Cusco, PERU, Jan. 7, 2007 ? Locals enjoy lunch at one of the many ?unofficial? food vendors at the Mercado San Pedro. It can take over two years and can cost over $8,000 to overcome the legal and administrative hurdles required just to open a food stall. At the heart of the problem is system that is built on graft and cronyism. The class warfare being waged is not a horizontal line between worker and entrepreneurs, but rather a vertical one, to the right of which are politicians, bureaucrats,...
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Cusco, PERU, Jan. 7, 2007 ? Locals enjoy lunch at one of the many ?unofficial? food vendors at the Mercado San Pedro. It can take over two years and can cost over $8,000 to overcome the legal and administrative hurdles required just to open a food stall. At the heart of the problem is system that is built on graft and cronyism. The class warfare being waged is not a horizontal line between worker and entrepreneurs, but rather a vertical one, to the right of which are politicians, bureaucrats, and businessmen who profit and live off of the government?s favor and to the left are the legal and extralegal producers who are excluded from favor. It is the poor who suffer, but because these extralegal entrepreneurs make up 70% of the population, and 54% of all businesses in Peru, it is the country as a whole that is missing an opportunity to grow into a stable market economy. .
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