Socioeconomic changes in many Latin American countries in the later half of the 20th century led to the rise of leftist movements that confronted established governments and caused devastating collateral damage to innocent citizens.
Peru was no exception. In response to a corrupt and ineffective national government, a Maoist guerrilla group, The Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) emerged in the early 1980s with the goal of overthrowing the existing government and creating a Communist state in the model of Maoist China.
Led by Abimael Guzman, the Shining Path waged an internal war with the Peruvian government for 12 years, from 1988 to 2000. The Shining Path used terrorist tactics to try to achieve their goals - kidnapping and murder of innocent civilians, assassinations of key government officials, and complete disruption of civil society.
The impact of the Shining Path on Peruvian society cannot be underestimated. In the course of 12 years, more than 70,000 civilians died, and more than 600,000 were displaced. A vast migration took place within Peru, with entire populations abandoning Andean towns and moving to Lima for safety. This contributed to the creation of the barriadas discussed in an earlier post.
Certainly one of the most horrific acts of violence committed by the Shining Path was the Massacre at Lucamarca, which took place on April 3, 1983. The citizens of this Andean town tried to resist the influence of the Shining Path, and tried to evict them from their village. As a result, a member of the Shining Path group was killed. In retaliation, the Shining Path marched into Lucamarca and rounded up women, children, and the elderly and killed 69 of them - by vicious and atrocious means - including the boiling alive of pregnant women.
The ensuing response to this massacre was very similar to what can be seen in the film "Discovering Dominga." Citizens pressed the Peruvian government for answers regarding these deaths. Forensic anthropologists confirmed that the deaths were executions, and this information was used later on to convict Guzman and nine other leaders of Shining Path of crimes of homicide, terrorism, and damage to the Peruvian State. He is currently imprisoned under a life sentence in a Peruvian prison.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
Peru and the Coca Trade
Peru is the largest source of the coca plant in the world. The leaves of this plant are used for a variety of legitimate purposes -- however their use in the illegal production of cocaine is perhaps the most well known.
Approximately two thirds of the world's cocaine is derived from Peruvian coca plants. Peruvians grow the plant, and the leaves are shipped to processing facilities in Columbia and Bolivia for processing and transhipment to countries around the world. Peru's role in the coca trade is primarily as a producer of the the leaves.
The growing of coca is an ancient art, and can be traced back to the time of the Inca. Coca leaves were used extensively by the Inca for medicinal purposes - as a numbing agent for surgeries, teeth extraction and bone setting, and a means of staying awake while travelling long distances. In addition, the Inca used coca to dull hunger pains in times of food shortage, and to increase aggression prior to battle. It was also used for managing altitude sickness, a use seen extensively today in Peru.
Incan religious rituals also utilized coca leaves as well to create a feeling of joy and well being.
Coca growing has had a devastating effect on the environment in Peru. Maximizing yield trumps sustainable agricultural practices, and as a result, slash and burn farming is the norm. Furthermore, Peruvian farmers "preprocess" the leaves prior to shipment to Bolivia and Columbia. Toxic chemicals, such as acetone, sulfuric acid, and ammonia (among others) are used to treat the leaves after picking, and the left over chemicals are dumped in Peruvian rivers and streams.
Among the challenges faced by the Peruvian government in addressing the coca trade in Peru is that it employs many rural Andean residents who would have no other source of income without it. The government cannot support these citizens who are out of work. As a result, the Peruvian government is working with the US government to provide financial assistance to grow other crops that are more profitable, such as maize, cacao, and coffee. Farmers are being given land to grow these crops, and there is no risk premium for growing illegal crops.
Today, if you go to the Peruvian Andes, you will see evidence of coca culture all around you. Coca leaves are chewed by native peoples for the same reasons that the Inca did so hundreds of years ago. Coca tea is available to arriving guests at hotels in high altitude cities such as Cusco and in Lake Titicaca to calm the effects of altitude sickness. Coca bars are also seen in he major cities, such as the ancient Incan capital, Cuzco,. The photo above was taken by the author at a coca bar on a Cusco side street. Processed cocaine is illegal in Peru today. However, it is legal to grow small amounts of coca plants for personal consumption.
Approximately two thirds of the world's cocaine is derived from Peruvian coca plants. Peruvians grow the plant, and the leaves are shipped to processing facilities in Columbia and Bolivia for processing and transhipment to countries around the world. Peru's role in the coca trade is primarily as a producer of the the leaves.
The growing of coca is an ancient art, and can be traced back to the time of the Inca. Coca leaves were used extensively by the Inca for medicinal purposes - as a numbing agent for surgeries, teeth extraction and bone setting, and a means of staying awake while travelling long distances. In addition, the Inca used coca to dull hunger pains in times of food shortage, and to increase aggression prior to battle. It was also used for managing altitude sickness, a use seen extensively today in Peru.
Incan religious rituals also utilized coca leaves as well to create a feeling of joy and well being.
Coca growing has had a devastating effect on the environment in Peru. Maximizing yield trumps sustainable agricultural practices, and as a result, slash and burn farming is the norm. Furthermore, Peruvian farmers "preprocess" the leaves prior to shipment to Bolivia and Columbia. Toxic chemicals, such as acetone, sulfuric acid, and ammonia (among others) are used to treat the leaves after picking, and the left over chemicals are dumped in Peruvian rivers and streams.
Among the challenges faced by the Peruvian government in addressing the coca trade in Peru is that it employs many rural Andean residents who would have no other source of income without it. The government cannot support these citizens who are out of work. As a result, the Peruvian government is working with the US government to provide financial assistance to grow other crops that are more profitable, such as maize, cacao, and coffee. Farmers are being given land to grow these crops, and there is no risk premium for growing illegal crops.
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| Coca Shop in Cusco, Peru - side street off main city square |
Barriadas in Lima
The city of Lima, the largest in Peru and also its capital, is comprised of well over 8 million people. In fact, over 30% of the entire population of the country lives in Lima. As a result, the city faces crushing demand for land and affordable housing.
This has created an axis of power within the city between the elite and the urban poor. Both these groups fill important roles in establishing neighborhoods for their members, in the absence of state control or intervention.
In the 1940's, a very powerful migration movement began in Peru, which shifted large numbers of people from the rural and mountainous Andean region to the city of Lima. These individuals found no housing available for them in Lima. As a result, these new residents took up residence in "barriadas", areas that were informal settlements, located outside of the city limits.
This land was the least valuable, and the most dangerous in the Lima area - both from a crime standpoint, but also from an ecological perspective. Located near rivers and in steep hilly terrain, the land was prone to flooding and severe demage from seismic activity. They are similar to slums in the United States or shantytowns or favelas in Brazil.
Lima has not experienced high levels of urban unrest that would be expected in a city so divided between rich residents living in the financial district and those poor residents living in the barriadas.
The success of barriadas in Lima stemmed from the fact that the individuals who took over the land, while poor, were highly organized, and were able to set up systems to provide a network of services for their residents that the State was unable and unwilling to provide. They were aided with the tacit help of Lima elites, who did not interfere with the establishment of the barriadas. The wealthy of Lima understood that the success of the barriadas kept the poor segregated away from the elites in the financial center of Lima. Furthermore, by encouraging the social organization of the poor within the barriadas, the needs of the poor were managed within the confines of their own community and did not spill into the better areas of the city. As Ana Fernandez-Maldonado noted in her paper on the subject of barriadas in Lima, "Spatially, this process has produced orderly neighborourhoods, which follow the traditional urban grid used in other parts of the consolidated city. Functionally, this process has effectively provided access to and and housing to great part of the city dwellers." (Barriadas and Elite in Lima, Peru: Recent Trends of Urban integration and Disintegration. 42nd ISoCaRP Congress, 2006).
Other than the obvious need for shelter, residents of the barriadas had need of food, clean running water, and health services. Community organizers and their "grassroots organizations" established networks that provided these services to residents. As Fernandex-Maldonado notes: "Barriadas experienced the flourishing of grassroots associateaions, suvival mechanisms, reciprocity networks, and new associative practices. Greassrooots networks addressed survival issues, mainly food and health related matters. They became a sort of 'informal welfare institutions', in view of the lack of public welfare."(Barriadas and Elite in Lima, Peru: Recent Trends of Urban integration and Disintegration. 42nd ISoCaRP Congress, 2006). As a result, issues were managed within the barriadas, and did not spill over into the wealthier areas of town. Thus, in Lima, one sees a very low incidence of gated communites, guarded neighborhoods, and houses physically separated from lower class neighborhoods by walls, and other barriers.
The development of barriadas in Lima presents an interesting case study of social problemsolving by both the rich and the poor in the absence of government intervention.
This has created an axis of power within the city between the elite and the urban poor. Both these groups fill important roles in establishing neighborhoods for their members, in the absence of state control or intervention.
In the 1940's, a very powerful migration movement began in Peru, which shifted large numbers of people from the rural and mountainous Andean region to the city of Lima. These individuals found no housing available for them in Lima. As a result, these new residents took up residence in "barriadas", areas that were informal settlements, located outside of the city limits.
This land was the least valuable, and the most dangerous in the Lima area - both from a crime standpoint, but also from an ecological perspective. Located near rivers and in steep hilly terrain, the land was prone to flooding and severe demage from seismic activity. They are similar to slums in the United States or shantytowns or favelas in Brazil.
Lima has not experienced high levels of urban unrest that would be expected in a city so divided between rich residents living in the financial district and those poor residents living in the barriadas.
The success of barriadas in Lima stemmed from the fact that the individuals who took over the land, while poor, were highly organized, and were able to set up systems to provide a network of services for their residents that the State was unable and unwilling to provide. They were aided with the tacit help of Lima elites, who did not interfere with the establishment of the barriadas. The wealthy of Lima understood that the success of the barriadas kept the poor segregated away from the elites in the financial center of Lima. Furthermore, by encouraging the social organization of the poor within the barriadas, the needs of the poor were managed within the confines of their own community and did not spill into the better areas of the city. As Ana Fernandez-Maldonado noted in her paper on the subject of barriadas in Lima, "Spatially, this process has produced orderly neighborourhoods, which follow the traditional urban grid used in other parts of the consolidated city. Functionally, this process has effectively provided access to and and housing to great part of the city dwellers." (Barriadas and Elite in Lima, Peru: Recent Trends of Urban integration and Disintegration. 42nd ISoCaRP Congress, 2006).
Other than the obvious need for shelter, residents of the barriadas had need of food, clean running water, and health services. Community organizers and their "grassroots organizations" established networks that provided these services to residents. As Fernandex-Maldonado notes: "Barriadas experienced the flourishing of grassroots associateaions, suvival mechanisms, reciprocity networks, and new associative practices. Greassrooots networks addressed survival issues, mainly food and health related matters. They became a sort of 'informal welfare institutions', in view of the lack of public welfare."(Barriadas and Elite in Lima, Peru: Recent Trends of Urban integration and Disintegration. 42nd ISoCaRP Congress, 2006). As a result, issues were managed within the barriadas, and did not spill over into the wealthier areas of town. Thus, in Lima, one sees a very low incidence of gated communites, guarded neighborhoods, and houses physically separated from lower class neighborhoods by walls, and other barriers.
The development of barriadas in Lima presents an interesting case study of social problemsolving by both the rich and the poor in the absence of government intervention.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Trapezoids and the Inca
The Inca of Peru are well known for their mastery of stone-cutting. Without the use of iron or access to iron ore, the Inca were able to cut large blocks of local stone - granite and basalt to name two - and fashion architectural masterpieces that are unsurpassed.
Heavy stones were placed together so closely, and with such a tight fit, that mortar was not required, and a thin knife could not be passed between these immense blocks.
The trapezoid shape recurs constantly throughout Incan culture -- in particular in their architecture. Doors and windows in temples and fortresses were trapezoidal in shape, and anthropologists have questioned the symbolism of this shape.
The trapezoid is an extremely stable shape. Not only does it visually present as solid, stable and unmovable, but stones cut in this shape are structurally more stable than rectangles and some squares. Given that the Incan Empire ran through the Andes in a known seismic zone, it is highly likely that Incan architects learned over time that trapezoids provided extreme stability in times of earthquake. In fact, a trapezoidal door is much more seismicly sound that the traditional 8 foot rectangular door found in most homes in Southern California. Examples of trapezoidal doors and windows found in Peruvian architecture are shown below. Photos were taken by the author of this blog.
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| Fortress at Sacsayhuaman Note Trapezoidal Openings at top |
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| Trapezoidal Door Interior Machu Picchu |
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| Trapezoidal Windows in Upper Level Machu Picchu |
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| Small Fortress right outside Machu Picchu Trapezoidal Windows |
Chicha Beer
Chicha Beer is an ancient maize (or corn) based fermented beverage which plays an important role in the indigenous Andean cultures of South America - in particular, Peru.
Beer made in the United States is primarily a concoction brewed through the fermentation of barley and hops, using a fermenting agent such as yeast. In Peru, the beer is made exclusively of corn, and other fermenting agents are used - primarily saliva.
Natural enzymes that occur in saliva act to break down the corn and convert the resulting corn starch into sugar, so that it could ferment. Mouthfulls of corn are chewed during the daily activities of indigenous Andeans. As the corn is softened through chewing and enzymatic action, it forms a small "cake" in one's mouth. If you push it up against the front teeth, further moisture is strained away. The resulting lump is removed from the mouth and set to dry in the sun on metal pans. It is during this time that the enzymes are converting the starches in the corn.
During the next step, the corn cakes are boiled with water, which effectively sterilizes the contents of the brew. Any bacteria introduced through the saliva is killed. However, many visitors to Peru are put off by the saliva component of the beer even though their is little risk of infection.
Chicha beer is an important part of the Peruvian culture. Individual families have their own "recipes" for chicha, and there is great family pride in each family's beer. Oftentimes, purple Peruvian corn is used in brewing. This gives the final product a distinctive pink color.
In 2006, during my trip to Peru, I had an opportunity to meet with a family outside of Cuzco in the Sacred Valley. Upon entering their home, they immediately offered a cup of their chicha beer. It was quite good - room temperature, and a heavy sweet-ish tasting beer.
During our 4 day trek on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, many indigenous families would sell their beer along the trail - primarily to the Quechua guides and carriers that supported the trip. They were reluctant to sell to the non-Peruvian members of our group. The quality and type of each family's beer was well known, and certain brews were favored over others.
The picture below was taken at a Chicha stand on the Inca Trail. Notice that each family has its own station and sells the beer from white plastic buckets. You can see the pink color of the product in the buckets.
Beer made in the United States is primarily a concoction brewed through the fermentation of barley and hops, using a fermenting agent such as yeast. In Peru, the beer is made exclusively of corn, and other fermenting agents are used - primarily saliva.
Natural enzymes that occur in saliva act to break down the corn and convert the resulting corn starch into sugar, so that it could ferment. Mouthfulls of corn are chewed during the daily activities of indigenous Andeans. As the corn is softened through chewing and enzymatic action, it forms a small "cake" in one's mouth. If you push it up against the front teeth, further moisture is strained away. The resulting lump is removed from the mouth and set to dry in the sun on metal pans. It is during this time that the enzymes are converting the starches in the corn.
During the next step, the corn cakes are boiled with water, which effectively sterilizes the contents of the brew. Any bacteria introduced through the saliva is killed. However, many visitors to Peru are put off by the saliva component of the beer even though their is little risk of infection.
Chicha beer is an important part of the Peruvian culture. Individual families have their own "recipes" for chicha, and there is great family pride in each family's beer. Oftentimes, purple Peruvian corn is used in brewing. This gives the final product a distinctive pink color.
In 2006, during my trip to Peru, I had an opportunity to meet with a family outside of Cuzco in the Sacred Valley. Upon entering their home, they immediately offered a cup of their chicha beer. It was quite good - room temperature, and a heavy sweet-ish tasting beer.
During our 4 day trek on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, many indigenous families would sell their beer along the trail - primarily to the Quechua guides and carriers that supported the trip. They were reluctant to sell to the non-Peruvian members of our group. The quality and type of each family's beer was well known, and certain brews were favored over others.
The picture below was taken at a Chicha stand on the Inca Trail. Notice that each family has its own station and sells the beer from white plastic buckets. You can see the pink color of the product in the buckets.
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