Peruvian Protests: Agriculture and (No?) Gender Equality

One thing that really took me aback was how frequent protesting occurred in the Plaza de Armas and the area surrounding. There were two particular protests I had the chance to observe, and both demonstrated to me the importance of peacefully fighting for what they believe in in Peru.

The first protest we encountered was on our walk to Ollantaytambo. It was a peaceful collection of probably 100 locals who seemed to be protesting agricultural corporation work near the ruins. Falconi explained to me that people will protest all over the world, and Peru is no exception, for people strongly believe in both the sacred nature of Inca ruins, and the possible destruction of culture and human rights as the rise of corporate agriculture grows. Other prominent topics are labor rights throughout the South. This particular protest seemed to be about agriculture in the South around ruins. The protesters were all wearing traditional clothing, and seemed to be mainly above the age of 40, an organized group of adults. It was clear that this was an organized well-thought out protest, because they had a well-printed banner, and a collection of predetermined chants. The men and women directly following the banner seemed to be the leaders, though it was unclear if an organization was supporting this protest or if a community organizer had headed it. They walked from the outside of the city of Ollantaytambo into the city center. This was particularly interesting to me because we could still hear their chants while standing on top of the Inca terraced ruins- an otherworldly experience of being in the ancient world but hearing all of the frustrations of people in the modern world. As we looked around the top of the ruins into the valleys surrounding, you could see the modernization process taking place and the agriculture and farms creeping closer to the ruins.

The other memorable protest was in our last day in Cusco. I was walking in the Plaza de Armas and noticed a huge conglomeration of people standing on the steps of the cathedral, in a sea of the colors pink and blue. I walked closer and sat down on the benches in the Plaza facing the cathedral so I could observe the event, whatever it seemed to be at the time. I realized quickly that the group of hundreds of people were all adults, again probably over the age of 40 or 50. The women were dressed in traditional clothing with pink accents, often pink hats or holding pink banners. The men were also dressed in traditional clothing, but with blue accents. The signs they held said things like: enfoque de género (crossed out)/enfoque de familia (bolded); congreso: saquen la ideología de genéro en Perú; aqui estoy para defender mi familia: NO a los poderes supranacionales con agenda globalista de ANTIFAMILIA; ideología de género NO va! El gobierno quiere homosexualizar nuestros niños; firmes y adelante #conmishijosnotemetas; and gobierno no puede imponer ideología. All of these signs made clear the protest regarded teaching gender education in schools in Peru, and that these parents’ opinions were that it detracted from family values and that kids should never be forced to learn about gender. Some stronger opinions were that by teaching these things in school, their children would become homosexuals. This was another very well-organized protest, with security in place, and a walkway leading to the cathedral in the Plaza where thousands of international tourists would see them each day and the government’s attention on such a large plaza. It seemed like a great way to voice their concerns, while ensuring that they are doing it in a place that will likely get attention. I did love to see that no matter the opinions being voiced, there did not seem to be any violence or fights in any of the protests we encountered in Peru.