Since this past December 7, 2022, after a failed and illegal coup by former President Pedro Castillo, the Peruvian nation has been involved in a moment of crisis and anxiety that seems to never end.
On December 7, former President Pedro Castillo Terrones, in a desperate action as a result of the corruption cases for which he is investigated during his short presidential term and accused of leading a gang of criminals, made the abrupt decision to carry out a coup. Illegally, dissolving congress and among other measures, his failed action has led him to pretrial detention for this fraudulent act during a period of investigation.
This political and social situation and crisis has also led the Peruvian state to endless chaos and anxiety that greatly harms education, since students of all educational levels have had to return to virtual classes, knowing that the least favored sectors in terms of access to educational tools continue with these shortcomings, now they are more affected due to this crisis.
It goes without saying that the economy of Peru, which has been so hit by the pandemic and which was in the process of reactivation, then was facing the severe economic consequences of the war as it is worldwide and now has to face on top this harsh stage of political and social crisis, where for example the tourism sector has been forced to cancel 80% of its reserves by 2023.
The shortage of food and fuel products is another important point to mention in all this chaos, since their scarcity causes their costs to rise even more due to the protests, the many road blocks all over the country and the unrest.
After more than 4 weeks of uncertainty and chaos, a large sector of the population hopes that the waters will return to their course and peace and order will return to our country.
From our organization we reject all acts of violence and we consider that the best form of coexistence is respect for the rights of others, likewise we believe that there is a very long way to go to reduce inequality in education because we firmly believe that it’s quality and inclusive education that helps us to become better persons in the society and will prevent people from allowing themselves to be manipulated by personal, selfish and ignorant interests, as is happening right now in Peru.
Even though the protests and the unrest are affecting the society on many levels, the well functionning of education in Peru and the activities at the projects, we are doing everything to ensure as much as possible the continuing of our activities at both project centers with all the necessary responsability and security.
If you would like to read more about the very complicated political situation in Peru, this is a very clear article:
https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/12/16/peru-president-castillo-impeached-removed-political-crisis-protests/
And about the current toll that the political crisis is taking:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/17/world/americas/peru-protests-democracy.html
Photo cover blog post: Federico Rios / New York Times
