Living in Peru : your everyday companion

LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

Peru Police has mobilized 6,400 officers to Madre de Dios, Ica and Arequipa regions, in order to guarantee the public order during the informal miners' indefinite strike, which is suppose to start at 00:00 of Sunday, April 4.

“The Army and the Police have designed a plan to avoid possible road blockades or attacks to public or private property,” said General Miguel Hidalgo, the Director of the Police.

Some versions circulating this afternoon state that miners may be planning to blockade roads, for example Panamericana Sur in Ica (Marcona, Nazca and Palpa), starting at 00:00 of April 4.

General Hidalgo said that, since the government has already declared the state of emergency in these regions, the troops will work to maintain public order and will be vigilant against any act that may vulnerate other citizen's rights, like the freedom of transit.

Teódulo Medina Gutiérrez, from the Federation of Informal Miners, had explained that they want the repeal of the decree 012-2010, that establishes a reorganization of the informal mining activities in Madre de Dios region, because they consider it as unconstitutional.

Fernando Gala, Deputy Minister of Mining, told the press that the decree does not intend to take informal miners out of their business, as they claim.

(Photo: Inforregión)

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Andina

Peruvian President Alan Garcia Perez signed a supreme ordinance approving the regulations for the framework law on the Universal Health Insurance, which seeks to provide access to quality health care for all Peruvian citizens.

Peru’s Universal Health Insurance law aims to increase access to timely and quality health care services, emphasizes maternal and child health promotion, and provides the poor with protection from financial ruin due to illness.

In this regard, it meets the objectives of promoting and expanding the coverage of the covered population, avoiding duplication in the use of resources and expanding benefit coverage according to demographic and epidemiological profile.

POLICYHOLDERS

The regulation states that membership of the Universal Health Insurance (AUS for its Spanish acronym) is compulsory for the entire population living in the country. To that end, the Ministry of Health will approve, by supreme ordinance, the mechanisms leading to compulsory membership, as well as escalation and implementation.

It establishes that public, private or mixed institutions are responsible for ensuring that all people who are in the scope of their activities, under any form of contracting, are affiliated to the AUS regime.

The rule states that the National Identification Document (DNI) is the document from which the insured status is recognized under the Universal Health Insurance.

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

JNE, Peru's office in charge of organizing elections, accepted the official registration as a political party of a neo-Nazi group, whose leader served a one-year jail sentence for defaming a Chilean entrepreneur.

The group, known as INCA, is running for next regional and municipal elections in Tacna in October, south of Peru, as well as in the presidential elections of 2011, reports Efe news agency.

Its leader, Ricardo de Spirito Balbuena, who has chosen as an svastic as a symbol of his group, declared not so long ago that “democracy is bullshit,” dresses with outfits inspired in Hitler's troops, and and maintains blogs and webpages dedicated to promoting his political philosophy, according to journalist Jacqueline Fowks.

De Spirito was filed seven official complaints at Tacna's police stations between 2000 and 2006, on grounds of blackmal, defamation and public disturbance; and he served a one-year sentence (between 2006 and 2007) for aggravated defamation on Chilean entrepreneur Raúl Morcos.

Fowks explains that JNE told her that the political parties that request their registration are not obliged to present any document explaining on their ideology.

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

Peru's National Prisons System announced that it will fire all the staff currently working at the Limenian high-security prison of Piedras Gordas, after uncovering a sabotage to the system that blocked cell-phone communications in that prison.

In Peru, many inmates can in fact conduct crimes and offenses by means of cell phones that are introduced into prisons by their relatives or friends visiting; more than 3,000 cell phones have been seized in several Peru prisons, according to Ruben Rodriguez, Chief of the Prisons' System

Rodríguez also told the press that the only people that had access to the cell phone blocking systems were the prison employees, so now all the staff is going to be changed.

“All the staff, since the Director to the last agent, and even the guard dogs, are being removed from Piedras Gordas prison,” said Rodriguez, adding that once this is done, the communications blocking system will be repaired.

Each one of these equipments is worth some US $1.5 million.

(Photo: El Comercio)

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

According to a research conducted by the Organization of American States and the United Nations Development Program, Peru ranks third in Latin America in the list of countries with more bribing to police officers.

According to Mexico's daily Excelsior, Mexico tops this ranking, with 22.8% of people admitting that they have bribed a policeman sometime; next comes Bolivia, with 20.5%, Peru with 18.8%, Paraguay with 11.6%, Dominican Republic with 10.7% and Haiti with 10.2%.

Peru also ranks 6th in the list of countries with higher rates of public employees demanding for bribes, with 10.7%.

“Corruption is a consequence of ineffective control systems, and this in turn tied to a certain level of ineffectiveness in the republic,” says the document, that also remarks that corruption is a serious threat to all countries.

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By A. Fool
LivinginPeru.com


Early this morning (see video), President Alan Garcia declared in his speech to the nation that all residents of Peru, as of April 5, 2010 are prohibited from using Internet Explorer to surf the internet, due to a dispute between the First Lady Pilar Nores de Garcia and the founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates


According to an anonymous source close to Bill Gates, the First Lady of Peru has on several occasions complained about the high cost to upgrade from Windows X-factor to Windows Hasta la Vista. Even though a copy of the popular Vista Software can be bought in local markets at only S/. 10 ($ 3.50,) Mrs. Nores de Garcia has been encouraging local businesses to purchase original software, but after receiving various complaints, stating that most people and small/medium business couldn’t afford to purchase Windows Vista, she contacted both Microsoft’s General Manager to Peru, Sr. Luis Torres, and Bill Gates to negotiate a better price for Peruvians to acquire the new operating system from Microsoft.

Neither González Esparza nor Mr. Gates has, despite various attempts from the First Lady, starting back in early January 2010, responded to her proposal regarding this matter, but yesterday Mr. Gates had flowers sent to Mrs. Nores de Garcia wishing her and her family a Happy Easter.

President Alan Garcia expressed in his speech to the nation that this behavior was an insult and therefore declared “war” on Microsoft.

It is also said that if Microsoft doesn’t open its doors to negotiate (and apology), all Microsofts products could be banned in Peru as of July 28, 2010.

A source close to Mr. Garcia, confirmed that he yesterday met with representatives from the government to set up a new Technology Ministry to develop a browser to compete with IE.

We hope you enjoyed this story and wish you a Happy April Fools Day.

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

Mine workers in Peru are planning to start a nationwide indefinite strike starting by the end of June, according to union leaders.

Luis Castillo, Presidente of the Mine Workers Federation, told Reuters news agency that they are pursuing a better participation in the profits and better conditions for retirement.

The strike may start in a moment when international metal prices and the profits are recovering, after the international financial crisis.

Miners unions want the Government to pass a law that authorizes early retirement for this sector, and to stop another law that sets a maximum limit to the percentage of profits to be distributed among the workers.

Currently, miner works can retire between 50-60 years old, but they want to be able to retire five years earlier: this would require that private fund administration companies pay millions of dollars in extra benefits.

(Photo: AFP-BBC)

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

According to a new decree, anyone in Peru who force domestic workers to wear their uniforms outside the home where they work is committing discrimination, and can be fined S/. 1,980 soles (US $600) , informs Peru's Labor Ministry.

The Supreme Decree 004-2009-TR establishes that no one can force their maids, butlers, nannies or any other domestic worker to wear their uniforms, or any other distinctive outfit, in public places such as parks, beaches, restaurants, hotels, shopping malls, social clubs, and so on.

In addition, the owners and managers of these public spaces may be fined too, if they incur in any regulation or action that ends up becoming an act of discrimination against domestic workers.

Labor Ministry provides free assesment against this kind of discrimination during all the year, calling toll-free to 0800-1-6872.

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

Peru's Congress passed today the bill that bans smoking at workplaces, entertainment areas and other indoor public spaces.

The new law aims to protect citizens against the dangers that cigarette smoke pose on their health.

The law states that these public places must place in visible spots signs with the warning “Smoking at public places is banned because it is dangerous to health,” and “Place 100% tobacco smoke free.”

The law also obligates companies to include warning phrases and photos regarding the dangers of tobacco smoke on the cigar boxes, specifying also that it is not allowed to sell tobaco to any person under age 18.

Producers, importers and distributors will have 180 days to adapt their products to the specifications stated by this new law, while public places will have 360 days.

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LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

Drugstores or pharmacies in Peru that sell freely medicines that require a prescription will be closed and fined up to S/.36,000 (some US $12,000), announced Digemid, the Peruvian office in charge of authorizing medicines and drugs.

Digemid warns that they will start checking all local pharmacies since April 1, to detect those ones that do not observe the current legal dispositions regarding medicines that require prescriptions, such as antibiotics, sleeping pills and antidepressants, among others.

"There is still a high percentage of self-medication so we have decided to take actions and correct this situation,” said Victor Dongo, from Digemid, who also expressed that they will propose to suspend professional permits of the pharmacists who are found selling freely medicines that require prescriptions.

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