Peru's President Alan Garcia Faces More Civil Unrest

by Barbara McPherson | June 23, 2009 at 09:12 am

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Peru's President Alan Garcia is facing more civil unrest. The immediate crisis in the Amazon seems to have cooled off while unrest in the highlands is gathering steam.
President Alan Garcia has had his approval rating plummet with ninety percent of those polled saying that he mishandled the handling of the controversial laws that would have facilitated trade with the United States.
Garcia has received criticism from groups who have been left out of the prosperous times that Peru has enjoyed for the past few years. Now the economic crisis has hit Peru as well.

Demands of demonstrators in the highlands of Cusco and Andahuaylas include everything from raising wages for school teachers to revoking mine permits and blocking the construction of a hydroelectric plant. "Don't threaten too much. Don't think that the state or the government is weak," Garcia's Cabinet chief Yehude Simon told protesters before agreeing to sit down with them on Tuesday.

There has been financial trouble at the Doe Run Peru's La Oroya smelter which threatens the jobs of 3 500 direct jobs and a further 16 000 indirectly. Union members have blocked a highway in order to generate movement in their negotiations.