From Machu Picchu, in the region of Cuzco, in the south-east of Peru, we know its majestic Inca city erected in the middle of the 15the century, under the reign of the Inca Pachacútec. A site of overwhelming beauty, set in lush vegetation, nestled on a rocky promontory between the Andes and the Amazon. What is less known are the people who live there. A thousand small farmers, spread over the eighteen villages of the “historic sanctuary” of 37,000 hectares. At best, tourists guess them through the windows of the train, the only means of transport that brings them to the town of Aguas Calientes, the last stop before the ascent to the Inca city.
These villages have been rising since mid-December 2022. First in support of the peasant revolt in favor of new elections, following the dismissal and imprisonment of President Pedro Castillo on December 7. Roads around Cuzco, the regional capital, were blocked. Machu Picchu was forced to close from January 21 to February 15. The strike, which lasted forty-five days, was one of the toughest and longest disputes in the district. National demands were mixed with local demands.
“The money does not reach us, the peasants, who really need it, for education, health, infrastructure. Elizabeth Baca, President of the District Community Advocacy Front
Today the strike ended and Machu Picchu has been reopening for four weeks. For Elizabeth Baca, president of the district’s Community Defense Front, the battle has been lost: ” We do not have got nothing. » Neither from the national point of view – Congress refuses to call new elections – nor from the local point of view. But she also knows that the fight is a long-term one. “We have so much to offer”, says the young woman, who wants to see the development of homestay tourism.
Peasant communities, mostly Quechua, have been asking for years for a better redistribution of the tourist windfall. “Everyone believes that Machu Picchu is rich, but the reality is different, drop Elizabeth Baca. The money does not reach us, the peasants, who really need it, for education, health, infrastructure”. “It’s a rich region with a lot of poor people”, summarizes his brother Adolfo Baca, tourist guide. It is true that most villages in the district lack the basic infrastructure demanded by the strikers.
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