Update on Valeria Vasquez

In my previous blog entry I had mentioned a story about a Valita, a little girl who needs a new heart.  After the story aired both locally and here in the U.S, donations came pouring in that totaled $224,000.  Now EsSalud, the national health care nation of the country of Peru, to take care of the remaining cost for Valita's transplant.  She has been flown to The University of Minnesota Amplatz Children Hospital along with her father where she awaits her new heart.



Peru Elections Update

The Peruvian elections are pretty much like the NCAA tournament these days, you never know whats going to happen.  After being fourth for pretty much the the entire presidential campaign, Ollanta Humala from the Nationalist party has surged ahead of both Keiko Fujimori and Alejandro Toledo who was been the leader in the polls from the outset.

 Humala went from having 17% of the support to 23% in just a couple of weeks.

According to the Ipsos Apoyo, Humala leads the other two candidates in a tightly contested race 22.8% to 22.3% and 21.6%.  The Elections take place on April 10.



This video below shows the patterns of the polls and illustrate how the numbers have gone up and down with each candidate in the last few weeks before the election.

Heart of a Champion

Valeria "Valita" Vasquez is a five year old girl in need of a heart transplant.  Valita suffers from a rare disease called Dilated Cardiomyopathy or DCM.  This disease directly affects the muscle of the heart which causes the heart to be enlarged therefore, decreasing the amount and efficiency of blood that is being pumped.  As her health deteriorates, the only hope there is to saving her life is a costly heart Transplant.

Doctors have concluded that little Valeria probably contracted the DCM when she was 3

Valita's Parents, Diego and Jessica Vasquez are desperately trying to raise money for an operation in the United States that could potentially save their daughter's life.  In an interview with PanamericaTvPeru, Diego said "I've seen my daughter swim, I've seen her run, we've gone on family trips together, and from one moment to another, it all came to an end."  The total expenses of the surgery which will take place at the University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital, is estimated at $775,000.  Diego and Jessica are hoping to get the money before her decreased heart functions damages her other vital organs like her lungs and liver.

This is an in-depth interview with the family aired by Panorama and uploaded to YouTube

If you would like to donate for Valita's heart Transplant, click here

Media Freedom in Peru

From the websites given in class, specifically En.Rsf.Org, I found out that censorship has a small play in Peruvian media.  Just last year, a radio station (La Voz),  had it's 14 month ban lifted and was able to resume broadcasting.  La Voz, which is stationed in Peru's amazon region, was accused of encouraging violence to protesters.    These accusation were of course without merit, and in fact, it is believed that because the station was in support of the uprising showed by the indigineous groups of Yarimaguas Peru, it caused friction between them and the government.  This ended by their entire station being shut down for more than a year.

Freedom of Speech may not be so free, at least in countries outside the U.S

Another great website that was able to give me more information on the media of Peru was FreedomHouse.org.  I thought that one particular story hit close to home because it deals with one of our most important freedoms that we often take for granted.  Jose Alejandro Godoy, a Peruvian blogger was convicted of defamation charges and sentenced to 3 years in prison and fined $100,000 in November of 2010.  Godoy had posted an entry in his blog that alledged that congressman Jorge Mufarech was involved with some instances of corruption.  The blog post, according to Godoy, was "summurized information that already publicly available".  To no one's surprise it was Mufarech himself who brought the case to the attention on the courts.

Peruvian Elections 2011 update

Candidates; Toledo, Castaneda, Fujimori, Humala, and Kuczinski prepare for a debate.

A date has finally been scheduled for the top presidential candidates to come together for a debate.  On Sunday March 20, Alejandro Toled, Keiko Fujimori, Olanta Humala, and the rest of the candidates will have their first debate.

Media effects on Peru

The youth in Peru has seen a spike in TV ratings.

One of the main effects of media in Peru has been television viewership, especially with  the introduction of satellite TV.  Whether it be soap operas or soccer games, Peruvians have shown a definite increase in how much television is being watched throughout the country.  With satellite television, the government's censoring abilities has been significantly limited.

Internet use has also become a staple of Peruvian media in recent times.  Totel.com states that Peru Internet exposure and growth is credited to the "cheap" public Internet facilities known as "Cabinas Publicas".  This is facilities have propelled Peru to be among the leading countries in Internet access in public places. 



Just a thought...

While going through some websites of the Peruvian media (Perutv.go.pe , El Comercio.pe), I get the sense that the media is more news oriented than in the United States.  Upon going to the LA times website and scrolling down just once, I could already see Charlie Sheen and Lindsey Lohan.  Maybe the Latin American media as a whole feels like it is responsible for the news that happens throughout those Latin American countries.  Whereas in the United States, the media might feel that it has to produce some sort of entertainment to go along with the news in order to keep the audience interested.  That's just my opinion.