In Peru, 'they teach you to be ashamed,' indigenous trans candidate says

Yahoo – AFP, Carlos MANDUJANO, January 26, 2020

Gahela Cari hopes to become the first indigenous transgender person
elected to the Peruvian Congress (AFP Photo/Ernesto BENAVIDES)

Lima (AFP) - The first indigenous transgender candidate to run for parliament in Peru says it's time to end the culture of machismo in the South American country.

"I suffered, in my own flesh, the consequences of inequality, discrimination, violence and corruption," Gahela Cari, 27, said in an interview with AFP before Sunday's nationwide parliamentary ballot.

"We have to stop educating future macho men," she said during a break from campaigning.

Her candidacy comes as awareness of transgender people and their rights is growing in many countries.

"I'm an animal-rights advocate, an ecologist and a student leader," Cari told AFP. "I come from that part of the left that has always fought."

Cari, who has promised to support the anticorruption reforms of President Martin Vizcarra, is running as a candidate of the leftist Together for Peru party, which seeks to end the political crisis that led Vizcarra to dissolve Congress on September 30.

Small, thin and calm in demeanor, she sported an Andean hat over braided hair during her interview, with bright red lipstick and, tied to her left wrist, the green scarf that symbolizes support for legalized abortion.

What motivated you to run for Congress?

CARI: "We want trans people to have more opportunities. We don't enjoy the same conditions as the rest of the population. It's no coincidence that our life expectancy is less than 32 years. Here the state doesn't guarantee our rights."

Cari, who supports the anticorruption reforms of President Martin Vizcarra, is 

running for office amid growing awareness of transgender people and their rights 

globally (AFP Photo/Ernesto BENAVIDES)

"(Congress) has been more concerned with defending the corrupt. I'm tired of traditional politics. That's why I entered politics, to put Congress at the service of the citizenry."

How do you present yourself to voters?

CARI: "I introduce myself as a trans, indigenous, migrant woman. I was born in the south of the country. My mother is from Ayacucho and my father is from Puno. In this country we receive an education that aims to repress who we are, to repress our sexual identity and to repress our cultural identity. They force us to be ashamed of our roots."

"In a country that teaches you to be ashamed, a country that educates in order to repress you, to describe yourself as an indigenous trans person is already revolutionary. It is using your body to fight; fighting without even uttering a word."

What is the main point in your platform?

CARI: "We want to finish (Vizcarra's) political reform, to complete the reform of the justice system and to launch an economic reform that guarantees the voices of the citizenry and of vulnerable populations."

"We do not want the situation facing women and LGBTQ people to continue, which is why we are proposing a reform to put the fight against gender-based violence and all forms of discrimination on the table."

"We need to stop raising future macho men, future homophobes, future transphobes and woman killers. We need education with respect. I have suffered transphobic bullying in school."

"We're fighting to decriminalize abortion in all cases because we don't believe that a democratic state can continue to condemn a woman to be a mother against her will."

Facts about Peru (AFP Photo/Gustavo IZUS, Nicolas RAMALLO)

Is it true that you practiced prostitution?

CARI: "I had to be involved in prostitution though I didn't want to. It was for a short time... but it was the most complicated stage of my life."

"It was when I was about to finish university. I had gone five days without eating and my stomach was empty. It was a matter of necessity. I got out of it thanks to a network of contacts and thanks to feminists who saved my life."

Were you also a catechist?

CARI: "I was a catechist. I am a believer, I believe in a loving God. I believe that no religion can serve to justify hate."

If you studied law, why aren't you practicing as a lawyer?

CARI: "After finishing my university studies, those in charge refused to let me join the professional association. Without that membership, you can't work, though I tried hard. That depressed me for a while."

Is it difficult to campaign in a country with a tradition of machismo? 

CARI: "We have had to face situations of discrimination throughout the campaign. We have been threatened and have suffered situations of harassment and physical violence."

Flooding, landslides kill six in Brazil

Yahoo – AFP, January 18, 2020

Handout picture released on January 18, 2020 by Espirito Santo State
Government showing a flooded street after heavy rain and floods, at the city
of Iconha, state of Espirito Santo, Brazil (AFP Photo/ADRIANO ZUCOLOTTO)

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - Flooding and landslides triggered by torrential rains have claimed six lives in southeast Brazil, firefighters said Saturday.

Footage on social media showed streets in Espirito Santo state turned into rivers and cars being swept away by raging, muddy water.

In one clip, the water almost reaches the roof of a gas station.

The fatalities happened in the towns of Iconha and Alfredo Chaves, with three deaths in each town. In the latter, two of the victims were elderly people who died after a landslide engulfed their home in mud.

Officials said that in just 24 hours, Alfredo Chaves recorded the rainfall it normally gets in the entire month of January.

The mayor of Iconha told the newspaper A Gazeta that nearly all of the town's shops were destroyed.

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Peru: Tourists accused of damaging, defecating on Machu Picchu

A group of tourists has been caught allegedly damaging stonework and defecating in a sacred temple, according to Peruvian authorities. Most of the tourists are set to be deported, while one man is expected to face trial.

DW, 15 Januari 2020

Machu Picchu seen from above

Six tourists are in trouble after Peruvian police said they were caught vandalizing the famous Incan sanctuary Machu Picchu.

Authorities said four men and two women from Chile, Brazil, France and Argentina were arrested Sunday after they were found by park rangers in a restricted area of the Temple of the Sun. Several parts of the temple are off-limits to tourists for preservation reasons.

The group is said to have entered Machu Picchu on Saturday and hid in among the ruins to illegally spend the night.

Five of the tourists will be deported, and one man from Argentina will remain in Peru to face charges for "destroying Peru's cultural heritage." The 28-year-old acknowledged that he tried to remove a stone that fell to the ground, causing a crack in the floor, authorities said. He could be sentenced to four years in prison if convicted.

One of the tourists allegedly defecated among the ruins inside the Incan city.

Read more: Naked tourists arrested at Machu Picchu

It is not the first time that the 600-year-old Machu Picchu has been damaged by visitors.

In 2004, two Chileans were sentenced to six months in jail for spray painting a wall and were released only after agreeing to pay $100,000 in damages. In 2017, three Argentinians and a Colombian were arrested for painting graffiti on the ancient walls.

Machu Picchu is a UNESCO World Heritage site located near Cusco in southern Peru visited by more than 1 million tourists a year.

Venezuela contact group recognises Guaido as speaker

Yahoo – AFP, January 9, 2020

Juan Guaido, pictured on January 5, was re-elected speaker of the National Assembly
while rival lawmaker Luis Parra also claimed the title after a separate vote (AFP Photo/
Yuri CORTEZ)

Brussels (AFP) - A dozen countries working on ways to end Venezuela's crisis on Thursday gave their backing to opposition leader Juan Guaido as parliamentary speaker, rejecting the claims of a rival.

The International Contact Group on Venezuela said it was deeply concerned by events in the Venezuelan National Assembly this week in which the security forces of President Nicolas Maduro tried interfered in the vote to choose a speaker.

Guaido, whose claim to be acting president is recognised as legitimate by more than 50 countries, was re-elected speaker of the assembly on Sunday while rival lawmaker Luis Parra also claimed the title after a separate vote.

Twelve European and Latin American countries from the contact group issued a statement saying the vote for Parra "cannot be considered legitimate nor democratic".

"We support Juan Guaido as President of the National Assembly, and reaffirm our commitment to actively support genuine efforts towards a peaceful and democratic resolution of the crisis in Venezuela," the statement said.

Guaido was re-elected by opposition lawmakers in a session held at a newspaper office after police blocked him from entering the National Assembly, while Parra proclaimed himself speaker after claiming to have been elected with 81 votes in the 167-member chamber.

"These events together with the continuous intimidation and reprisals against the members of the National Assembly, democratically elected by the Venezuelan people, further aggravate the crisis, creating more obstacles to the peaceful return to democracy and the rule of law," said the statement -- signed by all members of the group except Uruguay.

Guaido's re-election is important for his struggle against far-left leader Maduro, as the National Assembly is the only branch of government in opposition hands.

While Guaido enjoys international support including from Washington, Maduro appears entrenched with the crucial backing of the armed forces, despite presiding over the oil-rich country's collapse into economic ruin.

The EU has an arms embargo in force against Venezuela as well as individual sanctions on various members of the regime over human rights abuses.

The statement was signed by Bolivia, Britain, Costa Rica, Ecuador, France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Panama, Portugal, Spain and Sweden -- a diplomatic vehicle set up to help mediate a political solution to the Venezuelan crisis.

Chile president launches health care reform project

Yahoo – AFP, January 5, 2020

Chile's President Sebastian Pinera has announced a raft of measures aimed
at appeasing protesters and ending months of chaos (AFP Photo/HO)

Santiago (AFP) - Chile's President Sebastian Pinera launched on Sunday a reform project to create a "universal health plan" following months of protests against social inequality and his leadership.

"This plan is based on what the people have asked us for," said Pinera as he presented the project.

A poor public health system and sky-high private costs were among the main gripes of demonstrators.

Congress sat on Sunday to deal with a number of projects as part of Pinera's "social calendar" aimed at appeasing protesters.

The new health plan would benefit the 14.5 million people who rely on public services as well as the three million using private care.

Congress has tried to rush through social projects to help defuse the protest movement that began on October 18, initially as a reaction to a modest metro fare hike.

Twenty-nine people have died during the worst social unrest to hit Chile since the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship ended 30 years ago.

One of Pinera's main policy changes has been to enact a law allowing the South American country to hold a referendum on changing the Pinochet-era constitution.

His new health plan will include "a guaranteed maximum waiting time (and) a drop in the price of medicines," as well as other changes, Pinera said.

He said the government would subsidize "the 200 main" medicines used for chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes, resulting in a 60 percent reduction in costs.

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