Inter-Parliamentary Union - British Group - PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION TO PERU


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Delegation Reports

PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION TO PERU - 12 to 17 February 2006

Report by Bob Blizzard MP

Delegation

Bob Blizzard MP
Leader of the Delegation
Labour

Christine Russell MP
Labour

Rt Hon the Lord Morris of Manchester AO QSO
Labour

Mark Pritchard MP
Conservative

David Wilshire MP
Conservative

Baroness Thomas of Walliswood OBE DL
Liberal Democrat

An expert briefing from Britain’s Ambassador, His Excellency Richard Ralph, set the scene for our visit, taking place just as the campaign for April’s presidential and congressional elections was hotting up.
Our embassy in Peru has to be on its toes as 70,000 Britons a year visit this country. Cuzco and Machu Picchu are the reason why.
Peru has exceptional tourism prospects, and the real trick will be to handle the business in a way that is sensitive to the ancient ruins and dramatic scenery and which allows poor people to benefit.
Many already flock to Cuzco from rural surroundings in search of the tourist dollar, and this influx presents a challenge for the Mayor of Cuzco who operates a tidy and well organised municipality.
A meeting there with presidential hopeful, Lourdes Flores, showed why she leads in the polls and is the favourite among pundits. However, nothing is certain for this centre right candidate, as apparently 50 per cent of Peruvians usually make up their minds in the final month and 25 per cent in the last two weeks!
Notwithstanding the lively rally which greeted her arrival at the airport (on the same plane as us), she faces a strong challenge from the populist, Ollanta Humala who has the backing of Venezuala’s Hugo Chavez; and former president, Alan Garcia of the centre left APRA, Peru’s only organised political party as we understand the term.
Both Lourdes and Garcia’s top man in the Senate told us they would sign up to a free trade agreement with the USA, in contrast to Humala.
A full salute with swords welcomed us to the Congress in Lima where we agreed the next steps to an even stronger friendship between our parliaments and countries. The demonstration outside, beyond a distant perimeter fence, about our country’s involvement in the Iraq war seemed ill-aimed to one who had voted against it anyway.
The Ministry of Education presented an account of its achievements, but we left Peru feeling that on education the government had under achieved and a major challenge faced the next president. It was good to discover an official at the Ministry was organising a media quizzing of all 20 presidential candidates! Sadly, he observed that the most likely winners had the least to say!
As Peru is South America’s second or third largest supplier of cocaine, most of which is exported to Brazil and Europe, our visit to the National Commission for Development of Life Against Drugs was very pertinent. After the defeat of the Maoist terrorists, Sendero Luminoso, which brought a noticeable drop in cocaine production, it is worrying that the drug is on the rise again. It looks set to remain a problem in South American countries where poor peasants can earn more from growing coca than alternative crops, even when they are offered by international anti drug programmes.
With simple crop eradication politically problematic to all parties, key interventions in drug trafficking may be the best practical measure, and they remain crucial. We were therefore astonished to learn of our government’s withdrawal from Peru of its two Drugs Liaison Officers, who have been so successful, at a time when it looks as though coca growing will increase in the region. We would urge a rethink.
A working breakfast with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission revealed the cost in human life and emotional tragedy of Sendero Luminoso’s brutal terrorism and former President Fujimori’s military response and subsequent authoritarian and corrupt regime. Unfortunately, the Commission’s recommendations have not yet been taken up by political and military authorities.
We were all impressed with Prime Minister Pedro Pablo Kuczynski’s pragmatic and intelligent contribution to President Toledo’s government, which has brought a period of political stability and strong economic growth. However, PPK (as he is known) readily admitted that increased national income had not had an impact on poverty reduction and this will be the main challenge for the next president. We were pleased with his support for the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, and we
left feeling that PPK’s governmental career was not yet over.
Our meeting with the British business community at the fine Orient House owned hotel in Miraflores sadly showed once again what relatively modest interest British companies take in Latin America.
Our visit to an HIV clinic in one of Lima’s public hospitals, and to a church-run home for children born with the virus, showed the health challenge that the country faces. It was encouraging to learn that the Global Fund’s programme on HIV and TB in Peru is the most successful in South America.
Despite the closure of DfID’s office in Lima, we learned that they are still very active, working strategically with both the World Bank and the IDB in Peru and elsewhere in Latin America to influence and enlighten their spending so that the poor benefit more than they have in the past. And it is heartening to know that a UK charity, the Vine Trust, is taking health care to 100,000 Peruvians by means of a boat on the Amazon, soon to be joined by a second vessel which is on its way out after a £1m refit.
It was also encouraging to learn from Transparencia, a key NGO established with DfID’s help, that they are confident that April’s elections would be free, fair and well ordered. This is a measure of how far Peru has come. Transparencia is now trying to increase the information available to voters so that choices are based more on policies, not just personalities and emotions.
Whatever the outcome of these elections, it will be important to continue to build strong relations with Peru, the third largest country in South America. It’s a country of great potential.