“Let us work”, “we want peace and work”. At the shout of these harangues, representatives of the micro and small businesses from various sectors asked the authorities to resolve the social conflict that is hitting Peru, since they are on the brink of the abyss and one step away from bankruptcy.
One of those businessmen hit by the crisis is Javier Rodríguez, dedicated to making backpacks, and who today has to ‘recourse’ with the outpatient sale of poles. The school campaign for him is almost lost; Of the 100,000 backpacks he produced before, this season he has only made 10,000, and of the three stores he had, he now only has one.
“How long can we endure? It is easy, they have already made us informal, ”he recounted, noting that 80% of his sales used to go to the south of the country.
Who also feels that the situation is critical is Javier Surco, representative of the Association of Manufacturers of Equipment for Gastronomy. He assured that today they have no one to sell to because businesses are stopped.
“Who are we going to sell to? We cannot produce because we have no one to sell to. Apart from the protests, a crime wave has been unleashed, ”he highlighted.
For both businessmen, the concern of politicians should not focus on a constituent assembly but on giving measures so that businesses do not go bankrupt.
BUSINESSES AT RISK
Protests and demonstrations in various parts of the country can lead to the closure of many businesses, and many sectors are even more afraid than the consequences of the pandemic. The president of the Peru SME AssociationAna Maria Choquehuanca, explained that there are two million mypes that are at risk of bankruptcy. The sector does not want to get involved in political issues, let alone comment on whether the president Dina Boluarte must resign from office. However, he does call on the Executive, Legislative and subnational governments to take immediate action to stop the crisis.
“We no longer know how to ask for it, how to address the authorities. Here we must make a call not only to the authorities of the central government and Congress, but also to the regional and local authorities, who should be the mediators to get out of this crisis, ”he assured.
The representative of the mypes questioned that the investment of the regional governments, to January, fell 39%, and in the local ones 58%.
“We are going to continue working, but let us do it. Gentlemen authorities, don’t deaf ears, listen to us and attend to our cry, ”he stressed and called for the mypes to be bought.
Keep in mind
-According to Pyme Peru Association, daily losses in the Commerce sector are S/170 million and in Services it amounts to S/150 million. In Tourism, it is estimated that S/25 million is lost.
-ADEX reported that there are more than 1,300 microenterprises dedicated to the production and marketing of trout in Puno that would suffer irreparable damage if the roadblock is not resolved.
Andrés Choy: “The protesters passed by charging us”
Many of the protesters, after the marches, passed by charging us or asking us for a collaboration, a kind of extortion, and if you didn’t want to pay you would face the consequences.
In some cases they grabbed us and threatened us saying that if we didn’t close the business they could affect us and our families.
In Cusco, Puno and Madre de Dios, some 2,000 wineries have just closed; There is more or less 35% that have already gone bankrupt.
The situation is very critical. Unfortunately, the sales that were expected for the Christmas campaign were not as estimated and right now there are many products that have remained in stock in the warehouses. We are trying to finish them off; instead of winning we try to recover the losses.
What these types of violent demonstrations have caused has been a lot of fear in the population and, therefore, it has not been possible to sell what our partners produce.
These first three months, which are summer, sales drop and, unfortunately, due to the protests, we have had many problems. In the southern part of the country the situation has been worse.
Pío Pantoja: “More than 600 bakeries have closed”
This year, in January, we are aware that more than 600 bakeries have closed nationwide, mainly in the southern area.
They have closed because there are no products, there is nothing to sell. Bakeries, pastry shops and wineries are not getting the input. Why keep (the business) open? They are returning rented premises.
We have six million panettone left (from the Christmas campaign), almost 50%. Today the situation continues to worsen. There is no flour in Cusco, worse in more distant capitals, and there is no flour in Puno or Madre de Dios. But the worst thing is that there is no way to produce because there is no fuel or oil either. We have had to lay off staff, close down the business for fear that the mob might attack and loot it.
We are 20,000 bakers nationwide, who directly and indirectly generate 350,000 jobs. We are exhorting the political authorities so that there is greater participation to solve the problems.
We urge and demand congressmen, governors of the south to go to their towns. What are they doing in Lima? From there, proposals or complaints from those who elected them are not collected.
