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.”