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Peru's workers defy state of emergency

Union leaders vowed Saturday to defy President Alejandro Toledo's 30-day state of emergency and hold demonstrations next week demanding an end to the emergency measure invoked to curb a rising wave of protests.

Protests by teachers, farmers, public health workers and judiciary workers led Toledo to declare the measure and put the armed forces in charge of restoring order in half of Peru's 24 regions. By Friday, protests had died down.

The state of emergency authorizes police and the military to use force to clear blocked highways, restore order, detain protesters and enter homes without warrants. It also bars unauthorized public meetings and demonstrations.

Mario Huaman, leader of Peru's largest workers' union, told cable television Canal N that his group plans to hold a march in downtown Lima on Tuesday.

Luis Saravia, president of the Arequipa Defense Front, told Radioprogramas that his group plans to launch a general strike Tuesday in Arequipa.

University student leader Ruben Rivera told Canal N that students in Lima and across the country would also hold demonstrations next week.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Luis Solari said in a press conference Saturday that the government had formed a high level commission to investigate the death of a student shot by soldiers on Thursday during student protests in Puno, 860km southeast of Lima.

All three union leaders said next week's demonstrations would be peaceful.

Defense Minister Aurelio Loret de Mola has said the state of emergency would only be lifted once order has been restored.

Also on Saturday, leaders from a teachers' union planned to meet to decide if they would continue an ongoing strike for higher wages, which began on May 12.

Teachers currently earn about US$190 a month. The government has offered to raise their salaries by about US$30 a month but teachers are demanding double that amount.

"The likelihood is that we will continue with the strike and insist on the wage increase," union leader Nilver Lopez said.

Farmers, who are seeking tax breaks and protection from imports, and health care workers, who are seeking higher wages, suspended their protest during the state of emergency.

Interior Minister Alberto Sanabria said late Friday that 304 people had been detained nationwide since Wednesday. Union leaders say many of the detainees are teachers.

The protests have created a political crisis for Toledo. Since coming in with an approval rating near 60 percent, recent polls show his popularity has dropped to around 15 percent.

Faced with the national emergency, Toledo canceled plans to attend a meeting between Latin American and African leaders in Florida next week.

Government officials have said they believe the teacher protests have been infiltrated by remnants of the Shining Path guerrilla group.

Toledo's political opponents have been quick to criticize the state of emergency as draconian and unnecessary.
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