The Peru is a country located at the west of the South America, surrounded by the Ecuador, the Colombia, the Brésil, the Bolivia, the Chile and the Pacific Ocean.

History

See also: History of Peru

The first traces of sedentarisation go back to 20.000 front JC. Many a cultures précolombiennes followed one another on the current territory of Peru, until the civilization INCA which had established its capital with Cuzco. After the arrival of the Spanish , Francisco Pizarro conquered the area and a viceroyalty was established. At the beginning of the 19th century, the troops carried out by Jose de San Martín and Simón Bolívar allowed the country of émanciper Spanish crown. Independence was declared in July 1821 and became effective in December 1824. Peru, to the sides of the Bolivia, carried out between 1879 and 1883 a 4 year old war against the Chile known under the name of war of the Pacific.

Policy

See also: Political of Peru

Peru is a presidential République.

The president is elected for a 5 years mandate. He is at the same time the Head of the State and the chief of the government. The legislative body is composed of only one Room, the Congress, composed of 120 deputies, also elected every 5 years. The great political parties are UPP, American revolutionary popular Alliance, Unidad Nacional, Partido Nacionalista Peruano, and Acción Popular.

The results of the Peruvian presidential elections of 2006 gave Alan García (American revolutionary popular Alliance) victorious, against the other candidate of the second turn, Ollanta Humala. Mr. García took the nomination as it is of habit, the national feastday, the July 28th 2006. He replaced Alejandro Toledo Manrique, in function since 2001.

January 1st 2005, the old one ordering army Antauro Humala tries a Putsch against the president while seizing the police station of Andahuaylas with a commando of 150 men. The attempt turns a few days short later, making five died and ten casualties.

Administrative cutting

Peru is divided into 25 areas, for which it is necessary to add the Province of Lima, entity with the particular status, distinct from the Région of Lima. These areas are divided into 164 provinces.

Geography

See also: Geography of Peru

Peru is a country located at the west of the South America. It is surrounded by the Bolivia, the Brésil, the Colombia, the Chile, the Ecuador and the Pacific Ocean. It occupies a surface of 1.285.220 km ² and has 2.414 km of coasts.

The climate is tropical with the east, desert and dryness in the west. These coastal deserts are caused by the presence of a oceanic current south-north, therefore cold, which goes up the coast Pacifique by blocking the evaporation and the formation of rainy disturbances. One then sees developing tough fogs, the garuas, accompanied by average temperatures of 20 degrees approximately, which is fresh for this Latitude. In the the Andes the climate is moderate cold according to altitude. The Huascarán, which rises to 6.768 m, is the culminating point of the country in the Western cordillera.

Among the natural resources, one finds the Cuivre, the money, the Or, the Pétrole, the iron ores, coal and phosphates. Fishing constitutes also an important natural resource.

The country is prone to the earthquakes. The Flood S and landslides are due to the phenomenon El Niño. There exists a ic activity Volcan in the central volcanic Zone of the Andes located at the south of the country.

One can distinguish three great natural zones:

  • the “costa” (coast) bordered by the Pacific Ocean, 60% of population, 10% of surface;
  • the “sierra” (mountain) 30% of population, 30% of surface;
  • the “selva” (forest of Peruvian Amazonia) 10% of population, 60% of surface.

Fauna and flora

Because of climatic and topographic diversity, there exists in Peru a fauna and a varied Flore. Side of the fauna, the strong fish concentration the such Anchovy, Plate S or others Maquereau X invariably attracts the predatory ones in the form of marine birds like the Mouette S or the albatross.

Further in the grounds, the condors and the hummingbirds live in the Peruvian “sierra”. On the heights, the LAMA S côtoient the Alpaga S and the Vigogne S.

But it is in the “selva” that the fauna is most present. With inter alia the Jaguar S, the Armadillo S, the caimans, the Capybara S but also of the monkeys or the hundreds of species of insects which live in a luxuriant vegetation. The Vanilla, the Mahogany tree, the rubber take part in this Biodiversité.

The Chinchilla brevicaudata, present at the wild state formerly in the very high Andes undoubtedly disappeared today.

Rivers

It is in Peru that occurs one of the longest rivers of the world, the the Amazon, which, before penetrating with the Brésil crosses all the Peruvian selva. It collects water of all the Eastern slope of the Andes cordillera.

On the Western slope, the basin of the Pacific Ocean is, where come to throw a whole series of small rivers descended from the heights from the Cordillera. Among those, one holds particularly the attention, the Río Rímac, regarded as one of the most important rivers of Peru, not by its flow of water - relatively weak - nor by the size of its basin, but because it supplies in Eau and electricity the Métropole of Lima, where concentrates more than 30% of the population of the country. The water provision of the Peruvian capital is one of the critical problems that the authorities did not manage to solve during the last decades, and each day it becomes - with the demographic explosion - acuter, requiring frequent cuts in the distribution of water.

In the South, a third basin, that of the Lake Titicaca, the vastest lake of South America and the most navigable lake in the world, perched between 3.600 and 4.500 meters of Altitude on the Andean high plateaus, between Peru and Bolivia, drains water of four basins: the lake Titicaca (T), the river Desaguadero (D), the Lake Poopó (P) and the Salar de Coipasa (S). These four basins constitute the Système TDPS, which extends on nearly 140.000 km ².

Volcanos

Land borders

Transport

Trains

" the train of the clouds " is the second highest way of railroad of the world, reaching 4871 m D altitude. The way which connects Lima to Huancayo lasts 11 hours. The train crosses 69 tunnels, 58 bridges and makes 6 zigzag. In 1999, the company Ferrocarril Central Andinas was privatisée and in 2005, the coaches of tourism were renovated to improve comfort and the service on board. the Train of the Andes is part from now on of the tourist railway lines of the world.

Economy

See also: Economy of Peru

Peru liberalized its economy in the Années 1990 by privatisant the state enterprises. At the end of the Years 1990, Peru undergoes the repercussions of the Asian Crise.

Close to a Peruvian on two currently lives in poverty. The INEI (Peruvian National institute of the statistics) advances a figure of 48% for 2005, losing 5,3 points in four years, and extreme poverty (less than one dollar per day) would amount to 18,1% for the same year. These figures are however disputed by the American revolutionary popular Alliance which denounces a political handling of the data. The index of human development was of 0.762 in 2003 (scale between 0 and 1) what places it at the 79e world place.

Peru knew a Déflation of 0,1% in 2001. The GDP progressed in 2002 of 5,2% after having grown of 0,6% in 2001 and 3,1% in 2000. The public deficit amounted to 2,3% of GDP in 2002. The principal recipients for exports are the the United States (25%), the China (8%) and the Japan (7%) (in 1997).

Peru belongs to the Economic cooperation Pacific Asia (APEC).

Tourism constitutes one of the main resources of the economy.

Demography

See also: Demography of Peru

The population rises with approximately to 27 million including 45% of natives, 37% of Métis, 15% of White and 3% made up mainly by Blacks, Japan board and Chinese. (2000)

The Spanish and the Quechua are the two official languages of Peru. The quechua and the Aymara are especially spoken in the the Andes where the natives are more numerous.

Since the reform of the Constitution in 1993, primary school education is free and obligatory.

The migratory assessment amounts to 1,1 by 1000 inhabitants and infant mortality with 40,6 died for 1000 births (2000).

The life expectancy is 67,63 years for the men and 72,5 years for the women (2000).

Fertility rate is of 3,04 children per woman (2000) Approximately 90% of the Peruvians are Catholique S (2000).

Education

Peru takes into account some prestigious foreign institutions among which the Markham College and the Lycée Free-Peruvian.

Culture

Literature and Poetry

See also: Literature and Poésie of Peru

Among the famous writers, let us quote:

; In Prose

; In Poetry

; In general

  • Jayjay Barribault, Peruvian, naturalized French, famous for its dance known as of the " roulade". It prevails from now on in the town of Rouen.

Musics and Dances

See also: Musics and Danses of Peru

The national dance is the Marinera.

The richness of Peru is seen by its dances and its music. Indeed, if topography is a natural barrier which allowed the development of regional dances, in certain areas the dances are so numerous that each village with his. It is the case of Cuzco or Puno. The folklore also integrated the traditions of the immigrants, Spanish and African particularly.

The music of the coast, it, can be divided into two subcategories:

  • music of African origin,
  • music of colonial origin.

The dances and the styles of musics are also detailed by areas.

Paintings

See also: School of Cuzco

Gastronomy

See also: Peruvian Kitchen, Peruvian Cheeses

References

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