The southern Andean region of Cusco on Friday began a 24-hour strike to attract the government’s attention to several demands, whereas peasant centers and organizations of rural producers are going to stage strikes on Thursday.
The Cusco strike blocked the railroad access to the ruins of Machu Picchu, the country’s main tourist attraction, and entry routes to Cusco, the capital, according to the president of the local Transport Association, Estanislao Alegre.
He assured that the strike is forceful and has involved 20 organizations, which are demanding measures against price increases, among other things.
Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Roberto Sanchez, arrived in Cusco on Sunday and offered the presence, according to Alegre, this week, of President Pedro Castillo and the Council of Ministers, a meeting with Prime Minister Anibal Torres, and the establishment of a dialogue table on the claims.
The Peruvian leader added he expects that what has been offered will be made official in order to consider the possibility of lifting the strike.
Meanwhile, the National Agrarian Federation (CNA) and the Peruvian Peasant Confederation (CCP), the federations of Coffee, Rice and Corn Producers, as well as the National Federation of Peasant Patrols (community security groups), among other organizations, are preparing a 24-hour strike on Thursday.
The strike, which has the support of the Workers’ General Confederation is demanding the dissolution of monopolies and oligopolies in sectors such as food, medicine, banking and press and the approval of reform laws proposed by the Government to the Congress of the Republic.
Prensa Latina
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