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INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
Peru is a multiethnic, multicultural and multilingual country, with a population of 27 million of inhabitants, whose 40% are indigenous, from diverse Andean and Amazonian peoples. The Amazonian region posses a great and rich biological, ecological and cultural diversity, (approximately 48 indigenous peoples and 19 linguistic families).
The indigenous peoples of the Amazonian region are organize legally in indigenous communities, which occupied a 59% of the territorial extension of the Peruvian Amazon and have approximately of 242 000 inhabitants. These communities are the basic organs from which the axis of conservation and handling the vegetal and animal resources and the Amazonian agro diversity. Inside this context, the communities have developed ancient techniques of sowing, considering the plurality of varieties, fomenting the establishment of growing associations that allow them to face the biological, physical and economical risks, reassuring in this way the feeding of their families. Nevertheless, despite of the importance in the feeding of the populations and the great potential that has towards the international market, there is lack of politics of promotion and protection by the State; even worse, the introduction of homogenous improve seeds is being favorite, building the process of genetic erosion and lost of diversity. In spite of it the indigenous peoples have kept their identity until today and the world acknowledge their wise contributions and the conservation of the environment, their tolerance for social harmony and their resistance before the oppression.
On the other side, in the Andean region exist 5, 680 communities, in which an important part of the poverty problems of our country concentrate. If the poverty on global level has diminished in the last years, this has increased in rural areas, exceeding the 45, 8% in 1994 and 48, 7% in 1999. Likewise, despite the fact of the rate of national illiteracy has diminished in the last years, it keeps rising in the rural areas of the country, and 42% of women and 17% of men of the rural areas are illiterate.
In spite of contemplate the cultural variable in state politics, the communal traditions and characteristics values of the andean population, are not appropiately understood by the occidental culture manifesting in the exclusion process made by the State.
Despite the existence of organizations that in theory “represent” the indigenous communities, in reality these have been shown ineffective, in most of the cases, for lacking a real representation from the indigenous peoples, serving only as a platform to some leaders to reach their personals goals.
> TABLE OF INDIGENOUS COMUNITIES.
| Región |
Total de Comunidades |
Comunidades Campesinas |
Comunidades Nativas |
| Número |
% |
Número |
% |
| AMAZONAS |
221 |
52 |
23.53 |
169 |
76.47 |
| ANCASH |
345 |
345 |
100.00 |
0 |
0.00 |
| APURIMAC |
442 |
442 |
100.00 |
0 |
0.00 |
| AREQUIPA |
100 |
100 |
100.00 |
0 |
0.00 |
| AYACUCHO |
578 |
577 |
99.83 |
1 |
0.17 |
| CAJAMARCA |
109 |
107 |
98.17 |
2 |
1.83 |
| CUSCO |
939 |
886 |
94.36 |
53 |
5.64 |
| HUANCAVELICA |
565 |
565 |
100.00 |
0 |
0.00 |
| HUANUCO |
266 |
257 |
96.62 |
9 |
3.38 |
| ICA |
9 |
9 |
100.00 |
0 |
0.00 |
| JUNIN |
563 |
389 |
69.09 |
174 |
30.91 |
| LA LIBERTAD |
120 |
120 |
100.00 |
0 |
0.00 |
| LAMBAYEQUE |
25 |
25 |
100.00 |
0 |
0.00 |
| LIMA |
287 |
287 |
100.00 |
0 |
0.00 |
| LORETO |
612 |
75 |
12.25 |
537 |
87.75 |
| MADRE DE DIOS |
24 |
0 |
0.00 |
24 |
100.00 |
| MOQUEGUA |
75 |
75 |
100.00 |
0 |
0.00 |
| PASCO |
188 |
73 |
38.83 |
115 |
61.17 |
| PIURA |
136 |
136 |
100.00 |
0 |
0.00 |
| PUNO |
1251 |
1251 |
100.00 |
0 |
0.00 |
| SAN MARTIN |
31 |
1 |
3.23 |
30 |
96.77 |
| TACNA |
46 |
46 |
100.00 |
0 |
0.00 |
| UCAYALI |
231 |
0 |
0.00 |
231 |
100.00 |
| TOTAL |
7163 |
5818 |
81.22 |
1345 |
18.78 |
Directorio de Comunidades Campesinas. PETT 2002. Ministerio de Agricultura.
Base de Datos de Comunidades Nativas. Marzo 2003. Defensoría del Pueblo.
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