National strike in Peru is a protest against Alan Garcia's government and US economic policies

Today's national strike in Peru is a popular and organized response of the Peruvian society, to the failed economic policies of the Alan Garcia administration, that are converting Peru into a more unfair nation, where very few get the benefits of the so-called economic boom, while most Peruvians lack of decent living conditions, fair jobs with labor right, access to good education and health care, housing with basic services, respect for their land and resources, protection of the environment and the guarantee of a sovereign future.

Santigo Lloclle, 19 years old Peruvian farmer shot in the head by the Garcia administration in February 2008. Foto AFP/Getty

This strike is a collective effort from regular citizens, workers, students, parents, community leaders, unions, farmers, religious groups and non-governmental organizations, who represent the majority of Peruvians. The Comité Directivo del Paro Nacional (Directive Committee of the National Strike) has said that this protest "is a response to the high cost of living, the privatizacion of seaports and airports, the attacks against the property rights of the farmers -campesinos- communities, the criminalization of the social protest, the government's generalized corruption, and the lack of solutions in the goverment facing the demands of unions and regional organizations.

But why are Peruvians taking their protest to the streets and roads? Because the media and government have all denied access to regular Peruvians to express their voice. Therefore, this is a way to express our disappointment to the violent, ultra right-wing, anti-democratic and abusive free-trade policies of the Alan Garcia administration -which is strongly backed by the Bush administration and corporate America- and against the rising costs of living, lack of opportunities and also against the opening of a US military base in Peru.

It is important to mention that this national strike is not an exclusive effort of Peruvian leftist groups as Reuters puts it, pretending that Ollanta Humala is the only political leader behind these protests. Humala has expressed his support to the strike, but he is not the organizer.

This national crisis is the result of abusive US policies being imposed in Peru and its puppet democracy. For instance, most Peruvians are not willing to accept the rule of a set of new laws passed by Garcia, in order to implement the free trade agreement with the US.

Meanwhile, Peruvian Congress has given Garcia special powers to rule the country and to issue decrees without opposition or debate. And Peruvian military has taken over the country in order to prevent social protests.

When all this happened in Hugo Chavez's Venezuela, it was widely criticized by the Bush administration and its right-wing "leaders" in Latin America, including Garcia. But it is alright to do it in Peru, since these decrees are needed to to "bring Peru into compliance" with dictates from U.S. corporations and the Bush administration. It is clear that Peru is losing its sovereignty.

Today workers and farmers have taken roads and have gathered in Cusco, Arequipa, Ayacucho, Ica, Ancash, Lambayeque, Lima, Piura, Cajamarca, Tacna, Puno and Moquegua with a successful round of protests that began yesterday in all Peru. Right now a huge rally is going on in Lima's Dos de Mayo Square where thousands of people from 25 districts have gathered to express their support to this demands. In several cities of the country stores, schools and universities have been closed.

The controlled media have called these protests "acts of terrorism" and very few channels are talking about the reasons behind them. The Garcia government has paid for TV and radio spots where former-CIA agent and corrupted mafia leader Vladimiro Montesinos (currently held in a luxurious jail) speaks against the protests, and the racist and facist Minister of Interior, Luis Alva has told the press that the strike has failed.

It is about time, the voice of desperate Peruvians is heard. How long will it take for Alan Garcia to stop his failed neoliberal policies and give social justice a chance. Peru must invest its money on its people, or the country will continue facing this kind of political and social instability. And this has nothing to do with right-wing or leftist political groups.

This is about people's survival, is about creation a fair country where everyone has the same rights, where racism against the Indigenous and black majority is eliminated, where the gap between the rich and the poor is decreased -based on people's own efforts and fair rules- and where the government can guarantee social justice for all. Peruvians deserve a better future, which must start today when their rights are respected, when not only the interests of foreign corporations are considered, but where the rights of each individual becomes the main concern of its own government, instead of having regular citizens penalized and oppressed for fighting for their rights. It is about time.



.