The scars of the Cenepa War

A button, the badge of the victory generation, was placed yesterday in the lapel of 26 former combatants of the Cenepa War, reservists, in a military act at the foot of the monument in their honor, in the north of Guayaquil.

Antonio Rizzo, Jorge Muñoz, Enrique Barzola, Eloy Bone, Daniel Changuay, René Mendoza, Avelino Rivadeneira and Carlos Calva were part of that group, impeccably dressed in dark suits. Their chest was full of patriotic pride, but also sadness, because they believe that the State turned their back on them after a war that left sequels in them.

The army commemorates each year the heroic gesture that forced Peru to sit at the table of talks and, three years later, to sign a peace agreement that definitively closed the border between the two countries.

But the reservists (1,826 men who fought for the country and who did not belong to the Armed Forces) feel that the state continues without paying attention to their needs. They do not have a pension and feel that, despite their struggle, they have not been able to get a real benefit that will allow them to improve their lives.