Forgotten for centuries before being (re)discovered by American explorer Hiram Bingham in 1911, will Machu Picchu close its doors again and disappear into limbo again? This time, the drama is a little less bombastic than the fall of the Inca empire and the arrival of bloodthirsty conquistadors. A social movement is at the origin of the threat.
It’s not worth Cortez and others, but Peru announced on Monday that it was still considering closing the site for an indefinite period, after five days of strike by local residents against what they denounce as a “privatization” of ticket sales. entrance to the most visited Inca site in the world.
“It would be painful for everyone”
A social movement such that more than 1,200 tourists had to be evacuated over the weekend. According to the Minister of Culture, Leslie Urteaga, the leaders of the mobilization proposed that the site be closed for security reasons, in the absence of dialogue between the parties. “We will evaluate the collective’s requests, one of which is to close the llapta (citadel). It would be painful for everyone, but we will evaluate it,” Leslie Urteaga said on public television.
Opponents launched an “indefinite” strike movement on Thursday to denounce a decision by the Ministry of Culture to use a private intermediary to manage the sale of tickets online, which they consider to be a first step towards the privatization of the site. The collective claims that the chosen company, Joinnus, could benefit from up to $3.2 million per year in commissions thanks to the new system.
Daily loss of 263,000 dollars for Peru
Many businesses have lowered their curtains since Thursday and the railway operator Ferrocarril Transandino suspended its service to the site on Friday due to the demonstrations.
The Culture Ministry said the government would only discuss whether the strike, which causes daily losses of one million soles (about $263,000), was lifted. On Monday evening, the protest leaders finally announced that they would observe a 24-hour truce on Tuesday in order to establish a dialogue to find a solution.
The Ministry of Culture affirms that the new sales system should make it possible to control the flow of tourists and preserve the citadel, classified as a World Heritage Site since 1983. Normally, the site welcomes 4,500 tourists per day on average.