Paro!!!

Yesterday I received the most welcome news since my family and my friend told me they bought their tickets to visit me in December – no school today or tomorrow. The reason is a paro (general strike) that is happening across the Cusco region because the government is thinking of privatizing archaeological sites. Yes, you read that right. The Peruvian ministry of culture is thinking of handing over administration of ancient archaeological sites to private companies.

School isn't canceled because the teachers are taking part in the strike. Neither is it canceled because FyA 44 morally opposes the privatization of Incan and pre-Incan ruins and the teachers are deciding not to cross strike lines to get to work. School is cancelled because it will probably be impossible to for staff members who live in Cusco, which is almost all the staff, to get to work during the paro.

Strikes are taken very seriously in Peru. And Cusco is perhaps region of the country most committed to strikes. In Turn Right at Machu Picchu, Mark Adams writes that “strikes [are] the only events in Peru that [begin] in accordance with Greenwich Mean Time.” He goes on to elaborate on the paro that almost stopped him from making it to Machu Picchu in time for the solistice.

“A group of farmers outside of Cusco, angered by the price of cooking gas, was calling for a paro, or general strike, on the day we were scheduled to leave town. In New York, the word 'strike' conjures up a picture of people with picket signs parading in front of an office building, slightly inconveniencing any smokers who stepped outside to light up. If things get serious, the strikers might bring along a giant inflatable rat to express their displeasure with nonunion laborers. Evidently the words has a somewhat stronger meaning in Peru. All roads inside and outside of Cusco were blockaded by farmers, who rolled rocks into every throughway wider than a mule path and then sat sentry over those barricades, fortifying their political convictions by drinking heavily all day. Schools were closed during general strikes. All trains, including those to Machu Picchu, were canceled. Attempts to sneak through a checkpoint were generally frowned upon.”

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Today and tomorrow's paro is more like having snow days than anything, a time to stay home, watch movies, and maybe venture out into the neighborhood to see some friends. It's also two days off in a row, with absolutely zero other commitments. I think I might just sleep till Friday!