Mass
Strike Brings Peru To A Standstill
By Elizabeth Schulte
Socialist Worker
June 04, 2003
Thousands of Peruvians defied
a state of emergency to take to the streets last week in strikes and
protests that have spread like wildfire across the country. Teachers
began their national strike May 12, demanding higher wages.
On May 26, farmers--asking
for lower taxes on their crops and import protections--joined the strike,
bringing the transportation of goods to a halt by blocking major highways.
In the central Andes, near the city of Jauja, seven police officers
were injured after 2,000 farmers pelted them with stones when they tried
to clear the highway.
On May 27, 35,000 doctors
and nurses in eight government-run hospitals and 3,000 health centers
walked out. Court workers and students also joined in the protests.
That day, President Alejandro Toledo called a 30-day state of emergency
to "restore order," banning strikes and demonstrations and
giving the police and military the authority to use force and to enter
strikers homes with warrants.
Police clashed with protesters
across the country. In the north, riot cops fired tear gas at about
5,000 striking teachers in Chiclayo. And in the south, soldiers shot
at protesting students in Puno, killing one student and injuring at
least 16 others. Despite this, protests continued through the end of
May.
Farmers and health care workers
called off their strikes this weekend, but teachers and court workers
have not. "We teachers are not going to permit this kind of intimidation
and aggression," Nilver Lopez, a leader of the Unico Union de Trabajadores
in the Education of Peru (SUTEP), which represents 280,000 teachers
across Peru, told Reuters.
A poll released on Friday
showed that 71 percent of Peruvians supported the protests, reflecting
the widespread anger with the Toledo governments inability to
live up to its promises. Toledo, seen by many as an activist and reformer,
took office in 2001, replacing the corrupt 10-year reign of Alberto
Fujimori. Among his promises was to create 1 million jobs a year. Yet
unemployment has stayed at 10 percent since he took office.
While Peru has been hailed
as an economic success story--the countrys 5.2 percent economic
growth rate last year was the fastest in Latin America--none of this
success has been felt by ordinary Peruvians. More than half the population
of 27 million lives on $1.25 or less a day. Fifty-four percent of the
population lives in poverty, and 24 percent are at half the official
poverty line or less.
Strict restrictions on government
spending demanded by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and imposed
by Toledo--a former World Bank adviser trained in the U.S.--have made
conditions worse. Toledos approval rating now stands at a miserable
14 percent.
Last June, Toledo called
another state of emergency in response to massive demonstrations in
Arequipa in the south against the privatization of two electric utility
companies, as prescribed by the IMF. When martial law couldnt
stop the protests, the government postponed its privatization plans
indefinitely.
While there is great anger
about Toledos policies among workers, farmers and the poor, some
people are happy with the presidents performance. "It's the
best showing by Toledo so far," Peruvian business leader Samuel
Gleiser said of the declaration of martial law last week. "He took
the bull by the horns."
Toledos troubles are
far from over. Peru's biggest umbrella union, CGTP, announced last week
that it was considering calling a general strike in July against free-market
policies.
The whole of Latin America
has seen a rising tide of struggle. In February, Bolivian workers organized
huge demonstrations against government austerity measures. And in December
2001, former Argentine President Fernando de la Rua was forced to resign
after he declared martial law in the face of militant protests.
As high school teacher Jorge
Vargas said at a protest in the capital: "If the government doesn't
change its policy of kneeling down before the IMF...if it does not look
the Peruvian people in the face...it's going to have to go."