Water Crisis in Peru

546 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Urban water supply and demand

In December of 1915 a huge step for the rights of Peasants in Peru was taken. Juan Pevez was born in Ica, Peru and in 1915 he lead an uprising against the Picasso family who ran the that Pevez worked on. In Water!, an excerpt from Pevez’s autobiography, a dispute over rights to water is described and how the peasants overcame . Southern Peru does not see much rain during the year, so when it does come it is an extremely valued commodity. In December 1915 a very unusual thing happened. The water came much earlier that year and to the peasant's surprise it went unnoticed by the estate owners. In that time the estate owners unlawfully kept the water from the peasants until their own fields were irrigated. The water came that year in the middle of the night so the estate owners were clueless. Unaware that they had the same rights to the water as the estate owners, the farmers were reluctant to open up the Sluice gates that allowed the water to enter their own small canals to irrigate their land. Juan Pevez, who was enrolled in the School of Agronomy informed the farmers that legally they had a right to the water. Trusting Pevez, they all opened their gates to irrigate their fields unbeknownst to the landowners. Soon, morning came and the “stolen” water was noticed and a brawl broke out between the serfs and the estate owners. After being broken up the peasants formed a delegation to make a plea to the Technical Commission to state their concern about the unfair distribution of water. The director of the commission, Ezequiel Gago, heard both sides argument. In December 1915 history was made when Gago ruled in favor of the Peasants. That was the first time in the history of the valley that a group of peasants won a case against a powerful landowner like Picasso.

The account of this event is very important for many reasons. First, as I stated before, this was an historical event for the peasant community in Peru as well as the rest of South America. The event that Juan Pevez lead was a landmark event in the history of not only peasants but everyone in South America. It was the beginning of a movement of sorts toward a freer nation. That event had a lasting effect. The delegation that was formed to protest the Water withholding grew and grew and now is still in effect today under the name of the Peruvian Peasant Federation.

Show More
Related

  • La Boca Del Lobo Essay

    627 Words  | 2 Pages

    Through the study of the Peruvian society using articles like “The “Problem of the Indian...” and the Problem of the Land” by Jose Carlos Mariátegui and the Peruvian film La Boca del Lobo directed by Francisco Lombardi, it is learned that the identity of Peru is expressed through the Spanish descendants that live in cities or urban areas of Peru. In his essay, Mariátegui expresses that the creation of modern Peru was due to the tenure system in Peru and its Indigenous population. With the analyzation of La Boca del Lobo we will describe the native identity in Peru due to the Spanish treatment of Indians, power in the tenure system of Peru, the Indian Problem expressed by Mariátegui, and the implementation of Benedict Andersons “Imagined Communities”.

    Read More

  • The Underdogs by Mariano Azuela

    957 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...a significant event for the men and women of Mexico, comprising a large portion of their lives. Many joined the fight in search for a better life, others wanted revenge, and some were running from the law. Together they formed disorganized and unfocused militias where many lost their lives. During the revolution hundreds were forced to leave their homes and belongings in search for a safer place. Families were torn and separated for years at a time, and women were left to support their houses and children. Eventually, the rebels begun to act like the Federalists, by looting, drinking, and at times killing their own men over money related brawls. The men became accustomed to the violent lifestyle, and although they did not know why, they continued to fight without an end in sight.

    Read More

  • Letters Of Insurrection Analysis

    1281 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Andes had a legacy of resistance that was unseen in other Spanish occupied place during the colonial period. There were rebellions of various kinds as a continued resistance to conquest. In the “Letters of Insurrection”, an anthology of letters written amongst the indigenous Andean people, between January and March 1781 in what is now known as Bolivia, a statement is made about the power of community-based rebellion. The Letters of Insurrection displays effects of colonization and how the “lesser-known” revolutionaries that lived in reducción towns played a role in weakening colonial powers and creating a place of identification for indigenous people.

    Read More

  • Bogotazo Essay

    1622 Words  | 4 Pages

    April 9, 1948, was a tragic day in Colombia’s history. On this day, Jorge Eliécer Gaítán, a candidate for the presidency of Colombia, was assassinated. In the 10 hour period that followed the assassination, angry mobs marched throughout the city of Bogota, looting and burning down over 100 buildings. Before the night would end, nearly 3,000 people would die in the streets. This terrible event in Colombia’s history is today referred to as the Bogotazo. This paper examines some of the underlying reasons contributing to the outbreak of this violence and the events that transpired during the Bogotazo. The paper concludes that the events leading to the violence of the Bogotazo are still present in Colombia today and will hamper its prospects for peace in the future.

    Read More

  • Zapata and the Mexican Revolution

    489 Words  | 1 Pages

    In every field of endeavor, in every activity known to Man, whether sailboarding or physics, hairdressing or chipmunk catching, there are people who excel, people who go far beyond the rest. They reach the epitome while we mere mortals look up from below and marvel. So, when you have read the 526 pages of Womack Jr.'s book [not counting the appendices], you can tell yourself that you have read THE book on Zapata and his role in the Mexican Revolution. The author used every source available, he interviewed all those who were left alive to talk. I wonder if any new printed sources will ever be found ? Certainly everyone who played a role, however insignificant, in those long ago days of 1909-1920 is now dead, making new interviews extremely unlikely. This is a work of art, a work of love, and a vast labor that surely took a few years off the life of the author, not to mention breaking some relationships. It is the definitive work so far on the subject. If you want to know the story of why and how Emiliano Zapata, a once insignificant small town horse trader and farmer, became a legendary rebel whose name resounds throughout Mexico today---a man who fought unwaveringly for the rights of small farmers and villagers to the land they worked---then you have no choice but to read this volume. This is the epitome, this is the story in unbelievable detail; political, economic, social, military. And yet, Zapata himself almost disappears in the vast bulk of detailed historical and interpretive observations. It is not so much a work on an individual as on the whole period in a small area of Mexico.

    Read More

  • Understanding Evo Morales

    801 Words  | 2 Pages

    Juan Evo Morales Ayma, known by many as Evo, was born on October 26, 1959 in Orinoca, Oruro. His father Dionisio Morales Choque and mother Maria Mamani had in total seven children, two of whom didn’t survive past childhood. His upbringing will later become clear foreshadowing of the way in which he would rule. The house he grew up in was an adobe house, no more than ten by thirteen feet, which had a straw roof. He began working with his father harvesting sugar cane in Argentina at age six and by age twelve he helped his father herd llamas from Oruro to Independencia, a province of Cochabamba. While continuing to herd llamas as a means of making a living, he organized a soccer team and was elected technical director of selection for the canton’s team only two years later at age sixteen. Evo then moved to Oruro in order to attend high school and paid the bills by laying bricks, baking and playing trumpet in the Royal Imperial Band. Although he attended Beltran Avila High School, he was not able to finish his schooling and completed mandatory military service in La Paz.

    Read More

  • The Water Shortage in China

    1105 Words  | 3 Pages

    Water shortage is a growing problem for most countries in the world. For China, which has 20% of world’s population and only 7% of available water resources, this problem may become catastrophic (Hofstedt 2010, 72). Therefore some actions and measures should be performed to avoid or at least to weaken future water crisis in China. In this work the following three solutions will be proposed and analyzed in terms of efficiency and applicability: water usage efficiency improvement; adopting the local agencies on controlling water resources; reasonable water pricing.

    Read More

  • The Mexican Revolution

    1250 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Mexican Revolution began November 20th, 1910. It is disputable that it extended up to two decades and seized more than 900,000 lives. This revolution, however, also ended dictatorship in Mexico and restored the rights of farm workers, or peons, and its citizens. Revolutions are often started because a large group of individuals want to see a change. These beings decided to be the change that they wanted to see and risked many things, including their lives. Francisco “Pancho” Villa and Emiliano Zapata are the main revolutionaries remembered. These figures of the revolution took on the responsibility that came with the title. Their main goal was to regain the rights the people deserved. The peons believed that they deserved the land that they labored on. These workers rose up in a vehement conflict against those opposing and oppressing them. The United States was also significantly affected by this war because anybody who did not want to fight left the country and migrated north. While the end of the revolution may be considered to be in the year of 1917 with the draft of a new constitution, the fighting did not culminate until the 1930’s.

    Read More

  • Characters of Pedro Paramo Used to Critique Mexico

    1206 Words  | 3 Pages

    Life in Mexico was, before the Revolution, defined by the figure of the patron that held all of power in a certain area. Juan Preciado, who was born in an urban city outside of Comala, “came to Comala because [he] had been told that [his] father, a man named Pedro Paramo lived there” (1). He initially was unaware of the general dislike that his father was subjected to in that area of Mexico. Pedro was regarded as “[l]iving bile” (1) by the people that still inhabited Comala, a classification that Juan did not expect. This reveals that it was not known by those outside of the patron’s dominion of the cruel abuse that they levied upon their people. Pedro Paramo held...

    Read More

  • Colonization In Peru

    1011 Words  | 3 Pages

    The colonial times of Peru left behind the legacies of the social system, economy, and education. Peru was known as the land of abundance and Pizarro’s goal was to conquer the Inca Empire. All legacies that were left behind impacted the country of Peru in different ways. The education system of Peru was completely changed and because of that change Peru is now a Spanish speaking country. This was beneficial to Peru because it improved the literacy rate of their country helping it become more developed as the years go by. The social systems were impacted in way where many different

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Simon Borolivar In The General In His Labyrinth

    1664 Words  | 4 Pages

    Simon Bolivar is one of the most powerful and influential figures in the history of Latin America, a hero who led the movement for independence for several Latin American nations, a military and political leader with his own personal story full of tragic and dramatic moments. During his lifetime he helped to liberate people of Venezuela, Colombia, Perú, Ecuador and Bolivia from Spanish domination, played a big role in foundation of Gran Colombia and setting the principles of democracy. Even though Bolivar was not very well-known around the world, he was always held in respect among people in Latin America and remembered as a man who had an authority and power. Bolivar’s integrity, high moral standards, and perseverance in the face of overwhelming odds made him a role model to many people. Simon Bolivar is a brave character whose leadership and risks turn against him when he least expects it. Bolívar's dream had always been to cause an American Revolution-style federation among all the newly independent republics in Latin America, where with a new government set up solely to recognize and support the rights of the individual. Gabriel Garcia Marquez in his book “The General in His Labyrinth” changes or “twists” a little the representation of the Latin American hero. First of all, Marquez never really references Simon Bolivar by his name, but only as “The Liberator”. His idea behind the book was to change the traditional heroic portrayal of Simon Bolivar and show an old man who is suffering through his illness and mental exhaustion.

    Read More

  • Pakistan's Water Scarcity

    790 Words  | 2 Pages

    Water is essential for survival; all of human civilization depends on having a reliable supply of fresh water available. Unfortunately, water is not an infinite resource, and, water depletion could be a serious concern in the near future because every aspect of human life will be affected. Pakistan is a nation that has been suffering from shortage of water in the recent years. Over the past decade, Pakistan has been facing scarcity of potable water due to the contamination of the Indus River as well as the excessive use of it for agriculture.

    Read More

  • The Water Crisis and Solutions

    1481 Words  | 3 Pages

    There is a global shortage of drinking water. A person might wonder how this can be if seventy percent of the earth’s surface is covered by water. Most of the Earth’s water is unsuitable for human consuption. Ocean water is salt water, which makes up 97.5% of all water on the planet. Freshwater is only 3.5% of all the water on Earth. Drinking water is sourced from bodies of freshwater.

    Read More

  • The Problem of Water Scarcity

    1538 Words  | 4 Pages

    Water Scarcity is harmful to human life because when water is poorly managed throughout the world, those who need water are deprived of nutrients they truly need causing them to die. This eventually affects the global population. Therefore many experts have proposed several solutions such as the LifeSaver Bottle, TrojanUVPhox treatment system, and Waste Water Recycling.

    Read More

  • Water Shortage in India: Problems and Solutions

    985 Words  | 2 Pages

    Water is an integral part of not only human beings but all other creatures in the world. We use it every day for different purposes such as domestic, agricultural and industrial. Water has always been a prestigious resource. However, the majority of people do not appraise water’s worth since they do not face water scarcity; whereas, in third world countries it is one of the most serious problems. Nearly 2.4 billion people have a lack of water resources in the world, shows the investigation done by the Pacific Institute, an Oakland, California-based non-profit scientific research group. Moreover, every year this number is growing gradually and more people are suffering (Bloomberg News, 2010). There are certain causes which deteriorate current situation. The most influential reasons are global warming, pollution by human-beings and overpopulation. It is known that India is one of the countries which face water scarcity so this essay will consider the possible ways of solutions of water shortage in India.

    Read More

More about Water Crisis in Peru

Open Document