Archive for the ‘Media’ Category
Wednesday, February 13th, 2008
Controversy over a new law prohibiting public schools from hiring teachers who did not finish in the top third of their class during their studies has intensified, with Peru’s Education Minister threatening criminal charges against many of the country’s regional presidents who say the law is unconstitutional and discriminatory.
In an attempt to improve Peru’s ailing public school system, the Education Ministry established through Supreme Decree 004 that applicants for public teaching positions are required to have completed their education degree within the top third of their class
“Peru needs to make a quantum leap forward in education and with mediocre people who finished last we aren’t going to take that step,” daily Correo reported Cabinet Chief Jorge Del Castillo saying.
The president of La Libertad Department, José Murgia, said his department will implement the law. “Our children deserve the best teachers,” he said. “Don’t we want the best teachers for our children?”
However, 17 other regional presidents have argued the law is unconstitutional and discriminatory. Some say they will not implement it. (more…)
Posted in Media, Politics, Regional Politics | No Comments »
Thursday, January 24th, 2008
Peru’s Foreign Relations Ministry announced Wednesday that it has begun legal action to revoke a Peruvian woman’s trademark registration of a popular Peruvian dance in Chile. Cecilia Gurmendi, a former Marinera national champion in Peru, registered “Marinera” with Chile’s Trademark Registry in the Department of Industrial Property in November 2007.
The Foreign Relations Ministry says Marinera, was declared a National Cultural Heritage in 1986, which restricts individuals and institutions from registering it as a trademark.
Marinera is a popular couple’s dance on the Peruvian coast, which traditionally uses bugles, guitars and the cajón, an Afro-Peruvian box drum played by slapping the front face with the hands. Often called the National Dance of Peru, the Marinera origins is generally traced to 19th century Peru.
The registration of Marinera in Chile has received wide coverage by Peru’s media, amid fears that it may become identified as Chilean. Peru and Chile already have many longstanding arguments over nationalistic claims to their cultural heritage including ceviche, a popular seafood dish, and pisco, a regional brandy made in the countries wine-producing regions and the main ingredient for the pisco sour.
Posted in Law, Media, Tourism | No Comments »
Saturday, November 24th, 2007
Jailed ex-President Alberto Fujimori is scheduled to face his first human rights abuse trial Dec. 10 to answer for his regime’s brutal excesses to tame the Shining Path insurgency during his 10-year rule.
Coincidently, members of his political party spent all last week trying to muster support for a vote of censure against President Alan Garcia’s Cabinet chief, Jorge Del Castillo. They accuse Del Castillo of failing to stem attacks on police by suspected Shining Path guerrillas, now in the employ of cocaine traffickers.
Guerrillas armed with grenades and machine guns stormed a police outpost last month in a remote Andean village in Apurímac, killing one officer. Two weeks later, four more officers were killed in an ambush on a jungle road in Huancavelica.
“On this issue, our presence signifies the clearest and healthiest intention to seek an accord between all political groups to act in unity to combat subversive violence, the violence of terrorism, the violence of narcotics trafficking, or of narco-terrorism,” Del Castillo said in an address to Congress.
“No one should try to seek political points on this issue, let alone over the bodies of dead police,” he added. (more…)
Posted in Cocaine, Insurgency, Media, Politics | No Comments »
