Peru is a cradle of ancient civilizations, along with Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, India, Guatemala and Mexico. But it seems that Peruvians are driven to ruin in one generation what the Spanish conquistadores could not destroy in 300 years of colonial rule. Just three blocks away from the main square of Cusco, in what was once the capital of the Empire of the Sun, a monstrous seven-story hotel was built, in flagrant violation of the city’s cultural heritage ordinance, in front of the local offices of the Ministry of Culture. After protests, the construction was halted in 2015 but the builders had already destroyed precious Inca stone walls. Despite threats to deprive Cusco of its World Heritage Site designation, the half-finished hotel still stands and its owners have yet to pay a fine.

The airport’s construction could deplete the watershed of Lake Piuray, a critical source of water for Cusco. It would also divide Chinchero in two, leaving the school and the health center on the side where few people live.

Traditional communities have not been consulted about the impact the airport would have on their livelihood. They haven’t had the opportunity to voice their concerns. Before the agrarian reform of the early 1970s, which granted land rights to Indigenous people, rural populations in the Andes remained exploited by a privileged minority who owned the land. But the country has not yet come to terms with its Indigenous roots. Still, today its Indigenous people’s rights are being violated for the financial gain of a corrupt few.

Rocío Cjuiro, a young woman from the Willa Willa community of Chinchero, cried as she looked at the huge crater that will eventually house the airport in the sacred Pachamama , or mother earth in the Quechua language . “My whole world is being destroyed,” she said.

Venality feeds this plunderous mentality. But while Mexico, Guatemala and virtually all of Latin America, including neighboring Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia, are also countries corroded by endemic corruption, they do a much better job preserving their historical landmarks and treasures. Peruvians are proud of their food and soccer team, and yet they disrespect their past. The country must adopt strict and firm state policies to protect and preserve its archaeological legacy for future generations.

Sonia Goldenberg is a journalist and documentary filmmaker.

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