The day after a car bomb ripped through the city's fashionable San Isidro district, barbers at the Monte Carlo Barbershop swept the broken mirrors aside and set their chairs out on the sidewalk.
"Never did we think of closing, not for one minute. We have never lost a day of work here," said barber Avelino Marquez. "We were cleaning for four days and we still attended everyone who came in."Broken windows and barricaded streets are increasingly common sights in Lima. Shining Path guerrillas have increased the power and frequency of car bomb attacks since President Alberto Fujimori declared one-man rule April 5.
Fujimori said in dissolving congress that political corruption was shackling his efforts to defeat the Maoist-inspired rebels. But critics say his new get-tough campaign against the rebels has exacerbated the violence.
Indeed, the stepped up bombing attacks have prompted sterner security measures. The government on Wednesday imposed a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. ban on traffic in the capital.
Ten police and military targets have been bombed since April 5, killing at least a dozen officials.
Civilian centers have likewise been targeted, and the bombers have used hundreds of pounds of explosives.
On June 5, a truck packed with explosives killed four people and injured dozens when it exploded after midnight in front of a television station that has taken a hard line against the Shining Path.
The car bomb exploded in San Isidro two weeks earlier, killing one person at an intersection surrounded by banks and shopping centers.
Experts say the timing and placement of such bombs indicates the Shining Path is more interested in making a point than in killing or injuring large numbers of people.
The rebels have in the past year steadily increased their presence in Lima, coming down from their strongholds in the highlands and making inroads in the shantytowns that ring the capital.
Now, barricades made of rocks and barrels have been erected along roads running past police offices and military posts.
Private businesses and wealthy homeowners fearing bombs have also begun blocking streets that run past their property, snarling traffic.
A Shining Path expert interviewed Sunday night on a television news program apologized for being late for the show. He said he'd had to detour around 17 blocked streets to reach the station.