Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Fujimori convicted of human rights abuses

No doubt this is still the middle of the story, not the end, but I hear from the NY Times that Fujimori has been convicted of human rights abuses. This man exemplifies the flabbergasting politics of Perú (though Alan Garcia, the current president, is another big political puzzle).

Fujimori led Perú during some of its worst times—70,000 people died during his war on the Maoist group The Shining Path and Marxist-Leninist Tupac Amaru—and then he was caught in a corruption scandal when his intelligence chief was recorded bribing a lawmakers and businessmen. Fujimori fled to Japan and faxed his resignation. Five years later he planned to return to run for reelection (can you believe?) and instead got extradicted by Chile and then tried in Peru.

Alberto Fujimori was the president for ten years after he seized control of the government in a coup d'etat, shut down Congress and suspended the Constitution... yet in 1995 when he ran for reelection he won with a 2/3 majority. Then he ran for a dubious third term and in the hubbub that followed he fled to Japan...

Monday, April 06, 2009

Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act


The New York Times has an interesting editorial out about farm worker's rights and what happened to them in the New Deal Era. What happened is that they were left out, with lasting consequences for the way our food system functions. Keep your eyes out for news about the Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act.

The photo is mine, taken in Ccenta near Pampachiri, Peru. One heck of a gorgeous corn on the cob.