For the first time, Peru will pay monthly for soldiers who perform military service in barracks of the three forces in an effort to attract more recruits.
The law approved on Thursday and published in the official gazette El Peruano grants 283 dollars a month to each soldier, the equivalent of the minimum wage. Until now they only received a tip of up to 100 dollars a month.
The norm was promoted by the president of Parliament, José Williams, a retired Army general who indicated that it seeks to make military service “more attractive”.
In 1999 Peru prohibited the forced recruitment of troops, which was historically criticized for the abuses committed against the newly incorporated, most of them young people from humble areas.
Military service has since become voluntary and the Army, Navy and Air Force have sought to attract recruits by assuring them three meals a day, clothing and instructing them in technical skills.
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