News Peru

News Peru
Is it America’s fault that 60 were murdered in Peru for their fat to be sold to european cosmetic companies?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/20/world/americas/20peru.html

The whole story is bizarre. It seems like a couple of Italians may have been involved. The strangest thing about it is the link with the Peruvian myth about the Pishtacos. I had heard about these people before (I live in Peru), but I have to admit that I didn’t believe a word.

Now this happens….. It is all very strange. Especially seeing as there seems to be no real black market for human fat.

Have a look at the article below for some more info on the myth.

News Peru

Brazilian Energy Integration with Peru

November 11th, 2009, Brazil experienced one of its worst blackouts in history. Due to the fall of a transmission line that connects the giant Itaipu Power Plant (the largest operational hydroelectric power plant in the world) to the Brazilian electrical system, the major states of the country had no electricity for more than three hours during the early evening—peak hours for energy consumption. This blackout clearly exposed the fragility of the Brazilian interconnected power system, which is ultra-dependent on the energy generated by the Itaipu Binacional plant.

In the weeks that followed, other stories made the Brazilian news.

The presidents of Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Iran visited the country, marking Brazil’s intention to play a role in the global political game. The country’s plan is to adopt a neutral and flexible mediator position in the Middle East scenario. In some places criticism has arisen, especially from spiteful right-wing Brazilians who don’t believe in the success of the current President. In other circles, however, Brazil is receiving massive praise, especially in global news, and is seen as one of the prevailing global forces of the 21st century. A special report from the prestigious magazine The Economist points out that Brazil is currently growing stronger politically and economically; the report also implies that Brazil has the potential to become an emerging superpower similar to China, but without the uncomfortable burden of a communist market. This same article mentions that Brazil recovered from the financial crisis well before the leading nations of the world and is still in a privileged position in the post-crisis cycle. The Brazilian economic fundamentals are quite strong, indicating Brazilian intentions have the power to be realized. Not only has Brazil just won bids for the Olympic Games and the World Cup, it can also excel at the political game and win over the economic world.

But as we are all tired of hearing, energy is fundamental to this economic development. There is no economy without energy, thus so many conflicts begin when players enter the scene of oil-related interests. It is an industry that moves huge amounts of money and contains within itself the world’s largest companies, Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell. In Brazil this issue is less complex, since the energy is electrical and comes largely from renewable sources, mainly hydropower; nonetheless, the energy issue remains an absolutely crucial and delicate one. The blackout event has exposed a fracture in the Brazilian energy system and is a troubling occurrence from a macro perspective: the economic development that Brazil hopes for is inexorably based on harnessing a massive amount of energy in order to fulfill promises Brazil has recently made regarding potential energy production.  But in which direction can we turn?

First we must make clear that the Brazilian power system is good under the circumstances. In places like the United States, large-scale blackouts have occurred that have left, for example, all of New York with no electricity. Europe also has a widely criticized electrical system and fights to consolidate their claims of integration. It should be emphasized that assuring that the country has continental dimensions that make it feasible to assemble and maintain an interconnected system, as is the case in Brazil, is not a trivial task. However, we know the situation is far from ideal. Transmission lines are not 100% reliable, the losses in decentralized networks of distribution are huge and the hydroelectric park has not yet reached maturity. We still have much to do. In the specific case of the recent blackout, the blame falls on outdated and rusty transmission lines. The process of privatization of the electricity sector of the 1990s did not prioritize the quality of electrical service. That bill is being paid now.

Second, resolving the current problem of system reliability, considering its technical dimension and the expansion of the hydroelectric park, is of paramount importance, since the economy is growing at full speed and every day new little Brazilians are born who will also want a refrigerator or a television on which to watch the World Cup.

This is where Brazilian energy integration with Peru comes into play. One of the dynamic factors of the Brazilian economy is the sector of highly sophisticated mechanized agriculture, commonly referred to as agribusiness. With the lands of the Midwest and Southeast exhausted, the natural path of expansion is into the northern region, and particularly the states of Rondônia, Tocantins and Acre. These are the exact areas in which the high-level hydro projects are currently under development. Furthermore, these regions (except Tocantins) are still attached to the Brazilian grid. For these reasons, it is expected that the region just northwest of the country will also be interest in the energy issue—and this region, coincidentally, borders Peru.

In Peru the energetic reality is quite different from Brazil. The inhabited regions of the country, the coast and the Andes region, do not take advantage of the potential energy of the jungle’s rivers. Peruvian authorities have yet to launch any big projects to bring energy from the Amazon region.

This is where Brazil and Peru can help one another. Brazil has a very sophisticated system of state funding, which is almost unprecedented in the world. It is called the Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES), and it finances projects that favor the economic and social development of the country. Most recently the bank has acted as a supporter of projects by Brazilian companies in neighboring countries. Such was the case of Odebrecht in Ecuador. The Brazilian construction company was nearly expelled from Ecuador for allegedly disobeying the technical requirements of a hydroelectric plant construction project. The case almost triggered a diplomatic incident.

Brazilian companies have great interest in taking advantage of the virtually untapped hydroelectric potential of Peru, using the available funding credit lines from BNDES. The plants would be assets of Peruvian utilities but would most likely sell more power to the Brazilian side than to the Peruvian side, as the Peruvian market is much less developed and demanding that the Brazilian. The initiative for energy integration between Brazil and Peru is, in theory, a win-win scenario. Both sides would gain. Brazil would have a chance to potentially strengthen its electricity system, and Peru would have access to an unprecedented source of energy—though it would still need to connect this potential Amazon energy source to its own system.

Despite the great potential benefits for all players involved, which is a prototype of the integration of Latin America that we all dream of, there is a detrimental issue that has not been clearly addressed. The Brazil-Peru electrical equation does not factor in environmental issues at stake. We must ask ourselves if we even wish Amazon  to initiate these projects in the Amazon. We know that it is technically feasible; the modern construction technology of hydroelectric plants is something close to spectacular. However, deep down, does the desire remain to simply leave the Amazon as a temple, an untouched shrine of nature?

Development is good and is reflected in the quality of life. Brazilians can be proud of this. But is this the type of development that we want—a development of grand projects going above the law of certain principles? Unfortunately, even for those who have this kind of awareness, viable energy projects tend to be large, and it is the large-scale harnessing of hydroelectricity that is on the agenda. This points us in the direction of energy integration between Brazil and Peru.

About the Author

Francisco Ebeling Barros is an economist, currently serving on the board of Management of Economy and Energy Policy of the IBP – Brazilian Institute of Oil, Gas and Biofuels. He studied at the Institute of Economics of UFRJ, has completed specialization courses in Energy Economics and has worked as a research assistant in the Group for Energy Economics from UFRJ. He is the editor of the monthly PPI Monitor (www.ibp.org.br) and is one of the editors of the literary Beehive (www.revistacolmeia.com.br). He is also a member of AB3E (Brazilian Association for Studies in Economics of Energy) and IAEE (International Association of Energy Economics). www.alternativelatininvestor.com

Cheney thinks Hugo Chavez is leader of Peru (when it’s really Venezuala)???

1) Shouldn’t every American be appalled that the man who has been shaping our foreign policy for the last 8 years is this ignorant?

The Bush administration has never been good on foreign distinctions, like Peru/Venazuela or Iraq/Iran.

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