Insights into Peru's poverty

* "Peru had 10 years of government by a man named [Alberto] Fujimori. He became almost a dictator. He finally had to resign; his right-hand man was involved in corruption. A year ago, a man named [Alejandro] Toledo [Manrique] was elected. They got a democratic structure going. It's weak, but they're trying to strengthen it.

* "Peru is very poor. The people I live with, the Aymara people, are forgotten because they live so far up in the hills. They farm and fish from the lake. My town is a little resort town outside of Puno, so they have a couple of hotels. The big industry is tourism, but it's decreased since Sept. 11."

* "Latin America has suffered at the hands of the U.S. government. The U.S. would back the international bank and Peru has a high debt; so the little money they get that could be used to build up the area, they have to use to pay the debt. It's a different type of slavery. The debt has got to be canceled. It's corrupt governments that borrowed the money, and the people have to pay. In Peru, people don't have the basics: a wage they can live on, health care." (KB)

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