Friday, July 10, 2009

PERU: Three Days of Anti-Government Protests

Peru strikerBy Ángel Páez     IPS News

LIMA, Jul 8 (IPS) - Wednesday was the second day of a three-day strike declared by trade unions and social movements in Peru to protest the economic policies of President Alan García.


According to the government, the strike has been a complete failure. Labour Minister Jorge Villasante said "work has continued as normal in Peru. The protest has not caught on among the workers as the organisers had hoped."

But Carmen Sifuentes, the president of the CGTP - Peru's largest trade union federation – commented to IPS: "If it's such a flop, if the unions do not represent anyone, why are they offering 20 soles to people who went to work? The government is lying to the people."

The government offered workers who stayed on the job an incentive of 20 soles (6.6 dollars).

Thousands of members of the security forces were deployed Wednesday in Lima to keep order, and police chief General José Sánchez reported that over 156 demonstrators were arrested, mainly in Lima. He also said the strike had 100 percent adherence in the southern provinces of Huancavelica, Puno and Cuzco.
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