Peru News
1. Peru and Yale University Locked in Artifacts Dispute
2. Easing Divorces in Peru

1. Peru and Yale University Locked in Artifacts Dispute

A large quantity of artifacts, the "Machu Picchu collection," were excavated and removed in 1912 from the famous Inca site in Peru by explorer Hiram Bingham III. They were taken to Yale University, his alma mater, and claimed to be "on loan" to Yale's Peabody Museum where the collection has been maintained all these years.

However, Alejandro Toledo, while still president of Peru, demanded the relics' repatriation, threatening a lawsuit against Yale. His successor, Alan Garcia, reached a tentative agreement with Yale in September 2007, acknowledging Peru's ownership of the objects but proposing joint custody. However, as depicted in a recent New York Times op ed written by Eliane Karp-Toledo (the wife of the former president), the Peruvian government is now protesting the 7-month old signed memorandum of agreement, particularly a provision that would allow Yale to retain custody of thousands of the objects for 99 years.

Meanwhile, staff of Peru's National Institute of Culture audited the collection recently and now claim the existence of 40,000 artifacts (not the 4,000 objects that Yale had acknowledged). In an abrupt turn-around since the Fall meeting, the Peruvian government is now demanding the return of the entire collection, but is interested in a joint research relationship with Yale once all the objects are returned. The plan is to house the collection temporarily in a converted convent in Cusco.

top

2. Easing Divorces in Peru

Peru's Congressional Justice Commission approved a bill that would make it easier for Peruvians to get divorced. Divorces in Peru typically require one year in time and are expensive because of lawyers and court fees. The new bill proposes to allow local jurisdictions and notaries to handle the paperwork needed to get a divorce as long as the spouses had reached agreement on child custody and personal property issues. Currently, divorce cases clog the national court system; 3.6 million divorce cases are now pending in Peru's court system.