VZCZCXYZ0017
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHPE #0167/01 0221213
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 221213Z JAN 07
FM AMEMBASSY LIMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3667
INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 4274
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 7169
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 0081
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ JAN QUITO 0946
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 1059
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

UNCLAS LIMA 000167 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR PE
SUBJECT: GOP WINS BATTLE AGAINST RADICAL TEACHER,S UNION 
 
REF: LIMA 33 
 
Sensitive But Unclassified. Please handle accordingly. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: More than 60 per cent of teachers 
nationwide took the government-mandated competency test, 
handing the GOP a victory in its showdown against the 
powerful and radical union SUTEP.  In some provinces outside 
Lima SUTEP members bullied test-takers and physically blocked 
access to testing centers.  After the exam, the GOP reduced 
by 90 percent government supported union positions and 
eliminated the automatic paycheck deduction that supports a 
union controlled social fund.  SUTEP said it would challenge 
the personnel cuts in international fora, which is ironic for 
a group more committed to a defunct radicalism than to 
representing the teachers and improving the education system. 
 End Summary. 
 
Competency test - 60 percent of teachers turn out 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 

¶2.  (U) The GOP held firm on administering the January 8 
compulsory teacher competency test (Ref A).  The Unified 
Syndicate of Educational Workers of Peru (SUTEP) rejected the 
test but officially left the decision to participate up to 
individuals.  Education Ministry officials estimated 60 
percent of teachers nationwide took the test, 70 percent in 
Lima, while SUTEP Secretary General Caridad Montes said only 
20 percent of teachers had taken the exam.  Education 
Minister Jose Antonio Chang said teachers who were not able 
to test would have an opportunity for a make-up exam on 
January 22.  Based on the test results, Chang said the 
ministry would invest 30 million USD in a teacher training 
program. 
 
¶3. (U) In Lima, SUTEP held marches which at times disrupted 
traffic.  In some provinces outside Lima, SUTEP associated 
violence led to high absenteeism.  In Junin, Puno and 
Huancavelica departments, SUTEP members physically prevented 
teachers from entering test sites by blocking access, 
throwing objects at participating teachers, and in one case 
taking over a building.  In Huaraz, the capital of Ancash 
department, police used tear gas to control SUTEP 
demonstrators. 
 
Teacher's Union takes some hits 
------------------------------- 

¶4. (SBU) On 1/9 the GOP published a decree to reduce from 314 
to 30 the number of SUTEP representatives who only perform 
union functions but still draw government teacher salaries. 
On 1/12 the GOP followed up with another decree eliminating 
the automatic salary deduction that goes to a teacher social 
fund, the "Derrama Magisterial" which is largely controlled 
by SUTEP.  (Note: According to Oscar Muro of the local 
chapter of the AFL-CIO, the fund  sometimes aids teachers in 
need but is often misused.  He further said that 30 
subsidized representatives was a generous number given that 
no other union in the country has such a high number of 
positions as a percentage of membership. End Note.)  Chang 
said the staff reductions would save more than 1 million USD 
per year.  In the press, President Garcia referred to the 
union reps that did not teach as "lazy scoundrels."  The cuts 
will occur through attrition and non-renewal of licenses; 
those affected, if qualified, could sign up to be teachers. 
In response, SUTEP charged that the government was punishing 
the union for opposing the exam and said it would appeal the 
decisions to international authorities like the International 
Labor Organization (ILO). 
 
SUTEP - a hijacked labor union 
------------------------------ 

¶5. (SBU) SUTEP is a vehicle for radical leadership rooted in 
the Maoist wing of the Peruvian Communist Party, Patria Roja 
(Red Fatherland) (ref).  According to labor experts, SUTEP is 
controlled by a political faction only marginally focused on 
the best interests of teachers, let alone education, and 
regional branches of the union are often even more radical 
than the central leadership.  Patria Roja took control of the 
union in 1978 and has retained control by employing an 
undemocratic, indirect system of election.  (On January 16, 
SUTEP issued a press release announcing a nationwide strike 
to oppose the GOP pilot program and "neoliberal proposal 
imposed by the World Bank" to transfer school management from 
the central government to municipalities and schools.) 
 
Comment 
------- 

¶6. (SBU) The government efforts to rein in SUTEP and its 
radical, anti-democratic tendencies and to reduce its 
out-dated and excessive state subsidies, have been welcomed 
by most Peruvians.  SUTEP's attempts to portray GOP efforts 
as "union-busting" are ironic given the group's autocratic 
ways, its commitment to a defunct communist ideology, and its 
apparent indifference to the interests of teachers, 
specifically, and education in general. End Comment. 
POWERS