The transitions from favors to crime are fluid
Crowds of people outside the door and full waiting rooms in the mission hospital. – The call reached us late on Wednesday evening. A high-ranking officer from the Peruvian police answered the phone. “My relative is very ill. He needs a ticket to be seen by one of their specialists!” His relative wasn’t really that ill, he just didn’t feel like queuing up at the entrance to the hospital. – It’s not easy to refuse such a request from a high-ranking member of the establishment. From kindergarten to retirement homes, society is based on the rule: “I help you and you help me!” For the rich and powerful, life is good in Peru. They enjoy their privileges and pull the right strings when necessary.
Early on Thursday morning we were stopped by the police. When the officer heard that we were the directors of the Diospi Suyana Hospital, he waved us through immediately. He didn’t even want to check our identity documents. Society consists of a highly complex network of relationship systems. 88 % of Peruvians feel that corruption is increasing from year to year. And 85 % of inhabitants consider the parliament (Kongreso) to be a real den of thieves. The vast majority of people have long since given up hope of any improvement in the future.
When I asked a cab driver in Lima years ago when people in Peru would leave the path of virtue in their development, I didn’t have to wait long for the answer. “It starts with breast milk!” – Can only a radical change help here? According to a survey conducted by the opinion institute Datam on January 11, 51% of respondents would like to see a president like Nayib Bukele in El Salvador in the upcoming elections in April. He has managed to get his country’s violent crime under control with great severity.
