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June 19, 2002
LIMA, Peru - President Alejandro Toledo canceled a trip to the United States and Nicaragua as protests spread to six cities in southern Peru over the sale of two state-owned electricity companies.
Toledo had planned to participate in a summit of Central American nations in Nicaragua before heading to Washington, D.C., for meetings with U.S. officials. His office announced the cancelation late Tuesday.
Sporadic rioting in Peru's second largest city of Arequipa, 465 miles (750 kilometers) southeast of Lima in the Andes Mountain, entered its sixth day Wednesday, while a general strike in Tacna, 615 miles (990 kilometers) southeast of Lima, entered its third day.
The central government imposed military rule on the region surrounding Arequipa Sunday to try and quell the violence, which has killed one and injured about 140 since Friday.
Civic groups also Wednesday launched solidarity strikes in Cusco, Moquegua, Ilo and Puno, on the shores of Lake Titicaca some 530 miles (860 kilometers) southeast of the capital.
Protesters say Toledo failed to consult local leaders about the sale, reneged on a campaign promise not to sell off the electricity companies and ignored a court ruling against the auction.
Protesters fear the sale of the electric companies will lead to job cuts and higher electricity tariffs with little reinvestment in the region.
The government is selling off the electric companies and other state-owned assets to help cover budget needs.
A high-level commission led by a church official, Peru's vice president and several cabinet members continued negotiations with the mayor of Arequipa and local leaders to end the protest and the state of emergency.
Protesters stoned the bus carrying the negotiators when they arrived in Arequipa on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, police in Moquegua fired tear gas Wednesday into demonstrators who had blocked the Pan-American Highway with rocks and burning tires, forcing passengers to abandon buses.
In Ilo, the site of Peru's leading copper production plant, demonstrators blocked a railway transporting ore from a nearby mine to the smelter, Radioprogramas reported.
Roadblocks in Puno stranded dozens of tourists at the Bolivian border while demonstrators marched in Cusco, local media reported.
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