today the people of lima, rich or poor, have no sense of community, family or responsibility. specifically about the poor, there is no community spirit nor sense of belonging. when the government comes to provide services… perhaps building public spaces… they are immediately destroyed by vandals. even if there is a fire or a medical emergency, and the emergency services come to help… the people throw stones at them, attack the people and steal the objects in the fire trucks or abulances.

i am a doctor and i work for free in villa maria del triunfo. i am assalted almost every day. people never say thank you to me for my services… they think they have a right that i serve them, the same like they think they have a right to the land they took and that the government bring them free water services and electricity.

i try to change this attitude, but today society is falling apart. my only interest as a professional, as a doctor and as a human being is to help others – i dont care if i am paid or if the people i treat are thankful.

thank you for publishing my comment.

Thanks for your update on how things are for Lima nowdays. I have also noticed that young people in the “conos” do not have the same sense of community and solidarity as the first comers had. It’s something that should be addressed by those in charge of the education of Peruvians, but considering how bad is thei media content n Lima, it is not surprise that limenos of today live in a bubble of denial of their responsabilities, and most of them live dreaming of leaving the country for once.

However, I would hope this can be changed.

To BrianA, I must say that NO, these living standards are not better than those left behind. But somehow migrants follow a path of rumors and false promises. I think one of the main reasons people left their town was so their kids would get better education and better jobs, and then they would back and brag about having a family and a home in Lima. Same as today Peruvians overseas do, even if they live under poverty in their new countries.

I am aware of the work the arrivals put in when moving to the city, and the minka style work that went on in Lima in “better times” that I just don’t see today in Lima (but is still going very strong in Arequipa as I have heard). As I said, I don’t see this anymore. Roads are built in the Pueblos Jóvenes by the municipal authorities that the arrivals set up the foundations of when they arrived and now receive funds from local taxes (yes, many pay some form, but many more don’t) but also central Government.

I don’t think it’s true that water and electrical infrastructure was built by arrivals. I know for a fact that this isn’t the case today. I am aware locals put a lot of work in, but so did the government and the government wholey-owned (at the time) water and electric companies. Piping systems, pumps and water towers cost huge amounts of money that locals may be able to install with experienced oversight(even if that is freely donated by universities) but volunteering unfortunately doesn’t pay for materials and transport.

From what I am aware, the work put in by arrivals in the construction of the Pueblos Jovenes centred around providing themselves with houses, roughly organised streets, basic schools, and the foundations of local Government. A great achievement, despite the buildings being unsafe and roads somewhat disorganised.

You are right that most of Lima was constructed by new arrivals, and yes some pay taxes. SUNAT figures would dispute that anywhere near the majority pay anything close to what they are supposed to… but the same is true, though to a much lesser extent, of Lima’s wealthy.

And about the desert coast… I am actually a fan, as I think I mention elsewhere on my blog. But I stand by my statement. Laughing I do like this rocky desert wasteland though, I’d never been in one before visiting Peru.

Long time. I really like your photos of “the other side of Lima” anf they show the biggest part of a city that represents very well how divided Peruvian society is today.

Now I have to correct some things:

Most slums in Lima that have now roads, shopping centers, finished homes, etc. did not start with the help of the city government of Lima nor from the central Peruvian government. Not at all!

People organized themselves since the 1940’s to build their own communities with the Andean tradition of Minka (community work.)

In the 1970s and 1980s migrations to main cities in Peru (not only Lima) worsened after natural disasters (earthquakes, floodings, etc.) and bacause of the internal armed conflict.

Immigrants created what they used to call “Pueblos Jovenes” or young towns. They built their water and electrical power supplies piping, roads, sidewalks, schools, health care posts, churches and even sports facilities.

Official authorities did the basic regulations and worked along the population, and local univerities helped as well. Many districts of Lima were built by their population who PAY TAXES because they were their own authorities. Their contribution might not have been with direct tax forms, but with work and funds.

Villa El Salvador, San Juan de Lurigancho, San Juan de Miraflores, Villa Maria del Triunfo, Comas, Independencia, San Martin de Porras, Carmen de la Legua, Santa Anita, Carabayllo, Ventanilla, parts of Ate, Chosica, Rimac, San Miguel, Callao, etc. and most of the 43 districts of Lima were constructed with the effort, hard work, and money of their new habitants.

I’d recommend that you read more about this incredible process of collective work and social transformation that has changed Lima, and that should be a reason for pride for the new limenos. “El otro Sendero” of Hernando de Soto is a great book to start. Now, remember, Lima is an unfinished city and a result of the centralist ways of Peru as a country.

Finally, the Peruvian desert deserves a better description than just “rocky desert wasteland”. Seriously. Most places on earth can be considered wasteland following your point of view. The Andean coastal desert of South America has its beauty, its peaceful charm and its soil is very rich in resources and a great potential that is waiting for Peruvi…