Economic Life
A wide range of important mineral resources
are found in the mountainous and coastal areas.
Although Peru has continued to attract foreign
investment, political disputes and protests
impede development of some projects related to
natural resource extraction. Peru’s coastal waters
provide excellent fishing grounds. This along
with mining, increasing agriculture pursuits
(especially coffee) and tourism are the mainstays
of an economy which has seen strong growth.
Services account for 53 percent of Peruvian gross
domestic product, followed by manufacturing
(22.3 percent), extractive industries (15 percent),
and taxes (9.7 percent). Peru’s major exports are
copper (19 percent), gold (17 percent), gasoline
(5 percent), and textiles (3 percent), plus zinc,
and fish meal. Its major trade partners are the
United States (16 percent of total exports), China
(14 percent), Chile (5 percent), and Canada (4.8
percent).
Peru’s free trade policy has continued under
the Humala administration. There is untapped
potential to improve, but corruption, a flawed tax
structure, military spending and vast economic
inequalities hold Peru back. Finally, there are
no quick fixes for the economy; long-term
stable growth and addressing aforementioned
problems are the way forward. Cocaine
production and ruthless oil exploitation in the
Amazon basin remain serious issues as well.
Location, Size, and Population
Peru lies in western South America along the
Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by the countries of
Ecuador and Colombia to the north, Brazil to the
east, Bolivia to the southeast, Chile to the south,
and the Pacific Ocean to the west.
Peru
Peru is slightly smaller than Alaska and covers
496,222 sq. miles. The current estimated
population is 30,475,144. Amerindians make up
nearly half of the country’s people.
Geographical Features
The coast consists of a long, narrow strip
of land between the Pacific Ocean and the
highlands. This area is a dry, rugged desert, yet
the temperature is unusually cool due to a cold
ocean current. This is where most of the cities
and industries are located.
The Andes Mountains occupy nearly 27 percent
of Peru’s land area. The tallest peaks have snow
year around and some have permanent glaciers.
The mountain valleys have a thick cover of
grass used for grazing herds of livestock and
agricultural purposes.
The selva (eastern jungle) is where the Amazon
River is located. Thick rain forests and jungles
cover almost all the low selva. The high selva
consists of the eastern foothills of the Andes.
Most of the selva has high temperatures
throughout the year, averaging 80 degrees.
Capital
Information obtained from the CIA website, Operation World, and
Joshua Project
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Most of Peru’s cities lie on the long, narrow coast,
including Lima, the capital and largest city. Lima
has a population of about 8.9 million people. It
is by far the largest, busiest, and most modern
Peruvian city.
Historical Influences
Ancient Peru was the seat of several prominent
Andean civilizations, most notable that of
the Incas, whose empire was captured by the
Spanish conquistadors in 1532. After conquering
the Amerindians, gold and silver from the Andes
enriched the Spanish, and Peru became the
principal source of Spanish wealth and power in
South America. By the 1800’s Lima had become
the most distinguished and aristocratic colonial
capital and the chief Spanish stronghold in
America.
Peruvian independence was declared in 1821,
and remaining Spanish forces were defeated
in 1824. Since gaining its independence, Peru
and its neighbors have engaged in intermittent
territorial disputes. Chile’s victory over Peru in
1883 resulted in a territorial settlement, the
effects of which still create controversy.
Peru began to have financial problems in the late
1960’s. Many Peruvians blamed the problems on
the United States, which had increasing political
and business interests in their country. In 1968
military leaders seized the government and
took over the United States’ corporations. By
the mid-1970’s, the revolutionary government
faced growing criticism. Members of the armed
forces filled all major political posts, and civilians
demanded a greater voice in the government.
After a dozen years of military rule, Peru
returned to democratic leadership in 1980,
but experienced economic problems and was
dogged by several insurgent groups--most
notably a leftist group called ”Shining Path,”
which sought to overthrow Peru’s government.
In 1990 the president elect ushered in a
decade that saw a dramatic turnaround in the
economy and significant progress in curtailing
guerrilla activity. Nevertheless, the president’s
increasing reliance on authoritarian measures
and an economic slump generated mounting
dissatisfaction with his regime, which led to his
ouster in 2000.
In June 2011 a former army officer, Ollanta
Humala, was elected President making him the
first leftist and democratically elected president
of indigenous Quechan ethnicity. In December
2011 a state of emergency was declared
following popular opposition to some major
mining projects and environmental concerns.
Government
Peru’s government is a constitutional republic,
the current constitution was adopted on
December 29, 1993. The president is popularly
elected for a 5-year term and is eligible for
nonconsecutive reelection. The president is both
the chief of state and head of government.
The Congress consists of two houses with a total
of 130 seats. The people elect all members of
the legislature for five-year terms. All citizens
who are at least 18 years old are required to
vote in elections until the age of 70. The judges
of the Supreme Court of Justice are appointed
by the National Council of the Judiciary. The
administrative divisions of the government
consist of 25 regions with one province, Lima.
The military branches consist of an Army, a Navy,
and an Air Force. Both males and females may
volunteer for military service and there is no
conscription.
Peru has a long history of dictatorships
and repressive military rule. A democratic
government between 1980 and 1991 failed to
reform the inequalities in society and deal with
the corrupt judiciary and police. Two violent,
extremist, and Maoist terrorist movements
brought the country to its knees in 15 years
of guerrilla warfare. Around 70,000 perished
through the terrorism or the equally cruel
military reaction. Repairs to infrastructure will
take large amounts of time and money. President
Fujimori (first elected Japanese president) dealt
strongly with terror and the economy, but is
now imprisoned for murderous abuse of power.
Future governments must act wisely with regard
to poverty, corruption, ecology and continued
instability in neighboring lands.
People & Society
The mixing of ethnicity, cultures, and languages
of the Peruvian people makes a clear distinction
difficult. The approximate breakdown of
nationalities is as follows: Amerindian 45%,
mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 37%,
white 15%, black, Japanese, Chinese, and other
3%.
Peru is mostly ruled by an upper class that has
been there since the Colonial times. They earned
their money by the precious metals that are very
abundant in Peru. These upper-class families
have enough money to send their children out of
the country to go to school so that they can get a
better education.
The middle class is very small and includes office
workers and managers, professional people,
owners of small businesses, and military offices.
The biggest group is the lower class, and most of
them lack a formal education. The poverty rate
has dropped substantially during the last decade
but remains stubbornly high at about 50 percent
(20 percent in extreme poverty).
There are two main Amerindian groups in Peru.
They are the Quechua, which are descendants of
the Incas, and the Aymara. The Quechua live up
in the Andes Mountains and are usually farmers.
Their religion is a mixture of Roman Catholicism
and their own native beliefs. The Quechua still
make their traditional arts and other crafts.
The Aymara live on the plateaus near Lake
Titicaca and are usually herders or farmers. Their
clothing hasn’t changed; the men still wear
knitted woolen caps with ear flaps. The women
still wear round, wool derby hats that they make
themselves. The Aymara live in small houses (8
feet by 10 feet) and their homes are made of sod
and have roof rafters that are covered by wild
grass. The inside of the house has a platform
where the family sleeps, and it has a clay-type
stove near the door. Families live together in a
cluster of these homes. Because these groups live
in such high elevations, their lungs and chests
have become larger to help with the little oxygen
from the air.
Religion
Religious freedom is protected in the 1978
Constitution, but the Catholic Church, as the
officially recognized state church, receives some
degree of preferential treatment. This status
was used in the past to discriminate against
non-Catholics in taxes, property, education, and
politics.
The Peruvian religious denominations are:
Roman Catholics, 82 percent; Protestants,
8 percent; Independent denominations, 6
percent; Marginal denominations, 4 percent;
and Anglicans, 0.01 percent. It is estimated
that 25 percent of Peruvians are Christo-pagan,
influenced by animism and witchcraft, as much
as Catholicism. Some other religious minority
groups in Peru are the Seventh Day Adventist,
Mormon, Jehovah Witness, the Baha’i Faith,
Muslim, Buddhist, and Jewish.
Language
The official languages in Peru are Spanish at
80 percent, and the Quechua and Aymara
languages, approximately 17 percent. Most
Amerindians are Spanish-speaking or bilingual.
There are approximately 93 different languages
in Peru, which include the Aymara language and
numerous Amazonia tribal languages.
Education
According to the Constitution, education in
Peru is compulsory and free in public schools
for primary levels (grades pre-school-6), and
secondary levels (grades 7-11). The literacy rate
is approximately 88 percent. School enrollment
has improved, but achievement scores reflect
ongoing problems with educational quality.
Many poor children temporarily or permanently
drop out of school to help support their families.
About a quarter to a third of Peruvian children
aged 6 to 14 must work, often putting in long
hours at hazardous mining or construction
sites. The challenges and disadvantages for the
schools in the rural Peruvian areas: a teacher has
to teach various grades simultaneously; children
are malnourished and have health problems; and
their homes do not have basic services. In the
rural villages in the Amazon district of northern
Peru, teachers often have 70 students in the oneroom schoolhouses and travel two or three days
to get to their jobs. In 2006 only 13 percent of
rural villages and towns had secondary schools.
One-quarter of Peru’s population is rural, and 60
percent of the rural population is poor, while 28
percent lives in extreme poverty.
The gap between the rural and urban worlds
in Peru is enormous. Income shows a positive
correlation with education and for more
opportunities to gain an adequate education.
Although the Constitution states that there is
freedom of religion, the law mandates that all
schools, public and private, impart religious
education as part of the curriculum throughout
the education process. Catholicism is the religion
taught in most public schools.
Food
As a major fishing nation, fish is abundant
and prepared with imagination. The primary
ingredients in nearly every Peruvian dish are rice,
potatoes (many different varieties), chicken, pork,
lamb, and, of course, fish. Most dishes contain
different kinds of “aji”, or a Peruvian hot pepper.
Three traditional Peruvian staples are corn,
potatoes, and chili peppers. Many foods
were introduced to Peru 500 years ago, when
Spaniards came to America. Potatoes were
already being grown in the Peruvian Andes and
were taken by the Spaniards back to Europe.
Today more than 200 varieties of potatoes can
be found in the Lake Titicaca area. There are
many different fruits that are native to Peru,
which are eaten raw or cooked: Peruvian lime,
lucuma, custard apple, Peruvian cherry, tomato,
sweet pepino, camu camu, tumbo (banana
passion), tuna (cactus or prickly fruit), and noni
(Amerindian mulberry).
All Peruvian festivities are accompanied by a
great amount of eating and drinking, a tradition
in both indigenous and Spanish cultures. Typical
indigenous celebrations, such as the Inti Raymi
(summer solstice), are accompanied by roasting
of meats (such as Ilama, guinea pig, pork, and
lamb) and the ritual drinking of chichi de jora
(maize beer). Another Peruvian ceremonial
occasion, the observation of Holy Week, has
strong food restrictions. During this time the
consumption of meat is religiously restricted,
providing for a whole array of seafood-based
dishes.