‘I think everything will get better. The danger has passed’: Peru’s climate is in crisis

“I spent a day between laughing and worrying,” taunts 17-year-old Peruvian student Fátima Mesa, who was released hours before her technical institute.

The manager of a local supermarket, Elizabeth Perez, 28, also from Peru, was waiting for time to rest after a long day at work that, according to her, had tripled the number of consumers.

They sought more canned and non-perishable products. We had to stock up a lot more goods.
Elizabeth Perez, supermarket supervisor in Lima

Gyms closed their doors. Some establishments, such as the Smart Fit chain, which has 38 units in the capital, closed their operations in the afternoon. Shopping malls, supermarkets and Jorge Chávez airport made statements stating that they will remain open.

Brazilian Dora Valentim de Menezes, who has lived in Lima for eight years, understands the influx of markets.

Them [peruanos] They’ve been through so much that they carry so much fear, it’s such a powerful trauma.
Brazilian Dora Valentim de Menezes, who has lived in Lima for eight years

The sales executive refers to the 1980s and 90s, when the country suffered terrorist attacks by the left-wing guerrilla group Sendero Luminoso and lived under the dictatorship of Alberto Fujimori, who staged a coup in 1992 and seized control of the Great Powers.

At a school in the San Isidro neighborhood, parents were told they could pick up their children early. One of the girls was frightened and left crying. “A colleague of mine talked about the coup and said that the army would break into people’s homes,” the Brazilian mother said.

Today is a holiday and people are planning to travel. Castillo’s arrest and the announcement of a new president of the country were enough for Peruvians to continue their travel plans on the Immaculate Birthday, the long holiday that begins today. Tomorrow is the Day of the Battle of Ayacucho, the historic date of Peru’s independence.

Peruvian Alejandra de Cárdenas, who works as a practice assistant, was preparing to go to the beach with her children last night while shopping at a supermarket in the Surco district.

Glad because this ass [Castillo] no longer in government. Fortunately, there are laws.
alejandra inside Cardenasassistant in a doctor’s office

The workday was normal for him. The only precaution he took was to ask the children not to leave the house.

Holiday eve with few people in malls and restaurants. According to officials interviewed by the news, activity in the capital’s largest mall, Jockey Plaza, was lower than expected on a holiday eve (7). The restaurants were empty and there was no queue at the movie theaters.

Lawyer Márcia Mendoza, 27, tried to relax there in the early evening. An anti-fujimorist says he voted for Castillo because he saw him as “less bad”.

“We finally got the same results as Fujimori: lobbying and corruption, but with a different president,” he said, concerned about the effects on the economy regarding foreign investment, which requires a high level of trust and predictability.

“But I’m hopeful because we’ve been through tougher times like terror. I don’t know who’s going to get us out of this situation.”

Despite a certain air of normalcy, it was impossible to talk about anything else. It was the politics heard in the aisles of supermarkets, shopping malls, on the sidewalks, on restaurant tables.

A sense of uncertainty among immigrants. “History repeats itself. The currency is depreciating, the violence is increasing, the drug traffickers are getting stronger. People don’t take things seriously and don’t see what’s behind them. It’s like a flashback,” security guard Johan Calderon, 34, warned.

He is Peruvian from Venezuela and has lived in Lima for ten years, preparing to emigrate again. This time for Canada to leave the country “no matter how much it hurts”. “A life in Peru!”

For Franklin Pargas, a 52-year-old Venezuelan taxi driver, the failure of the coup showed that there was still autonomy among the Great Powers.

But he says Peru follows the same “road map” as his country. “I was already packing my bags,” he said playfully.

According to him, although the president belongs to the same party and group as Castillo, the expectation is that the situation will improve. “Dina is more educated, she won’t go around saying she learned to be president. [como reconheceu Castillo em uma entrevista meses atrás]????????

He says he’s gotten richer in the country since he arrived five years ago.

It is a port economy, it is dynamic. If you can’t make money here, it’s because you don’t want to. I came here without buying anything, I started in a room and now I have a car and live in an apartment with my family. I manage to pay my bills, go for a walk, and send money to Venezuela.
Franklin Pargas, Venezuelan and Peruvian taxi driver