Update (or lack thereof) on The Situation in Peru
This just in from Andrea, our editor in Peru, who is having trouble getting to an internet connection these days!
I am in Ollantaytambo now and things were OK here yesterday and today...trains are running again with police guard though the strike has not ended yet. Late on Sunday the teachers said they will continue with the strike because the government won't sit and have a dialogue with them... the government says they won't talk to anybody unless the teachers stop the strike...so I guess this isn't going anywhere soon...they said there would be road blockage today, but I was able to come to Ollantaytambo without problems...however, we expect the roads to be blocked tomorrow...Arequipa and Puno are also on strike and the road from Puno to Cusco is now dangerous because of the stones on the road and violent people throwing stones at buses and cars....
In Cusco, the only supporters of these bad teachers are the teachers themselves and maybe CGTP (construction union, proved to have members related with terrorism)...the rest of Cusqueños are tired of the strike, especially when they heard teachers were shouting 'si no hay solucion, tomamos Machu Picchu'....(if there is no solution, we'll take over Machu Picchu)....they want to go to Machu Picchu (walking I guess, since Peru Rail isn't giving them their trains) and strike there to make things even worse....I've heard from some people who want to go out on the street and march against teachers, though I doubt that, since things will definitely get violent if that happens...
We will keep you posted.
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