4. Are there issues of race and class discrimination in Peru? If so, please explain what has been reported about that and what you witnessed.

     During my stay in Peru, I did not witness any sort of racial discrimination. I cannot conclude that racism is not present in the country since my stay only lasted for two weeks, but it did not seem prevalent in Peru’s society. However, there was some evidence of social discrimination. Much of the lower class lives in the hillsides of Cusco rather than in the valley, as they cannot afford the houses there. They are then forced to build their houses on the steep and unstable hills on the outskirts of the city. Here, heavy rains could create landslides that would wipe out entire communities. Meanwhile the wealthy live far more comfortably in the valley below without much fear of losing their house to a natural disaster.