Inside the Americas: A Peruvian Campesino Tells His Story

In today’s program we meet Juan Santa Cruz, a Peruvian campesino who is struggling to make ends meet in the countryside near Lima. In 1969 he benefitted from a major land reform program that tackled Peru’s semi-feudal system. Despite initial problems of financing, around 650 campesinos ended up with low-cost land. Juan was able to live very well until Fujimori instituted neoliberal reforms in the 1990s, which brought in cheap agricultural imports and plunging prices. Even so, Juan, unlike many others has been able to keep his farm operating through diversification. He’s now raising guinea pigs. teleSUR