Alumna, Peru’s first female Minister of Defense speaks at SU

By Claire Harrison asst. digital editor

When Nuria Esparch was 14 years old, she went to a naval school to pursue her dreams of being a cadet, but she was told there was no room for women in the navy. Today, around 40 years later, she still remembers the words the officers said to her.

Esparch, an alumna of Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, spoke about her experience as the first woman to serve as Peru’s Minister of Defense at an event hosted by SU’s Moynihan Institute and the Program on Latin America and the Caribbean on Wednesday afternoon.

When she first assumed the role in November 2020, Esparch reached out to Michelle Bachelet — the former president of Chile and also the first woman to be the country’s defense minister — to ask for advice on acting as the head of the ministry.

“She told me never to take a no for an answer… She told me to insist. This is the way to achieve changes, she said, and I insisted as much as I could,” Esparch said.

Esparch served as minister of defense from November 2020 to July 2021, during which Peru had one of the closest elections in its history. In 2021, former school teacher and union leader Pedro Castillo was named as president-elect by the National Jury of Elections after winning just over 50% of the vote, defeating right-wing opponent Keiko Fujimori, daughter of former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori. Keiko Fujimori filed an appeal based on claims of voting irregularities that was dismissed by the NJE.

In December 2022, Castillo was removed from office after two previous impeachment attempts failed. On his last day in office, Castillo publicly announced he would dissolve Peru’s congress and that a new constitution would be written. He is currently being held in the same Peruvian prison as Alberto Fujimori on charges of rebellion.

With the election’s complications, Esparch said the Peruvian democratic state was weakened, with low levels of institutional and interpersonal trust. She emphasized that during all elections, it’s the government’s role to maintain free, transparent and orderly elections.

Since a radical leftist president had never been elected before, Esparch emphasized the importance of maintaining a stable public administration.

“The best thing that the president can do now is to regenerate the environment for our officers to do our jobs,” she said.

Esparch pointed to the COVID-19 pandemic as one of the most difficult issues she had to confront in her role.

“The pandemic was certainly one of the government’s main challenges around the world actually, and the MINDEF put all its logistical capabilities and the service of the country,” she said.

With her response to the pandemic and support of the armed forces’ logistical efforts, Esparch said she believes her overall impact on her country was positive, despite the difficulties she faced in her term.

“For this reason, I cannot avoid the feeling of mission accomplished,” Esparch said.

Reflecting on her term in office, Esparch said the elements she valued the most were seeking the feedback of predecessors, making feasible agendas and working with reliable and experienced teams of people.

She said her time at Maxwell exposed her to diverse perspectives that helped her in the position as well.

“This is what Maxwell gave me: the opportunity to see the world from different standpoints,” Esparch said. charri39@syr.edu @claireison99 from the market, Sen. Chuck Schumer identified the Elf Bar disposable vape company as a potential “JUUL 2.0.” at an April 4 visit to Fulton Junior High School near Syracuse. In a news release, Schumer called out the company for “hooking” students across Syracuse and central New York with advertised flavors and Gen-Z-friendly colors.

“If left unchecked, this highly-addictive and health-damaging Elf Bar, that is targeting teens and kids, could become the next Juul, but even worse — because of its shoddy manufacturing and its commonly mislabeled nicotine levels,” Schumer said in the release.

According to the CDC, e-cigarettes contain nicotine and other ingredients like ultrafine particles and flavoring linked to lung disease and cancer. The products are also highly addictive and can harm adolescent brain development.

FDA and CDC’s 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey found that roughly 1 in 10 — or more than 2.5 million — U.S. middle and high school students currently used e-cigarettes in 2022.

Elmariah said that under the new settlement, sellers will have to verify the age of consumers and secure JUUL products behind counters. JUUL will also be prohibited from using young models in their advertising and advertising near schools.

She added that the funds from the lawsuit will be used to support underage vaping abatement programs run by governmental agencies with the express goal to stop youth vaping, support community and school-based anti-vaping programs, enforce vaping laws and regulations and monitor and research efforts to reduce vaping.

The settlement comes after James sued JUUL in November 2019 for deceptive and misleading marketing, including the act of misleading consumers with regard to the products’ nicotine content and claiming its products were safer than cigarettes.

“There can be no doubt that JUUL’s aggressive advertising has significantly contributed to the public health crisis that has left youth in New York and across the country addicted to its products,” James said in the November 2019 press release.

JUUL is required to make its first payment to the six states and the District of Columbia within 90 days of the agreement’s settlement date, followed by seven annual payments which vary from state to state, totaling $462 million over the eight years.

Elmariah wrote that James’ office is still finalizing the details of how the revenue from the settlement will specifically be used and distributed throughout the state. kaluther@syr.edu

@kendallaluther