[Bastaderacismo] En el Financial Times de Londres escriben sobre racismo en el Perú

Jue Ago 16 10:31:56 PET 2007

Estimados amigos,

Resulta un texto interesante.  

Saludos cordiales,

Wilfredo   

WORLD NEWS

Peru starts to unpick its complex patchwork of racial prejudices. 

By HAL WEITZMAN

The advisory notices are like scars on the voguish dark wood-and-concrete
exterior of the Cafe del Mar, a chic nightspot in the upmarket Miraflores
neighbourhood of southern Lima. Plastered across the club's door, they
declare in large red letters: "CLOSED for breaking the law." 

Last month, the Cafe del Mar became the first such establishment in Peru to
be shut down by local authorities for racial discrimination. It was also
fined 241,500 soles (Dollars 77,000, Euros 56,000, Pounds 38,000). 

The case has shed new light on a society whose various elites have long been
dominated by lighter-skinned descendents of European immigrants. 

"This was an incredibly important step forward," says Edwin Aldana, of the
office of consumer protection at Indecopi, Peru's competition authority.
"It's sent out a message that we have laws to protect all consumers - and we
will enforce them." 

The action followed an undercover investigation by Indecopi in January 2006
in which a mestizo (mixed-race) couple were turned away from the club, while
a whiter couple were allowed in. Cafe del Mar was fined, but a further
investigation in October by a television news team found more of the same
behaviour. 

Indecopi then secured a judgment to force the club to close for 60 days and
to impose the maximum fine. 

Most Peruvians do not fall easily into racial categories. Most are mestizos
who trace their heritage to combinations of indigenous, black, Chinese and
white ancestors. There is a large minority of purely indigenous Peruvians,
and much smaller numbers of whites and blacks. 

This patchwork masks a deeply entrenched system of prejudices. Peruvians are
acutely aware of a plethora of subtle social and cultural distinctions that
are almost imperceptible to outsiders. These differences are marked by a
complex mix of indicators such as race, facial characteristics, height,
demeanour, dress, language and accent. This means prejudice is not a simple
matter of skin colour - one reason why the authorities find it hard to prove
that the law has been broken. 

"Peru is not a racist country, but that's not to say there isn't widespread
discrimination by race and class," says Julio Cotler, a political analyst in
Lima. 

Historically, those with darker skin and more indigenous characteristics
have been marginalised from power and wealth. 

Ollanta Humala, a radical nationalist who came close to winning lastyear's
presidential election, played on their anger during the campaign, casting
himself as an "outsider" who would challenge Peru's traditional
decision-makers. 

The flip side is what many see as a kind of self-loathing among some of the
more indigenous Peruvians. "Discrimination is a cultural problem," says Mr
Humala. "Peru has a social pyramid based on skin colour - with white
descendents of the Spanish at the top, mestizos further down and cholos
(more indigenous people) at the bottom. The result is no one wants to be a
cholo." 

Many Peruvians want to marry "whiter" than themselves - an impulse that can
be traced back to the 19th-century idea of "improving the race". "There is a
widespread notion that if your children are whiter, they'll have more
opportunities," says Wilfredo Ardito, a Lima anti-racism campaigner. 

This attitude also fuels racial prejudice further down the social spectrum.
"A cholo who becomes a bit whiter is often more racist than a white person,"
says Mr Humala. 

Some of the worst prejudice is suffered by Peru's small black minority.
"Black people are right at the bottom of the pile," says Alfredo Perez
Samame, of the Afro-Peruvian museum in Zaña, a northern coastal village. 

There are some signs of change. In 2001, Alejandro Toledo, an indigenous
former shoeshine boy, won Peru's presidential election. 

In recent decades, a growing number of darker-skinned Peruvians have become
relatively well-off, and there is a developing and increasingly vocal
anti-racism movement. 

Six nightclubs have been fined in recent years. None has paid up, but the
latest move to enforce anti-racism laws is a fresh sign that things may be
improving. 

"Since Cafe del Mar closed, a lot more people have come forward to report
incidents. They now feel something will be done about it," says Mr Aldana. 

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[Bastaderacismo] En el Financial Times de Londres escriben sobre racismo en el Perú

[Bastaderacismo] En el Financial Times de Londres escriben sobre racismo en el Perú

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