Republic of Peru

Republic of Peru

Capital: Lima

Currency: Nuevo sol

Major languages: Spanish, Quechua, Aymara

Area: 1,285,220 Kms

Population: 28,302,603

Religion: 90% Roman Catholic

Government: constitutional republic

 INTRODUCTION

Peru is located in western South America, sharing its northwestern border with Ecuador, its northern border with Bolivia, its eastern border with Brazil, and its southeastern border with Bolivia and Chile.

Peru has been lately a raising economy in Latin America here I will give you a little introduction to Peru's relevant information such as history and actual facts.

Peru was the seat of several prominent Andean civilizations, most notably that of the Incas whose empire was captured by the Spanish conquistadors in 1533. Peruvian independence was declared in 1821, and remaining Spanish forces defeated in 1824. President Alberto FUJIMORI's election in 1990 ushered in a decade that saw a dramatic turnaround in the economy and significant progress in curtailing guerrilla activity. In the year 2001 there was a new head of Government Alejandro Toledo the first democratically elected president of Quechua ethnicity. And now for 2006 election there is a new democratic President Alan Garcia who promises to improve social conditions in this country. Peru's rich and varied heritage includes the ancient Incan capital of Cuzco and the lost city of Machu Picchu. The country boasts spectacular scenery, including Lake Titicaca, the world's highest navigable lake. It is rich in copper, silver, lead, zinc, oil and gold.

As economic facts we have than Peru, has a GDP (gross domestic product) of $164.5 billion and a per capita GDP of $5,900 The GDP growth is estimated 6.7%.

Peru's economy is one of the most dynamic in Latin America, showing particularly strong growth over the past three years. During the 1990s, Peru was transformed by market-oriented economic reforms and privatizations, and met many conditions for long-term growth.

 POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT

The official name is Republic of Peru and has a Presidential democracy as a Form of state, the executive is the president, who is directly elected for a five-year term, may not be re-elected to a second consecutive term; he appoints a Council of Ministers, as a head of state is the elected president, currently Alan Garcia, who was inaugurated as president in July 2006their legislature is forms by a Congress which consists of a 120-member single chamber, which can be dissolved once during a presidential term.

 LEGAL ENVIRONMENT

The legal system consists of Courts of first instance in the provincial capitals; the Supreme Court sits in Lima they will have National elections in April 2011 (presidential and congressional); last elections happened on November 19th 2006 (regional and municipal). And as we said before Mr. Garcia leads the government; his party, the Partido Aprista Peruano (Apra), has 36 of 120 seats in Congress but also there are some other political organizations of opposition which are the Union por el Peru (UPP); Unidad Nacional (UN); Partido Nacionalista Peruano (PNP); Alianza por el Futuro, Frente del Centro; Peru Posible; Restauracion Nacional.

The judicial branch of government is headed by a 16-member Supreme Court seated in Lima. The Constitutional Tribunal interprets the constitution on matters of individual rights. Superior courts in departmental capitals review appeals from decisions by lower courts. Courts of first instance are located in provincial capitals and are divided into civil, penal, and special chambers. The judiciary has created several temporary specialized courts in an attempt to reduce the large backlog of cases pending final court action.

Peru is divided into 25 regions. The regions are subdivided into provinces, which are composed of districts. High authorities in the regional and local levels are elected. The country is undergoing a progressive decentralization program to devolve power and budgets to local authorities.

The World Bank reports that Peru's weighted average tariff rate in 2004 was 8.9 percent, down from the 12.6 percent for 2000 reported in the 2005 Index. Peru's top income tax rate is 30 percent. The top corporate tax rate is also 30 percent, up from the 27 percent reported in the 2005 Index. In 2003, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, government expenditures as a share of GDP increased 0.2 percentage point to 28.5 percent, compared to a 0.6 percentage point decrease in 2002. On net, Peru's fiscal burden of government score is 0.3 point worse this year.

For businesses in Peru is worth to say that the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) has reduced tariffs on 1,111 items, mostly capital goods and certain industrial inputs. In this light, 96% of 1,070 sub items that currently pay a 7% tariff will subsequently pay a 4% tariff. This reduction intends to promote the transmission of modern technologies, increase efficiency in manufacturing processes and reduce costs.

Recently the U.S. has started negotiations to make a free trade with Peru, but still not complete yet, hopefully for Peru this will happen in the next years in order to have a better and global economy.

 CULTURE

We understand culture as the acquired knowledge that people use to interpret experiences and generate social behavior. In Peru their culture is very similar to the one we have in Mexico. To really get to know the Peru culture we have to say that Peru is call the land of Incas, this because of the Inca culture which is a big and important part of the Peru Culture, but before the Incas there were many other cultures in Peru, lets mention them before we really get to the Incas culture. First was the Chavin culture that took time around the year 900 before Christ to the 300 After Christ, from this culture they have ceramics and castles among some other things that identify this cultural group, also in Peru we have the Paracas culture, the Vicus culture, Nazca culture, Mochica culture, Tiahuanaco, the Wari, the Chimu, the inaica and finally the Inca culture.

The Incas ran the