On the Brink of History
by Jorge Vargas
Crisis has gripped a nation that has become so accustomed to it that crisis seems to have become a national hobby. Peru's teachers' union has taken to the streets in reaction to a law that could hardly be called unfair - although the method by which it was passed was not particularly helpful to the situation - and, in return, the Peruvian police has responded by arresting the leaders of the union since their strike was shutting down transportation and trade throughout an impoverished, developing nation that desperately needs both. The United Syndicate of Education Workers in Peru - known by its Spanish-language acronym, SUTEP - has taken to the streets with school teachers burning tires and hurling rocks at police officers - setting a wonderful example for Peru's schoolchildren, naturally - and the Peruvian government's response has been appropriate, if harsh.
The reason for the mass protests that have gripped all of Peru is an action taken by the Peruvian government last week. Peru's government decided that a new method was required for the maintenance and governance of education workers in the Andean nation. To be clearer: From henceforth, Peru's schoolteachers must pass aptitude tests and, if they fail repeatedly, they will be dismissed. Furthermore, these tests will be used to decide who will get a promotion and who will not. On paper, there does not seem to be anything unreasonable in any of this.
There are two problems. The first has to do with pride more than with practicality. SUTEP claims that its authority was by-passed when the government changed administrative procedures for the educational system of the State without consulting with a union. The second major issue is that SUTEP, along with others, is claiming that President Alan Garcia Perez of the Popular and Revolutionary American Alliance - known as APRA after its Spanish-language acronym - political party is using this law in order to be able to easily hand out favors to APRA party loyalists within the educational system. President Alan Garcia Perez did carry out several similar operations during his first presidency which ran from 1985 until 1990, making the above-named fear a rather credible one.
Peru's educational system has been among the worst in the Western Hemisphere for several years now and any move to change it by making the teachers more accountable is certainly a good thing, and despite the fears of the APRA's intentions, it does not appear likely that such a move would be carried out so readily given the changed realities of that nation's political system and its basic societal construct, both of which are reflections of the scarring events of the 1990s. Events that made Peruvians much more critical and scrutinous of their governments than ever before.
In 1990, Peru's citizens voted in a nobody, a Peruvian citizen of Japanese origins who had studied agronomy. He was not a threat, just a change - or at least, it appeared to be a change. In 1992, under the pretexts of fighting internal terrorists, this new President launched a military coup, ousting Congress and putting Peru under martial law for a very long time, using the time to rewrite Peru's constitution, allowing himself to be re-elected. Quite suddenly, he became a somebody. People disappeared, phone lines were tapped, and millions of US Dollars suddenly started to go missing.
He is currently hiding in Santiago, Chile where the Chilean judicial system has just recently declared that he will not be extradited to Peru where he should be tried for crimes against humanity and human rights violations, as defined by the United Nations and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The decision will be appealed in the Chilean Supreme Court but, until then, there remains no job more shameful than one within the Chilean Judicial System, save perhaps for a job within the Japanese Congress, a body that has recently lent itself to manipulation by the former dictator - Alberto Fujimori - allowing him to run for office there.
Unfortunately, the treason does not simply stop at the hands of Chile, a nation that has been trying to present itself as a 'sister nation' of Peru for many years, and of Japan, a nation that was recently 'defending democracy' in Iraq alongside the United States while simultaneously serving to help out a dictator who has broken dozens of international laws that seek to respect basic human rights. The treason was carried out, as always, by Peruvians.
Perhaps it is coincidence that Peru's government decided to wait until immediately after Chile's decision not to extradite Fujimori before they announced their controversial change to Peru's educational system. Perhaps one is reading too much into the fact that such a move would clearly have led to protests and mass strikes that would quickly have ousted the Fujimori news story from the public view, making it so that very few within Peru would ever notice that President Alan Garcia Perez of the APRA party has yet to actually formally request - from the Head of State level - that Fujimori be returned. He seems to remain content with making bland statements about his hopes that justice will be carried out properly in Chile. Perhaps it is merely a coincidence that APRA will have a hard time maintaining its control of Congress for the upcoming congressional elections without support from Fujimori's supporters in Congress.
This is not meant to accuse anyone of anything, but the coincidences are rather convenient for anyone seeking to gain control of Congress while also holding control of the Executive. Especially, if that person's past has demonstrated a tendency for violations against human rights and for corruption. Again, these are mere speculations and if they seem particularly harsh or unfair, then that semblance is due to the nature of the facts and not the method of presentation.
Moving beyond coincidences, however, we must now speak of facts.
Fact One: No Peruvian dictator has ever been tried before a proper judicial setting either within Peru or outside of it in the history of the Republic.
Fact Two: Alberto Fujimori has committed enough crimes to be tried in the judicial system of any civilized country and the proof is overwhelmingly arrayed against him, despite the recent Chilean decision and the frequent lies on the part of the Japanese Empire.
Fact Three: Peru's citizens need some good news.
Peru's citizens need not only good news, but hope. Peru has, unfortunately, failed to provide its citizens with a reputable educational system while simultaneously not being able to do enough to help secure a profitable future for them. Furthermore, several - but most certainly not all - of Peru's most recent governments have been more intent in enriching themselves financially rather than on helping the Peruvian people.
Peru is not simply a nation suffering from civil unrest. Peru is a nation on the brink of rewriting its history. We do not need a new government or more teachers, nor do we need foreign investment. We need what we lack. We do not lack intelligence or class or ideas or even wealth. We lack confidence in ourselves and in our government but, most of all, in our nation.
Peru needs a symbol of change, of a revolution that will never be won by guerrillas and terrorists. The turning of the tide must be just. If Fujimori's government and Fujimori's crimes have served as symbols of continuity, let Fujimori's fall and Fujimori's incarceration serve as symbols of revolution. Let them herald the coming of an era in which Peru's politicians will finally be held accountable for the crimes that they have wrought on a people who are, at their core, fair, humble, intelligent, playful, and, above all, deserving of something better, of the right that every person has of not having to lie to a child when telling that child that a prosperous future awaits.
We need to forget the noise and the chaos that the politicians are brewing, we need to stop defending a non-deserving union, and we need to focus, if only this one time, on the bigger picture. Our entire being is clamoring for justice, and it will not be delivered until we speak with one voice.
