Peruvian commentator Jorge Bruce has condemned statements by two government ministers who characterized sexual violence against Indigenous Awajún and Wampís girls in Amazonas as a cultural custom, linking the remarks to a broader pattern of impunity across Peru's educational system.
Writing in the newspaper La República on September 22, 2026, Bruce highlighted that former Education Minister Quero and Interior Minister Álvarez both asserted between 2024 and 2026 that sexual assaults committed by teachers in Condorcanqui were rooted in local cultural norms. Bruce argued that while both ministers attempted to downplay the crimes, the assaults indeed reflect a culture of male dominance, patriarchy, and dehumanization.
Condorcanqui is an Amazonian province in northern Peru home to Indigenous Awajún and Wampís communities. Bruce noted that most Awajún communities do not commit such acts, citing reports from the independent news program La Encerrona, led by journalist Marco Sifuentes. He stressed that the abuse of minor students by their teachers represents a destructive misuse of authority rather than a natural traditional practice.
San Borja School Bus Incident
Bruce drew a direct parallel between the sexual violence in Condorcanqui and a recent gang assault aboard a school bus in the San Borja district of Lima. In that incident, students from the Liceo Naval, a school under the guardianship of the Peruvian Navy, sexually assaulted a defenseless male classmate inside the vehicle.
The victim's parents denounced the attack as a racist action targeting a racialized student who was viewed as occupying a lower social hierarchy. Two adults present on the bus reportedly failed to intervene, illustrating how perpetrators operated openly without fear of detection or punishment within school settings.
Bruce warned that this climate of male supremacy is further fueled by high-profile public figures. He pointed to a candidate for Lima city council and mayor, affiliated with the conservative Catholic organization Opus Dei, who publicly threatened an official from the National Jury of Elections with sexual violence involving a tortoise. Bruce stated that such threats normalized sexual abuse under the guise of humor.
Education and Historical Memory
The column linked the rise of sexual violence to broader political moves aimed at removing comprehensive sexual education from Peruvian schools. Bruce also criticized efforts to eliminate the Place of Memory, Tolerance and Social Inclusion in Lima, a museum established to document human rights violations committed during Peru's internal armed conflict between 1980 and 2000.
According to Bruce, attempting to erase abuses committed by the Peruvian Armed Forces against peasant women and insurgent fighters creates a framework where certain groups are deemed inferior. He warned that ignoring past state violence reinforces a social hierarchy that permits ongoing abuse against marginalized students in both rural Amazonian communities and urban capitals.
Citing semiotician Umberto Eco, Bruce noted that these instances of institutional neglect and racial prejudice form an interconnected system. He drew on Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel Crime and Punishment to demonstrate that any individual is capable of destructive acts when social structures permit them, arguing that criminal penalties alone are insufficient to address systemic breakdown.
Tasks for Societal Reform
Referencing Freudian psychoanalytic theory, Bruce emphasized the need for individuals to confront their internal death drives, which sever connections between people, and foster constructive social bonds. He outlined two essential tasks for Peru: internal self-examination and the active cultivation of a culture centered on humanization and peace.
The commentary forms part of an ongoing series of analyses by Bruce in La República examining Peru's political instability and social fragmentation. His recent articles, published in August and September 2026, have addressed the legacy of Fujimorism under former president Alberto Fujimori, falling public approval ratings for government leadership, and the preservation of critical thinking during national crises.
