A quick trip through Peru's capital, Lima, or any of the country's principal tourist destinations might easily mislead visitors into thinking that this Andean nation is a mecca of gay culture. The confusion comes from ubiquitous rainbow flags that fly atop public buildings and are hawked widely by souvenir vendors. But the flag is not exactly identical to the one that has become synonymous with the gay and lesbian rights movement around the world. The Peruvian version is much older — supposedly with origins during the Inca Empire. It also has one extra stripe that is either light blue or white.
And that mirage is also dispelled by the facts on the ground. In run-up to the April 10 presidential elections, the very suggestion of legalizing same-sex unions has further muddied an already dirty race.
Presidential front-runner Alejandro Toledo, trying to win back the office he held between 2001 and '06, got things going after his party announced that it supported civil unions for same-sex couples. "We are not promoting gay marriage, but we are fully behind civil unions,".
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