Category Archives: peru

US trade pact with Peru

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In the meantime, what’s happening in Peru? Well the outcome of the election is still not clear and looks like it won’t be for a while, seeing as its gone off into a ‘run-off’’ second round. The interesting news is that given the state of play, a dodgy manoeuvre is the signing a free-trade pact with the US – signed in Washington by President Alejandro Toledo, last Wednesday. Me thinks – pushing something lik e that through at a time like this is a bit sneaky? The deal is said to be similar to a 2003 deal between the US and Chile, which at the time was fiercely opposed by Chilean labour groups. The Institute for Public Accuracy has some insightful analysis on this topic and I was particularly interested in what Pedro Francke (Professor of Economics at Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru, and also involved with ForoSalud, a coalition of organizations focusing on healthcare in Peru) had to say:

“The Peruvian Minister of Health has said that this agreement will double the price of medicine within 12 years, and will particularly affect those with AIDS, tuberculosis and other health problems. The Health Ministry has also calculated that between 700, 000 and 900,000 people would lose health coverage because of the agreement. It also prevents Peru from protecting its farmers. We are collecting signatures for a petition demanding that agreement be subject to a referendum.”

Peru

election fever: italy and peru

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Elections in Peru and Italy- so what”s happening? Most of the focus is what”s going on with Berlusconi -who”s apparently not admitting defeat yet. the latest news indicates that Romano Prodi, the centre-left opposition leader has won by a slim majority, but nothing will be confirmed till the expat votes are counted. According to the BBC, “the latest results give Prodi”s bloc 49.8% against Berlusconi”s 49.7%.

Everyone”s waiting with bated breath - what will happen next? Will Berlusconi go out quietly or stage a Bush-style coup ( you know get your mates at the Supreme Court to pull a few strings..etc. etc. )

Meanwhile, in Peru, things aren”t that much clearer, with the outcome of the presidential race still undecided. the preliminary results for three contenders -including the former president alan garcia - are as follows -
Ollanta Humala 30.86%
Alan García 24.79%
Lourdes Flores 23.61%

But the again, its becoming clearer that the expat vote could make a big difference.

Peru

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