studies Institute), Chilean President Ricardo Lagos, and Yvonne Sisler (PFC Energy).  The AFP offers a loose photograph of Minister Rodriguez Cuadros
 
Puzzled View of the War of the Pacific: Pittsburgh's Post-Gazette offers an opinion column by Dan Simpson (a former USA Ambassador to Zaire and now an editor at the paper) who thought "that even having to market the gas by pipeline through the territory of a hated neighbor is not too bitter a pill to swallow to get the money." ALSO: "A more alarming phenomenon, whose implications are regional, spanning Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Chile and Venezuela are indications that the old Indian-Spanish fissure in Latin America is becoming a more active factor in the internal and international politics of the region."

War of the Pacific, cont.: The Miami Herald's first item in their 'Latin Brief' column reports that "Bolivia is to sign an agreement to export natural gas through Peru ... Presidents Carlos Mesa of Bolivia and Alejandro Toledo of Peru are to sign the joint venture when they meet in early August." NOTE: Foreign Minister Juan Ignacio Siles said that "Bolivia has discarded any plans to export gas through a Chilean port. He said that Santiago was not willing to discuss giving landlocked Bolivia sovereignty over an outlet to the sea." ALSO: The last item in the same 'Latin Brief' column is a short note on Peru receiving United Nations' aid after the extreme cold in the south. (And the Agence France Press has a photograph of a family sludging through the snow in Puno.)

Poll on Toledo: Canada's Center for Public Opinion and Democracy reports on Apoyo's new poll in which "many Peruvians concur on the most productive policy put forth by Alejandro Toledo. NOTE: "40% of respondents in Lima say the government-initiated housing program ('Vivienda para Todos') is the most positive aspect of the president’s tenure."  The poll interviewed 604 Lima residents of Lima, on July 15 and 16 and has a margin of error of 4%. 

Mr Garcia Goes to Washington: Dow Jones reports that "Alan Garcia will make a swing though the U.S. this week and next, aiming to boost the image of his populist Apra party and help attract investments to Peru." On his itinerary are "bankers, politicians, journalists, and others in New York and Washington. He will also attend the Democratic party convention in Boston." NOTED: "A member of the 168-member Socialist International, Peru's Apra party suffered a political setback last week after supporting the poorly-attended general strike called by labor group CGTP." ALSO: "Garcia has said recently that he supports privatizations and a free trade deal with the U.S."  SEE ALSO: The APRA party web site.

Toledo's Stanford Past: The Palo Alto Weekly runs a long (gushy) profile of Stanford University Education Professor Martin Carnoy with a focus on his "ambitious young graduate student" Alejandro Toledo.  It was Carnoy who "accepted Toledo into the Stanford International Development Committee, a Ford Foundation-funded graduate-school program designed to groom future education leaders in Latin America." ALSO: "Carnoy visits [Peru] regularly to advise him on education policy.  ... Toledo "identified Carnoy as one of four persons 'who have been critical in my professional success in becoming president of Peru'." Editorial Note: The piece is written by the Miami Herald/Knight-Ridder's Tyler Bridges who has written a broadly similar piece in this 2002 cover story in 'Worldview.'  Bridges' relationship with Cecilia Tait Villacorta, a member of Congress with Toledo's Peru Posible party with whom he has a child (see first photograph in this article and the last item of this article), should have been made clear for this article. SEE ALSO: This 2001 story in the San Francisco Chronicle on Toledo's university years.

Macro/Micro Economics
- LAN at JFK: LAN Airlines announced in a press release that they have "moved their New York ticket office to JFK International Airport in order to provide easier access for its passengers. [It is] located in terminal 4, concourse A." An earlier press release announced free shuttle service between Paterson, New Jersey and JFK International Airport in New York City.
- Peruvian Insurance: BNAmericas reports that "the Peruvian banking and insurance regulator (Superintendencia de Banco y Seguros) is currently investigating unauthorized insurance policies issued by foreign companies," according to insurance regulator Armando Cáceres. NOTE: "An estimated US$50 million goes to insurance companies outside Perú, and although the figure is not official, it is the figure accepted by sector and remains troublingly high."
- Cheaper Gas: Reuters reports that "Peru cut fuel taxes on Tuesday to control rising gasoline prices and avoid higher inflation," according to the Minister of the Ecnomy and Finances Pedro-Pablo Kuczynski. NOTE: "In a decree published in the official gazette, the government said it had cut the selective consumer tax (ISC) on fuel by 2.2% to 2.24 soles ($0.65) a gallon."
- Lower Income: Reuters offers second quarter numbers for Banco Wiese.
- Camisea Booming:  Gestion reports that the Camisea consortium "already has seven clients (six industrial companies and the electric power generation plant Etevensa).  According to the natural gas distributor GNCL (Gas Natural de Lima y Callao), there are 90 companies very interested in the natural gas from Camisea" including Aceros Arequipa, Cementos Lima, Funsur and Exsa.

Peru & the Bahamas: The Bahamas Nassau Guardian reports on their Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell who was in Lima "promoting the city of Port of Spain, Trinidad's capital, as the headquarters for the Free Trade Agreement of The Americas Secretariat." NOTE: "Mr Mitchell said that the talks with Peru's foreign minister were fruitful and that Peru promised to keep an 'open mind.' ALSO: "Peru is supplying a 190-man force to keep the peace in Haiti and minister Mitchell was said to update the Peruvian foreign minister with information from the recent visit to Haiti by a team of CARICOM foreign ministers."
 
Peru & Korea: The Korea Times reports that "the Peruvian Embassy in South Korea and Seoul City will hold a free Peruvian folk music festival at the square located in front of Seoul City Hall from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Sunday. An Andean folklore group, dubbed Inca Empire, will perform a live folk music along with a mixture of Peruvian folk and Korean traditional music by the Korean National University of Arts team."

Cuzco and Madison Are Sisters: The Wisconsin State Journal reports that the Madison City [Common] Council approved making Cuzco, Peru a sister city. "Madison now has 11 sister cities and each citizen-run program shares a pot of about $10,000 a year to organize delegations and idea-sharing with the foreign city."  SEE ALSO: Madison's official resolution.

Pilgrims: The Associated Press through photographs offers the story of Guillermo Elias and Francisco Vilcherres who are carrying a large wooden cross across the desert on the Panamerican highway near Moquegua after vowing "to carry the cross 2500 km to the sanctuary of Our Captive Lord of Ayabaca in northern Peru."
 
New Polleria: Maryland's Community Times profiles Luis Osnayo (from Nazca) and "the opening of his new restaurant, Que Rico, in Reisterstown's Cherryvale Plaza shopping center." NOTE: Osnayo said "there are more than 50 [of his] extended family members, comprising five generations, living in Reisterstown."
 
SPORTS:
Argentina 3 - Colombia 0: Reuters has a piece on the Brazilian coach blasting the Copa organizers for scheduling a match for third place and for having it in Cuzco: "Here, not only do they play it but they go and hold it at more than 3,000 metres above sea level. It's absurd and it's insane." The Miami Herald has a piece written by BBC reporter Hannah Hennessy, the Los Angeles Times a column by Mike Penner, and Reuters a full story, all on the Argentina/Colombia match. The Guardian, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post each offer stories based on wire services. Most stories focus on rising star Carlos Tevez. The Miami Herald and Reuters also offer previews on tonights Brazil v. Uruguay match.  ALSO: Reuters on the leading scorers.

- The Barbados Advocate reports on the ongoing XIV Pan American Junior Badminton Championships in Lima. "Drawn in group B along with USA, Mexico and Puerto Rico, the Bajans played top seeds USA and lost 5-0."

- The Associated Press reports that Claudio Pizarro "will be sidelined until September by the skull fracture suffered at Copa America. The Peruvian forward was released from a Munich hospital on Wednesday following an operation.  The AP also offers photographs of newly-shorn Pizarro taking a photo of his injury.

- Peru(vian) Defeats Colombia(n): The Associated Press and the Voice of America note that Luis Horna defeated Alejandro Falla, Colombia, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) in the second round of the ATP Generali Open Kitzbuhel in Austria.  


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Tuesday, July 20, 2004

UPDATED: Free Trade, Coca Marchers, and Rainforest Pharmaceuticals
 
Free Trade with USA: Bloomberg and Dow Jones report on the free trade talks between the Peru and the USA.  Dow Jones uses the official Andina news agency and CPN radio while Bloomberg uses Gestion.  Both report that "the U.S. government is ready to eliminate 95% of its tariffs on Peruvian products in exchange for [Peru] dropping 80 percent of their duties," according to Pedro de la Flor, Peru's chief free trade negotiator.  ALSO: "There isn't any conflict between the United States and Peru in this respect." NOTE: "The various nations in the talks are aiming to conclude negotiations by February 2005."
 
Pais Posible Questioned: The Miami Herald (the penultimate item) reports that "credible evidence is mounting that President Alejandro Toledo registered his political party in the mid-1990s with faked signatures," according to state attorney Ivan Meini "after a second participant in the alleged forgeries came forward." These statements corroborated those "first made in March by Carmen Burga -- who abruptly retracted her allegations earlier this month, issued a videotaped apology to Toledo and hastily left the country." UPDATE: The original Associated Press story noted that the witness, self-identified as 'Patricia' appeared on the television program, Reporte Semanal, and "claimed she was one of 20 people hired by the president's sister, Margarita Toledo, to systematically forge names to register the Nation Possible party, which later changed its name to Peru Possible."
 
More Deaths in Cold, cont.: Reuters reports that freezing temperatures have "killed at least 38 children since the end of June as temperatures have plunged as low as minus 13 Fahrenheit (minus 25 C)," according the Minister of Foreign Relations Manuel Rodriguez Cuadros and U.N. coordinator in Peru Martin SantiagoNOTE: "The temperatures have been as much as five times lower than normal." ALSO: The Voice of America repeats the news that "several United Nations agencies have responded to Peru's call for international assistance in dealing with severe winter weather that has killed dozens of children."
 
Coca Marchers: NACLA's July/August issue has an article on 'Peru's Cocaleros on the March'  by economist Hugo Cabieses which suggests that "approximately 35,000 of Peru’s estimated 50,000 cocaleros are now CONPACCP members" though there the Apurímac Valley, led by dissident cocalera Marisela Guillén broke with CONPACCP." SEE ALSO: This 2003 interview with Cabieses in Narco News.
 
Indigenous Revolution: The Christian Science Monitor has a piece by Lucien Chauvin in Lima writing on Bolivia's referendum last Sunday but uses Ilave (among other examples) to suggest that "across South America, some of the region's 55 million indigenous people have been making noise lately - sometimes violently - fighting against abject poverty, inequality, and scant political representation." CITED: Tarcila Rivera Zea (a Peruvian indigenous leader and chair of the Fourth International Meeting of Indigenous Women) and Abel Chapay Miguel (Indigenous Parliament in Peru and Federación Campa-Ashaninka).  ALSO: "Even [Toledo's] creation of a National Commission of Andean, Amazonian, and Afro-Peruvian Peoples has failed to appease indigenous leaders." 

Copa Disappointments: FIFA reports that "there was no disguising the bitter sense of disappointment hanging over Lima on Monday as the city prepared to host the decisive stages of the 2004 Copa América without the national side’s participation." NOTE: "It seems that the controversy surrounding the coach and players has only just begun." CITED: Luis Solano (taxi-driver), Jorge (a worker at the Sheraton Hotel), and Nolberto Solano. ALSO: The stand-off between the press and the players: The reaction of the players to the story was unequivocal: 'We will no longer be talking to the local press. From here on we speak only to foreign journalists,' they said." 
 
CGTP Strike Reviewed: The World Socialist Web Site reports on the July 14 CGTP strike which "was meant as an ultimatum to President Alejandro Toledo to either change his government’s economic policies or resign." NOTE: "The Toledo administration disputes the impact of the strike, calling it a 'normal day.' However, the strike organizers indicated widespread support."   
 
Spidey at UNI: Reuters reports that "dozens of students wearing red "Spider-Man" masks have taken over buildings at the National Engineering University to demand the removal of the dean, whom they accuse of mishandling funds," according to RPP radio. NOTE: "The university has been taken over by 50 masked delinquents, who have broken doors," Dean Roberto Morales told RPP. ALSO: "With the Spider-Man craze sweeping Lima, the masks are on sale at roadsides and cinemas for about $3." The story gets into many newspapers including the New York Daily News.  

Manhattan Buys Papayo: Manhattan Minerals announced in a press release that they purchased "51% of the mining rights to the Papayo Concessions and 100% interest in the Lancones Concessions," which adjoin the Tambogrande Concessions.
 
Minera Aruntani Grows: Reuters reports that Peruvian miner Minera Aruntani "aims to begin operating a new deposit this month and initially hopes to process up to 15,000 tonnes of ore a day," acording to the mine's head of explorations, Dante Loayza. "Aruntani, an open-cast operation in Peru's southern Andes, expects to produce 200,000 ounces of gold this year as its Tucari mine starts up, lifting output above 120,000 ounces in 2003."
 
Ecuador Defeats Peru: The Associated Press reports that Ecuador’s Carlos Avellan defeated Juan Carlos Rebaza 6-2, 6-0 "to give his country a 4-1 victory over Peru in their in their Davis Cup Americas zone match. Earlier, Matias Silva had won the only point for Peru in the series with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 victory over Jhonny de Leon
  
LAN And Cintra: Reuters reports that LAN Airlines and Mexico's state-owned Grupo Cintra "formed a code-sharing alliance on Monday to expand each others' geographical reach," according to Lan Chile. "The Cintra Group controls Aeromexico and Mexicana de Aviacion while LAN, one of Latin America's biggest airlines, has operations in Chile, Peru and Ecuador."
 
Fostering Tourism: Travel Video Television News reports that the 4th Latin American Travel Trade Mart will be held on September 23 and 24 at Los Delfines Hotel, organized by Travel Update and sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Relations. NOTE: "The main objective is to gather the most important iberoamerican wholesalers of receptive tourism with national and international buyers so as to encourage the tourism growth in the region." ALSO: A Forum of Tourist Marketing, ForMaTur 2004, organized with the Faculty of Administration in Tourism of the University San Ignacio de Loyola.

Mining the Rainforest: Unigen Pharmaceuticals announced in a press release that they have "entered into a collaboration agreement for plant collection and product development with Inca Health, an agro-industrial company based in Lima." NOTE: "Unigen and Inca Health will work closely together with indigenous tribes to collect native plants from the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest and Andes Mountains that have a history of ethnomedicinal use in order to identify lead compounds for the development of pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, cosmeceutical and functional food products." CITED: Dr. Qi Jia (Unigen) and Adrian Poblete Espinosa (President of Inca Health).
 
Kim Il Sung Praised in Peru: The (North) Korean Central News Agency reports that, on the 10th anniversary of the demise of President Kim Il, "a lecture was given at the Communist Party of Peru Red Motherland by Jorge Jaime, international secretary of the Central Committee of the Peruvian party, who declared that "Kim Il Sung is the man who pioneered the Korean revolution with arms." 
 


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Monday, July 19, 2004

UPDATE: Congress' Candidates, COPA and Malecon Photos, & A Bit of Bawdiness

More Deaths in Cold, cont.: Several sources offer updates on the bitter cold in southern Peru. The United Nations reports that the Toledo government has "declared a State of Emergency in eight provinces." Separately, World Vision announced in a press release that "the most affected departments are Puno, Cusco, Ayacucho, Apurimac, Pasco and Tacna with temperatures reaching as low as -10C. According to the latest reports, 31 children have died from pneumonia." CITED: Jose Luis Ochoa (Emergency Relief Coordinator). Separately, South Carolina's WIS-TV reports that a local nonprofit, Homeworks, "held a benefit concert Sunday afternoon to help gear up for a trip to Peru where they'll distribute vitamins to a village. Arctic temperatures have swept across the country this week causing the Peruvian president to declare a state of emergency."

Congress President Election: Dow Jones reports that "elections for a new president and a new governing board of Congress will take place on July 26." President Henry Pease's one-year term is expeiring; Toledo's Peru Possible party has proposed former Prime Minister Luis Solari as its candidate; the opposition slate is led by Congressman Antero Flores-Araoz. NOTE: "Flores-Araoz, a member of the center-right National Unity alliance, is likely to receive support from the left-leaning Apra party." ALSO: "A poll by pollster Apoyo Opinion y Mercado, released Sunday in newspaper El Comercio, shows that 57% prefer Flores-Araoz, while 16% support Solari."

Toledo Responds to 1 Charge: The Associated Press focuses on President Toledo rejecting "accusations that he received bribes from a former presidential adviser who allegedly arranged a $2 million kickback to favor the sale" of Union de Cervecerias Backus & Johnston in 2002. This AP story runs in Beverage World; yesterday's Reuters story had Toledo responding to three charges, including this one.

'Manu mystery yellow bird?': Louisiana's Times-Picayune reports on the discovery last October of a new bird species found in the Manu National Park by Daniel Lane, a Research Associate at Louisiana State University." The bird is "yellow in color with a black stripe over its eye." NOTE: "I can't take the bird out of its home country, so I will be going back there to do some tests, discover the sex of the bird, get a sample of the DNA, measure various parts of it and pump the stomach to see what it has been eating," Lane said. As its discoverer, [Lane] gets to name the bird. He is leaning toward "Manu mystery yellow bird," but it will be more than a year or two, he said, before all the official work is completed, submitted and published in a scientific journal." CITED: Van Remsen, curator of the LSU Museum of Natural Science. ALSO: Don Stap's 'A Parrot Without A Name,' which chronicled LSU orinthologists John O'Neill and (the late) Ted Parker.

Cornucopia of Copa Photos: The Northern Report offers a coda to the Copa games at Mansiche Stadium in Trujillo and Elias Aguirre Stadium in Chiclayo with an array of photographs demonstrating the excitment of the games coming to town. (Be sure to click through each photograph as each has its own caption.) In addition, Reuters has a photograph of a Peruvian fan who rose to the occasion to watch the Paraguay/Uruguay match outside the Jorge Basadre Grohmann Stadium in Tacna.

COPA Wrapup: Reuters offers a wrap up of yesterdays Copa games as well as the leading scorers where Nolberto Solano is tied (with several others) for fourth. The Los Angeles Times, the Miami Herald, and the Washington Post all run summaries of yesterday's Copa games, using wire copy.

Malecon Ecoturistico in Puno, cont.: The Miami Herald (registration: peruvia@peruvia.com/peruvia) runs Drew Benson's Associated Press story from earlier this month and the AP offers a photo of the causeway.  SEE ALSO: 'Malecon Ecoturistico in Puno' in July 1's Peruvia which has links to items in the article. UPDATED PHOTOS: The Associated Press offers several photos to accompany the story of the "930-foot-long pedestrian causeway on Lake Titicaca." NOTE: "The tiny water plants growing like a green carpet on the water's surface - 'lemna gibba' or 'water lentils' - thrive on human sewage."

Going to Huacachina, cont.: Yesterday's Houston Chronicle re-publishes the June 13 story in the Los Angeles Times (registration: peruvia/peruvia) on sand-boarding in Ica but this on-line version is accompanied by photographs (one, two, three) and a list of travel helps. SEE ALSO: 'Going to Huacachina' in June 13's Peruvia. NOTE: The article was written by freelancer Ben Brazil, a student at Emory University's Candler School of Theology in Atlanta.

Tragedy in Canta: The Associated Press reports that "a crowded bus plunged off a 150-metre cliff in Tarahuanca ... between the towns of Canta and Lachaqui, some 85 kilometres from Lima. Witnesses said as many as 60 people were in the bus."

Buenaventura Call: Compañia de Minas Buenaventura announced their Second Quarter 2004 Conference Call for this Friday.

Bit of Bawdiness: The UK's Daily Mirror has a bit of fun at the expense of an up and coming Peruvian football club.

Alternative Inca Trail: The Guardian offers a travel piece that lets you avoid the state limitations on hiking the Inca Trail through "an alternative route to get travellers to the site 'through the back door' without such restrictions. ... Walkers arrive at the ancient city via the main gate at the back of the site, rather than the famous Sun Gate, so miss out on the classic first view of the ruin."

Large Empire? Kansas Dodge City Globe includes this: "There's a photo of them at Machu Picchu, the former Aztec hideaway perched high in the mountains of Peru."




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Sunday, July 18, 2004

UPDATED: Peruvian/Argentine Lose Together, More Flights/Asparagus, and Badminton 
  
Toledo Responds to 3 Charges: Reuters reports that President Toledo spoke to the nation in a television address preceding the Peru v. Argentina match and "rejected accusations that he and his government are corrupt and called on the judiciary to investigate any suspicion of dishonesty in office." Responding to three charges, the President stated, "I want to make it clear that as president I have not intervened in the financial operations [of the sale of Union de Cervecerias Backus & Johnston]; I categorically deny any fraud on the part of my party regarding the electoral law."  And he said that Eliane Karp would "open up her personal bank accounts to the public in the next few days in a gesture of transparency."

More Flights Arrive: Reuters reports that "airlines in Peru said on Sunday they would increase their domestic flights to aid thousands of passengers stranded after the government grounded" AeroContinente. NOTE:  "Conscious of the emergency situation in the airline industry in Peru: Aerocondor, Atsa, LanPeru, LC Busre, Magenta, Star Up, Taca Peru and Tans have united ... so that those who would use the suspended airline can reach their destinations," according to the companies in a joint press release. ALSO: Lan Peru and Taca Peru said "passengers with valid Aero Continente tickets bought before the July 12 suspension could fly with the two airlines with no extra charge, depending on availability of seats."

Peru 0, Argentina 1: The Associated Press, the BBC, Reuters, Skysports, and Xinhua Net report on yesterday's Peru/Argentina match and Reuters has the better story.  Peru was "dumped out of the tournament at the quarter-final stage on Saturday when Argentina beat them 1-0 with a brilliant Carlos Tevez free kick ... and silence[d] a partisan 25,000 crowd in Chiclayo." NOTE: "Paraguayan referee Carlos Amarilla, who always likes to let the game flow, overlooked a number of tackles which would have been judged fouls by most other referees. " ALSO: "Peru coach Paulo Autuori again skipped the media conference despite the possibility of adding to the $2,000 fine he has already received for doing the same after earlier games." Somehow, the AP's Vicente Panetta calls team spokesman Victor Zegarra, "the Peru coach."  The Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, the Washington Post all use wire copy to review yesterday's Copa games including the ignomious match.  Reuters offers the other scores and the tournament's leading scorers.   AP and Reuters offer plenty of P-H-O-T-O-G-R-A-P-H-S of the defeat including S-E-V-E-R-A-L photos of fans (including some frustrated ones), and one of Argentine Tevez in a Peruvian jersey. The AP offers two of the the worst photos of the entire Copa.
 
AGonzales - 'Difficult Man': The Guardian needles Alfredo Gonzales, "known as Fat Gonzales", president of the Universitario club. "Until six weeks ago the state-of-the-art, 80,000-capacity  [the club's Monumental Stadium] was due to stage Peru's Copa fixtures as well as at least one of this week's semi-finals and next weekend's final." After losing to Cienciano in Cuzco earlier this year in a game where several of his players were red-carded, "Gonzales refused to let Peru use his stadium unless the Cusco referee was punished and the bans reduced." His threats were unheeded.  ALSO: References to the tragic 1964 Peru/Argentina match where "300 fans were killed in riots caused by an unpopular decision."  SEE ALSO: 'La U for Sale?' in June 22's Peruvia.

Peru & Argentina Lose Together: The Associated Press   notes that Luis Horna and Jose Acasuso (Argentina) lost in the finals of the ATP Priority Telecom in the Netherlands.

Morning After Pill Makes Waves, cont.: Latinamerica Press reports on Postinor 2 (lovonorgestrel 0.75 mg), known as the "day after pill,"  where "health authorities in Peru included it among the birth control methods provided at no cost in state health centers.  NOTE: "Statistics from Center of the Peruvian Woman Flora Tristan show that, due to the difficulties of access to contraceptive methods, 56 percent of the pregnancies produced in Peru every year are unwanted and, of them, 53 percent — some 400,000 — end in clandestine abortion."
 
War of the Pacific, cont.: The New York Times (registration: peruvia/peruvia) publishes a 'Week in Review' piece ostensibly on Bolivia and today's referendum where one of the five questions before voters is: "Do you agree with Presdient Carlos Mesa's policy of using gas as a strategic resource to recover sovereign and viable access to the sea?" (See question #4 in the ballot by the Corte Nacional Electoral de Bolivia.)  The Associated Press, New York Newsday, and Reuters offer their own takes on the plebiscite and Reuters concludes by saying, "The referendum also reflects how Indians across the Andean region, including neighboring Peru, are rebelling against a state they see as run by 'white,' corrupt elites. Many villagers in Bolivia have thrown out police and reverted to age-old Indian communal laws."  The Washington Times declares in its editorial this morning the referendum in Bolivia today could have a profound impact not only on the future of that country, but on the energy self-sufficiency of the Western Hemisphere." It also cites the War of the Pacific.
 
Montesinos Millions: The Miami Herald's Andres Oppenheimer follows up on the revelation that Washington DC-based Riggs Bank helped former Chilean dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet hide away $8 million. (See these recent stories in the Washington Post.)  Oppenheimer reminds his readers of the "2001 Peruvian and U.S. investigations showing that former Peruvian intelligence chief Vladimiro Montesinos and his associates had up to $38 million in Miami's Pacific Credit Corp. and several other financial institutions."
 
Asparagus Wars, cont.: The Detroit News runs the same Associated Press report that ran in yesterday's Detroit Free Press: 'Peruvian exports concern Michigan asparagus farmers.' Farmer Dick Walsworth gets a different photograph in each story.
 
Badminton Championship in Lima: The Jamaica Observer reports on the XIV Pan American Junior Badminton Championships, which will be held at the Club de Regatas Lima from July 19-25.   NOTE:  Team competition on July 19 & 20; Individual competition from 21st to 24th. ALSO: See the championship's entry form.

Wedding in Chalton: The UK's Inquirer notes that the Rt. Rev. H. William Godfrey, the Episcopalian Bishop of Peru, presided over a wedding in Bedfordshire yesterday.

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