This week: the violent deaths of 18 people in rural Peru could have major repercussions for the coming presidential election. The pandemic gets even worse in Argentina. Chile eyeing up green hydrogen push
Massacre in Peru increases election polarization
At least 18 men, women, and children were murdered in San Miguel del Ene this week, a remote city in the poor Peruvian coca-growing region known as VRAEM. Made up of the valleys of the Apurímac, Ene, and Mantaro regions, VRAEM reportedly accounts for three-quarters of the country’s total coca production and remains one of the few enclaves of Maoist guerrilla group Shining Path — which the military blamed for the massacre. The police claim the culprits left anti-Fujimori messages and pamphlets next to the murdered bodies.
Why it matters. Just two weeks prior to the presidential runoff vote, this massacre — one of the worst in Peru’s recent memory — could have earth-shattering consequences to what has already been a bitter race between far-left candidate Pedro Castillo and his far-right opponent, Keiko Fujimori.
Context. The Shining Path terrorized Peru in the 1980s, when many thought the group could seize power in the country. The guerrillas were referred to as the...