PERUVIA: A Synthesis of English Language News on Peru

UPDATED: Including Anime, MVLL, Running in Cuzco and More Mining

Anime Hit in Lima: The BBC reports on "Piratas en el Callao" a Peruvian animation film by 32-year-old director Eduardo Schuldt which "was seen by more than 100,000 people in its first week in Peru, overtaking other animated films, and leading its producer to say it could rival the recent success of Shrek 2." NOTE: "The film tells the story of nine-year-old Alberto, who goes back in time during a school trip to a fortress in the Peruvian port of Callao. This 20th-Century boy finds himself taking on Dutch pirates who are looting Spanish galleons full of Peruvian gold." See Also: February article in Variety (Lucien Chauvin).

VLl in DC: Mario Vargas Llosa received the Irving Kristol Award, the highest one bestowed by the conservative American Enterprise Institute on March 2. You can read AEI's press release, read the introductions to MVLl, and his speech which begins, "I am especially grateful to those who have awarded me this prize because, according to their “whereases,” they are honoring me not only for my literary work but also for my ideas and political views."

Mining - Buenaventura: Dow Jones (Rebecca Howard) reports on that "local authorities from several Peruvian regions marched Tuesday to Peru's highest court, the Constitutional Tribunal, to demand that it uphold a law that applies royalties to mining company sales." NOTE: "The court is expected to rule in mid-March on whether the law is constitutional." CITED: Alberto Portugal Velez (the vice president of Moquegua region) and representatives of Compania de Minas Buenaventura. ALSO: The first payment was due on Feb. 28 but mining companies are waiting for the judicial review.

Mining - Barrick: Dow Jones and Reuters report on the clashes in Ancash on Monday between thousands of protestors near Barrick's Pierina mine. Reuters says that there were "angry at a court decision to waive a $141 million tax payment levied on Canadian miner Barrick Gold clashed with riot police, the latest in a run of anti-mining protests in the mineral-rich nation." NOTE: "Police used tear gas to disperse the farmers, teachers and striking city hall workers from the mountain road" leading to the mine. CITED: Pelayo Luciano (Ancash city hall official) who said that Ancash Mayor Lombardo Mautino Angeles was hurt by a rubber bullet; and Marco de la Rosa (an aide to the Mayor). ALSO: According to Barrick spokesman Vince Borg in Toronto, "The tax issue is resolved and we won't be altering that. We have done a lot of community work since we entered Peru in 1994 and we will continue to do so. Dow Jones also cites Mayor Lombardo Mautino (but also calls him a protest leader) and Barrick official Carlos Cabanillas. NOTE: Said Cabanillas, "In comparison to yesterday (Tuesday) there has been a positive change in attitude. They have turned to dialogue, rather than marching and provoking incidents."

Mining - Doe Run: Doe Run in a press release put out late last night (not yet on their website), announces that "Doe Run Peru Sponsors Free Plastic Surgery for Children in La Oroya." This will be their second "Smile in the Andes" campaign in La Oroya with Rotary International. According to Doe Run Peru spokesperson Rosa Benel Calderon, "The operations are entirely free. The company will pick up all of the expenses from transporting the child, the operation and the recovery period, as well as expenses for the family member that accompanies the minor." The St. Louis Business Journal picks up Doe Run’s press release and adds little if anything to it.

Mining – Newmont: The Associated Press offers a piece on the legal wrangling between Newmont Mining Corp. and Peruvian villagers "over a 2000 mercury spill near South America's largest gold mine is moving toward a showdown in Denver District Court. " Says Newmont spokesman Doug Hock, they can't agree on the "value" of the settlement.

Fidelity in Lima: Fidelity National Financial put out a press release announcing the opening of a new office in Lima which "will initially provide first-level software support, project staffing and professional services." According to Prakash Jalihal, senior vice president and managing director of Fidelity Information Services' Latin America and Caribbean division, "We expect the staffing level at this office to grow significantly as we expand our capabilities to provide services to the entire region."

In Bolivia: Dow Jones (Rebecca Howard) leads her story with President Alejandro Toledo's comments on RPP radio declaring his support for Bolivian President Carlos Mesa stating that, "I hope that the Bolivian Congress ratifies and affirms the continuity of the president." NOTE: "While the Peruvian president said he could not comment on internal political affairs in neighboring Bolivia, he said 'I think it is vital to give stability to democratic governance in the region. I think he is doing his job'."

More In Bolivia: Several other sources include bits on Peru on their stories about the tensions in Bolivia. InterPress Service, the Miami Herald (Tyler Bridges), and Xinhua report that Mesa drew support Monday from Toledo. The New York Times (Juan Forero) reports on the tensions in Bolivia and includes a line about USA relations with the Andean countries. The Independent (Daniel Howden) reports that "Bolivia, along with Peru, has emerged as the second pole to Colombia in global cocaine production and Washington's insistence on coca eradication programmes has devastated peasant farmers who harvest the leaf for traditional consumption." Bloomberg (Alex Emery) quotes Rafael Sanchez, an analyst at Lima's based consultant firm M&N Consultora, declaring that "the protests could bring indigenous movements to the political forefront next year, when half a dozen Latin American countries hold elections. Indigenous majorities pose a growing challenge to the mixed- race elites of Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru, as they seek more benefits from the region's natural resources." Warning: Reuters has some predictions in 'Wall St fears regional effects from Bolivia crisis' and quotes Stratfor saying, "The Andean ridge in particular is a tinderbox, and Bolivia easily could be the spark that ignites a wider conflagration of instability."

In the DR: The Chicago Tribune follows through on the prison fire in the Dominican Republican over the weekend and recalls that "In February, five inmates were killed in Peru after gang members rioted in a prison designed for 1,800 inmates that was holding more than 7,000."

Computing Carefully: The New York Times (David Pogue) has a computer column/warning on accessibility of internet-cafes in different countries. Said a letter writer to the newspaper: "I recently traveled in Peru, a land with a disproportionately large number of these Internet shops -- and cheap, about $0.30/hr. I found that nearly a quarter of the machines had keylogging software installed (that I could detect, anyway). The proprietors always alleged to know nothing about this. So be aware that when you use one of those computers, your every keystroke is being recorded. Passwords, personal emails, and financial details could later be retrieved easily by whoever installed the keylogger -- probably the guy who was waiting to use the computer right after you.”

Running in Cuzco: CBS, the USA television channel, ran an episode of The Amazing Race all filmed in Cuzco. There are fan comments (such as 'Don’t forget to try the food such as olluquito con charqui, alpaca steak, llama jerky and choclo' from Angie in Los Angeles). There are also postings on other websites and news reports and blogs.

Macro Econ:

Energy in Cajamarca: BNAmericas reports that the Ministry of Energy and Mines will "launch a tender in the upcoming weeks for the construction of a 138kV transmission line from Carhuaquero to Jaén in Cajamarca, connecting several rural zones to the central grid system." NOTE: "The ministry invested 22.9mn soles (US$7mn) in rural electrification projects in 2001-2004, the statement said." ALSO: "The ministry has just finished financing a rural electrification project in Lambayeque department that brought electricity to 41,000 people in 108 communities, according to the statement." NUMBERS: "At end-2004, just over 86% of the country's population had electricity, energy and mines minister Glodomiro Sánchez said in the statement."
BNAmericas, based on a story in Diario Correo, reports that "Peru's finance ministry could lower the selective consumer tax (ISC) on fuels this year if a bill to create a permanent oil stabilization fund to mitigate the impact of fluctuations in international oil prices is not passed," according to Juan Miguel Cayo, Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines.
BNAmericas, based on a La Republica story, reports that Petroperu posted net profits of 209mn soles (US$64.3mn) in 2004, compared to 13mn soles in 2003, according to the company's president Alejandro Narvaez. NOTE: "Fonafe, the government organization that finances state owned companies, had estimated Petroperú's profits at 78mn soles for 2004." ALSO: "The US$56 a barrel international diesel price affects the Peruvian market because more than 50% of the country's fuel is imported, Narváez said, but there will be no fuel price increase for now."

Micro Econ:

Asparagus: The Seattle Business Journal (Steve Wilhelm) has a story on Seneca Foods Corp. moving its asparagus processing to Peru. "Washington's asparagus-canning business will die this June, when the state's remaining processor in Dayton, Wash., finishes its last canning run after 70 years in business. NOTE: "Asparagus has been hit first because ... federal trade policies dropped U.S. tariffs against Peruvian asparagus as part of the Andean Free Trade Agreement. " ALSO: "Alan Schreiber, director of the Washington Asparagus Commission, said the Peruvian pricing pressure is driving Washington farmers away from asparagus."

Iquitos on Film in DC: The Washington Post includes "Burden of Dreams" in their review of the Environmental Film Festival in Washington DC and quotes the festival director's declaring that the documentary "has such an incredible essence of place, of that part of the Peruvian Amazon, and of the people there who were extras and starred in the film. [T]he film also unflinchingly shows how Herzog often exploited not only the indigenous tribespeople but the physical environment as well."

Chulucanas in MD: The Towson Times (Maryland, USA) on a photography exhibit, "A Mission of Mercy: Caring for the People of Chulucanas, Peru," on display through March 12 at the Mercy Ridge retirement community, in Timonium. CITED: Mick Kukula, a physician's assistant from Timonium, who has participated in five of the annual Peruvian missions. NOTE: Kukula stated that "From the day you leave Peru, you start counting down the days and hoping you'll be chosen to go back down again."

In Sports:

The Evening Standard headlines a story, "Arsenal must beware of 'Peru two' " referring to Claudio Pizarro and Paolo Guerrero: "If you had told a Bayern fan a decade ago that their European hopes might rest on two warriors from darkest Peru, you would have been laughed out of the Hofbrauhaus." Arsenal did win, 1-0 but Bayern advances in series.
Reuters reports that PSV Eindhoven's Jefferson Farfan peeled off a red card from Hesselink in a match last night.
Several sources in Colorado report that former Sporting Cristal forward Luchi Gonzalez, 24, was traded to the Colorado Rapids. See also the clubs’ press release.

Permalink; posted by Peruvia : 6:54 AM

Wednesday, March 09, 2005