Indigenous Rights in Peru

From WolfWikis

Indigenous Rights in Peru

Brief Peruvian Political Background

Beginning in the late 1960s, military command ruled Peru's government until it was handed back to the people along with a new constitution in 1980 by General Francisco Morales Bermudez. Economic depression due in part to the military regime's corruption and also to uncontrollable weather patterns bred social discontent and brought about the rise in terrorist groups and the selling of coca. And thus the country slid down the slope of corruption and inflation. In around 2001, democracy was once again restored after several years under president Alberto Fujimori during which many humanitarian rights were violated especially among the Indigenous Peoples.

Recent Advances in Indigenous Rights

In 2001, The government under President Alejandro Toledo established a commission called the "Truth and Reconciliation Commission" whose goal was to investigate the human rights abuses and violations that took place between 1982 and 2000. From this commission came the trials and convictions of many government officials including ex-president Fujimori. There are however, still issues that need to be addressed. According to the worldbank survey of poverty in Latin American countries, Peru had less than .1 percent change in poverty levels among the indigenous. Likewise, in 1997 there was a 27% score gap in the standardized tests given to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students.

Conclusion

In recent years, Peru has grown by leaps and bounds into a more indigenously conscious and accepting state. However they still seem from far off to have a lot of ground to cover until they have successfully made the issue of indigenous rights a topic for Latin American History classes and we can only hope that they do not fall back into the common mold we see of widespread political corruption and more economic hardship.

Annotated Bibliography

[1] - Informative Educational Journal containing information about Indigenous Rights throughout Latin America and their pursuit for true Democracy.

[2] - An in depth look at poverty and conditions for Indigenous peoples compared to those of the Non-Indigenous residents. Provided by Worldbank.org

[3] - A brief historical summary of Peru provided by the Department of State.