Martin Vizcarra, former First Vice President and Peruvian Ambassador to Canada, was sworn in as new Peruvian President after Congress accepted the resignation of President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (PPK) who allegedly is involved in the Odebrecht corruption scandal. Vizcarra is set to finish PPK’s term in July 2021.
After months of political crisis Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (PPK) handed in his resignation on Wednesday, March 21, 2018 avoiding a second impeachment vote against him which most probably would have resulted in his dismissal by the Peruvian Congress.
The struggle and persistence of patients, their relatives and supporters eventually paid off. The Peruvian Congress finally recognized the medicinal properties of cannabis and made the medical and therapeutic usage of marijuana legal in Peru.
Violence against women and children is unfortunately a pervasive problem in Peru. So, for years every now and then there are demands for stiffer penalties for abusers and rapists; in case of child rapists even the death penalty is brought into play regularly.
Peru was one of the first countries to sign the world’s first legally-binding treaty banning nuclear weapons. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was adopted by 122 countries at the United Nations in July and opened for signature on September 20, 2017 on the margins of the 72nd United Nations General Assembly.
For decades Peru fought a fierce war on all illegal drugs no matter how beneficial some substances might be in certain cases. But an incident at the beginning of this year lead to a rethinking of this position in some Peruvian politicians at least regarding the usage of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
For weeks classes were suspended in Peru due to a controversial teacher’s strike. After long and intense negotiations teachers are back at work, students returned to school and the contentious education reform is back on track. Everything good? Nowhere near.
