Transportation Strike

Activism seems to be a big part of Peruvian culture. I've seen many marches up and down the dusty streets of Puno. It seems like they have them everyday. They're usually composed of middle-aged people, fifty to one-hundred of them, in two separate lines, chanting and doing call-and-response. They display banners, walk slowly and hold up traffic. There is usually a contingent of policemen in tow with riot shields and clubs, as if these elderly folks were priming molotov cocktails under their coats. I haven't seen any of them escalate into anything violent - they hold up traffic for a while and eventually dissipate.

Tuesday night, we got word of a much wider demonstration. Transportation workers in the department (like a state or province) of Puno were going to strike on Wednesday, and perhaps Thursday and Friday. The strike, or 'Paro', was to protest the Peruvian government stalling on their section of the Interoceanic Highway Project. The highway system is going to connect the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of South America, and allowing people and goods to travel across the continent. Brazil finished its sections of the highway; Peru has yet to finish it sections.



After Tuesday´s workday we went to the Juliaca bus terminal to return to Puno for the night. All of the combis had slogans like ¨Viva El Paro Regional¨, or long live the regional strike, written on their windshields in blue paint. We knew for sure that the strike was on for Wednesday. This was unfortunate because we had planned a business seminar, or charla de negocio, for the women Wednesday afternoon.

Wednesday morning we wake up, and instead of hearing the hustle and bustle of Puno traffic, their is relative silence. The only thing I can hear is a group of transportation workers playing soccer in the street below our apartment. When we go out to get groceries there are many people walking around, but nearly every business is closed for the day. Even Promujer, the microfinance institution that we share tenancy with, is closed due to the strike. The only part of town that has shops open is Lima avenue, the tourist hub of Puno.

The strike only lasted one day. I´m not sure how it was organized, or what the demands were, but it sure was disruptive. Not only did it bring business to a halt in Puno, but a handful of women showed up to Prisma for our charla and we were not there to deliver it. I cannot imagine a situation in America where a political demonstration would shut down the economy of a whole state.

Working in Peru is difficult because we have to operate at a Peruvian pace; which, to pragmatic (and perhaps impatient) Americans, is laboriously slow. With a bit more hassle than we bargained for, we delivered the charla on Thursday. It was a great success. I will let Chelsea fill you in on the details. Hasta Luego

Tobia