Combatting inequalities

Aída García Naranjo: "We are asking for solidarity with Peru from everyone."

Aída García Naranjo:

Aída García Naranjo “Mocha” is currently the President of Red sin Fronteras. She is a former Ambassador of Peru to Uruguay, representative of Peru at the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI) and MERCOSUR, President of the ALADI Committee of Representatives and Minister of Women and Development.

Interview held at the 2nd Meeting of the Migration Alliance organised by the Organisation for Universal Citizenship (OCU) and ANVITA (National Association of Welcoming Cities and Territories) in Lisbon, from 25 to 27 January 2023.

Emmaus International: What has the situation been like in Peru recently?

Aída García Naranjo: It’s a difficult time, you could say that Peru is a country of struggles and in pain.

In pain, because on 7 December of last year the regime changed to a civil, military and police state. Over 60 people have lost their lives and massacres have taken place in Andahuaylas, Ayacucho and Puno, as a consequence of an authoritarian government that wants to stay in power without having been elected.

Peru is also a country of struggles, where the whole country is standing up for a very important agenda that implies a change of government, the departure of Dina Boluarte, the dismissal of the Congress of the Republic, a change of Bureau and the immediate announcement of new elections in 2023.

What is at the root of this crisis?

The crisis in Peru is not a crisis of circumstances, it is a systemic crisis: over the last six years we have had six presidents, two hundred ministers of state and nine cabinets. Even in the current political climate: over the last 45 days we have had two cabinets, two prime ministers and have witnessed an extremely critical situation, with people losing their lives. This implies a crisis of a systemic nature, as a consequence of an economic model where there is growth but no distribution of wealth.

What role can Peruvian civil society play?

Civil society is taking up the struggle, in solidarity with all rural people who have been overlooked and abandoned – in Peru they call them “the nobodies”. This is not the official Peru, but “deep Peru”, where 78% are employed on the informal market, poverty has increased to over 30% and there is an extremely high rate of children with acute nutritional status.

How can international solidarity provide support?

We are asking for solidarity with Peru from everyone: voices of solidarity to call for an end to the violence, for no more deaths and for the respect of human rights, so that we can find a democratic, people-centred and national solution to this crisis.