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Member Profile: "Alberto Sacio"

Growing up on the farm

Alberto Sacio's ancestors originally came to Peru from Italy and began farming outside of Lima. By the time Alberto took over the farm five generations later, the hacienda had grown to 300 hectares. He later doubled the irrigated size to 600 hectares, just in time for it to be expropriated by the military government during the period of agricultural reform. He bounced back, and took a job as general manager of Belco Petroleum, which was expropriated by the García government 18 years later. Finally, he began to work as General Manager of the state-run Aero Peru, but lost his job once again when the company was privatized by Fujimori. Always active in the community, Alberto served on the Board of Directors of the American Chamber of Commerce of Peru, and has been president of a long list of institutions, including the IPAE, the board of Roosevelt School and the Sociedad Nacional Agraria.

Alberto is married to the charming and fascinating Millie Sacio, who will be featured in next month's Member Profile. They have five children.

ACAP: You lost the family farm back in the 1960´s under the Government of President Velasco. What do you think Peru would look like today if the agrarian reform of the 1960´s had not taken place?

Alberto Casio with Henry Kissinger in Peru

A. Sacio: We would be more productive than Chile is now. In fact, years ago when I used to travel to Chile before the agrarian reform, the Chileans would ask me “why can't we be as be as productive as you are in Peru?…Why can't we export as much as you do?” With the agrarian reform, we got set way back and we still have a long way to catch up.

ACAP: Where do you see us heading as a country?

A. Sacio: People die, but countries don't. They move on. Of course the biggest problem here is lack of decent education. Most of the educational system here is terrible, and this is a great barrier to progress.

ACAP: Do you see an entrepreneurial spirit here that can help the country rise out of these tremendous problems? Are you optimistic about Peru?

A. Sacio: Yes, I am optimistic. Have you been to Los Olivos rencently? The “conos” are full of people who moved off the land because it could no longer support them. They began making little family corporations and many have created their own work. The problem is that often they do not work efficiently because of lack of education. But despite that, they give me hope. Peruvians are very hard workers.

Alberto and Millie Sacio

ACAP: You are 78 and in pretty good health. To what do you attribute your long life?

A. Sacio: Two things are indispensable. First, you try to grow up on a farm, at least for the first 16 years of your life. I have never spent a day in the hospital! Farms are healthy, so that makes you healthy. Not only that, on a farm, you are away from the all pressures of the city, including the moral pressures and people pressures. Secondly, choose your parents well (laughter). In my case, they lived to be 80 and 85 years old. - Alan La Rue.

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