Archive for January, 2006
Alternative Voices Running for Congress
La República, 23 de enero del 2006. Fotos: Arturo Pérez
En una muestra de tolerancia y respeto a la diversidad sexual, partidos de izquierda apuestan por el cambio para que los sectores marginados por su opción sexual tengan opción de representatividad en el Congreso. Por el Frente Amplio de Izquierda postula Belissa Andía y por el Partido Socialista se presenta Susel Paredes. Ambas cuentan con amplio respaldo en sus respectivos partidos: Belissa Andía (Manuel Andía en su DNI), es apoyada por el Comité de Izquierda por la Diversidad Sexual dentro del Frente Amplio, y Susel Paredes obtuvo el quinto lugar en las elecciones internas del Partido Socialista y podría llevar ese número en la lista de candidatos.
Alan García y la Propuesta del Concejal Joven
Buscando la renovación de la clase política, Alan García, candidato por el Partido Aprista, apuesta dentro de su plan de gobierno por los electores menores de 30 años proponiendo la creación de lo que denominó la Ley del Concejal Joven, que exige a los partidos que presenten el 25% de sus listas de concejales con personas menores de 20 años. Una astuta propuesta política del líder del APRA, puesto que los jóvenes representan el 37% del universo electoral del país.
Lourdes Flores on the Campaign Trail
Maxwell A. Cameron
January 21, 2006
A note in La República provided advance notice of a walk with Lourdes Flores through the working class district of Independencia, in the northern cone of Lima. We grabbed a cab and arrived at the meeting place a few minutes before the walk was to begin at 2:45 pm. At first, we could see no sign of any campaign activity as we strolled along Avenida Tupac Amaru until, at last, we spotted a couple of late model SUVs—the shiniest cars on the street. They proved to be the advance crew.
We loitered for a while, chatting with journalists and members of Flores’ entourage while waiting for the presidential candidate. Finally, a campaign bus arrived carrying a group of supporters, followed by a large silver SUV. We formed a caravan and headed toward the hills, arriving at the end of a paved street in the neighborhood Tupac Amaru Payet. Flores emerged from her car and was immediately surrounded by enthusiastic supporters, including congressional candidates Lourdes Alcorta, Pepe Kleinberg, and Gaby Pérez del Solar.
Photo: M.A. Cameron
Someone offered a glass of chicha, which Flores accepted with pleasure. From the sidelines, a couple of women from the barrio called for Flores to speak. One shouted “Lourdes, don’t forget the poor.” But the candidate did not stop to speak at that point. The plan was to move on foot along dirt paths carved by usage around a hillside densely covered by ramshackle and precarious houses, some made of matt, some wood, and the more solid ones of brick. Some of Flores’ entourage were unimpressed. One referred pejoratively to the neighborhood as “un asiento bien telaraña” (in local slang, a very poor settlement).
Photo: M.A. Cameron
As the entourage moved through the neighborhood, the crowd swelled. Some were curious, others genuinely supportive. One onlooker said she supported the candidate of Unión Nacional because she is a woman. Why was that important? “Women think better than men” she said, they take care of the household economy. “Men work hard, but they don’t distribute.” Another bystander expressed similar views. “A woman should have the opportunity,” she said. “There have been so many men elected and they have done nothing. Women are more intuitive in many ways.” She particularly liked Flores because of her honesty. An elderly woman approached us to say she hoped Flores would improve education, particularly civic education and vocational training.
Photo: M.A. Cameron
When we emerged from the narrow dirt paths of the barrio back onto paved streets, Flores stopped to speak with the press. The crowd was hushed as the candidate took questions from the media. At one point a water balloon was tossed into the crowd, either by someone seeking to make a point or just for amusement.
Photo: M.A. Cameron
What is Missing in this Picture?
Lourdes Flores, unlike Valentin Paniagua, gives the impression of wanting the presidency. She has a reputation for being a good listener, and her public statements are coherent and intelligent. Moreover, we were able to observe enough spontaneous expressions of support from onlookers to believe that her support base outside the affluent districts of Lima is real, especially among women. Consistent with her low negative ratings, we saw no clear expressions of hostility from the people in Tupac Amaru Payet.
Yet Flores and her supporters looked more than a little out of place in this working class, mestizo, barrio. One member of Flores’ entourage said she emerged from a similar walk so covered in dust that she had to take off her clothes in her garden before entering her house.
How deep is the connection between Flores and her potential supporters? The candidate was not met by local organizing committees or leaders, nor given a stage on which to speak directly to the local folk. If there were local organizing committees, or grassroots leaders involved, they were given no prominence. In the absence of such connections with the community, Tupac Amaru Payet seemed to serve as a stage for a public appearance designed to reinforce Flores’ image in the media as someone concerned with the plight of the poor. The inauthenticity of the event was made all the more dramatic by the contrast between the white, middle class supporters of UN, who were bused into the barrio, and the poor, cholo inhabitants of Tupac Amaru Payet who seemed not to be linked to the candidate in an organized way.
Photo: M.A. Cameron
“The vote is secret, compañero”
Maxwell A. Cameron
January 21, 2006
A few days ago I watched an interview with Alan Garcia on the television program Hoy with Cesar Hildebrandt and I could not avoid the feeling that the candidate of the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance should not be underestimated. Garcia may have presided over one of the most disastrous governments in recent memory, and he provokes strongly negative reactions in much of the electorate, but he is doing an impressive job of painting himself as the alternative to the right-wing policies represented by Lourdes Flores, on the one hand, and the chaos and violence that seem to be close to the surface of the forces behind Ollanta Humala, on the other.
Garcia presents himself as the candidate of the center, the politician closest to the median voter, and the elder statesman of Peruvian poltiics. He also leads the only well-organized and grassroots-financed political party in the country, and has a clear program of government. Garcia reminded Hildebrandt that he won close to 50 percent of the vote in the second round election in 2001, and he fully expects to be able to tap into the same electorate in this campaign.
Later, talking about the election with a friend, I asked how he would vote: “el voto es secreto, compañero” he said–the ballot is secret, compañero. Compañero is the phrase APRA supporters use among themselves, so the subtext was: I’m voting for Alan and that is a secret among those of us who support APRA. How many more APRA voters out there refuse to reveal their support for Garcia to suvery researchers? In the following article, Juan Carlos Tafur argues that the other candidates should not make the error of counting Garcia out.
Future of Peru Posible in Doubt
On Monday, January 23, leaders of Perú Posible will gather to discuss the crisis within their party that has arisen from the decision of Rafael Belaúnde to purge the congressional list of all undesirable candidates. Belaúnde insists that he will not be a complice of such elements, and warns that he will step down from the leadership of PP unless he gets his way. Electoral authorities warn that this may result in the elimination of the entire PP slate.
In recent days, the local media have shown an almost morbid interest in exposing the mediocrity and corruption within the ranks of the governing party. It has been alleged that there are members who own hotels of ill-repute, committed bigamy, abused minors, appointed family members to public offices, and trafficked in influence.
Woodman Election in 2002 Overturned Due to Fraud
Insiders close to Lourdes Flores Nano privately admit that it was a mistake to appoint Arturo Woodman as vice presidential candidate for Union Nacional.
Now new questions are being asked about Woodman. In 2002 he was narrowly elected mayor of Santa Maria, a tiny resort district of Lima, by a margin of just 20 votes (Woodman won 446 votes and his closest competitor won 426). His victory was overturned by electoral authorities after it turned out that 288 persons had changed their residence just prior to the election. Most of the migratory votes went to Woodman. After the suspicious votes were annulled, the victor was declared to be another candidate.
Identity of “Assassin” Revealed
The identity of the “assassin” who offered to murder José Vega in order to open the way for Dante Yorges to run for a seat in congress is now known. He is Marco Antonio Muñoz Vásquez (aka Negro Toño), and he has worked in the security detail of various candidates in the past, including Alejandro Toledo and Máximo San Roman.
After offering to kill Vega, Muñoz negotiated with two television stations to sell the compromising videotape. In recent years, the surreptitious taping or videotaping of illicit activities and the sale of such material to the media has become widespread. The most famous case is the Vladivideo which brought down the Fujimori government in 2000. Muñoz was the bodyguard of Germán Barrera (El Patriota) during the negotiations over the release of the Vladivideo.
While Vegas life was apparently never in real danger, there remains little doubt that Yorges thought he was dealing with a hired hit man. He may have been entrapped, but fall into the trap he did.
At this point is is unclear whether Muñoz was motivated only by the desire to acquire compromising material that could be used to negotiate with the media, or whether any of Humala’s political adversaries had a hand in the matter. A palpable nausia can be sensed in most of the commentaries on this affair.
Garcia calls for Flores to drop Woodman
In a clear attempt to avoid being seen as the candidate of the right, in recent days Lourdes Flores Nano has had some tough words for Peru’s business leaders. In response, Garcia has asked for Flores Nano to remove Arturo Woodman from her slate. Flores refuses.
Semana Movida para Ollanta Humala
Tras lograr el primer lugar en la intención de voto de diversas compañías encuestadoras, esta semana se inició lo que parece ser una telenovela electoral para el líder del PNP.
Humala denounces plot to assassinate secretary general of UPP
Maxwell A. Cameron
January 20, 2006
NOTE TO READERS: LOOK AHEAD TO JANUARY 23. THE STORY OF THE ASSASSINATION PLOT PROVES TO BE A FARSE.
Dante Yorges: “Don’t do it in the party locale or other place because people are around him like flies.”
Hit man: “You suggest the door of his house.”
Yorges: “In his house, at the door.”
Hit man: “How? With lead?”
Yorges: “Lead in the head would be best. One shot of lead, and done.”
Source: El Comercio, January 20, 2006
Is this a scene from a B-rated gangster film? No, it is part of the process of selecting candidates to run for congress.
Ollanta Humala has denounced a plot to kill secretary general of the Unión Por el Perú (UPP), José Vega Antonio. The plot was allegedly hatched by another UPP leader, Dante Yorges, the secretary of mobilization of the same party. The television program “Cuarto Poder” aired a video in which Yorges and a hit man (who remains unidentified, but was apparently the source of the video) discussed how to eliminate Vega.
Beatriz Boza on Inequality and Social Exclusion
DATUM National Poll, January13 -14: Lourdes Flores in First Place
Source: La República, 19 de enero del 2006
Encuesta aplicada a 1121 personas a nivel nacional entre el 13 y 14 de enero con un margen de error de +/- 3 %
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Peru May Join Latin America’s Populist Tilt to Left
IMA Metropolitan Lima & Callao – January 14-15, 2006: Lourdes Flores Maintains Lead
Source: La Primera, 18 de enero del 2006
Encuesta realizada entre el 14 y 15 de enero en 37 distritos de Lima y Callao, bajo la técnica de encuesta personal “cara a cara”. La muestra comprende 700 casos y el nivel de representatividad de Lima Metropolitana es de 97.5%.
Los cuatro partidos lideres expusieron sus propuestas en materia educativa
El Foro Educativo reunió a los principales grupos políticos del país para que expusieran sus propuestas en materia educativa en caso de acceder al poder en las próximas elecciones presidenciales. Todas coincidieron en el aspecto de mejorar el bajísimo nivel de la educación que cuenta el país: nivel de profesorado paupérrimo y mal asalariado, aulas escolares inadecuadas para un buen aprendizaje, una política educativa inadecuada para nuestra realidad, entre otros aspectos.
Las principales propuestas en materia educativa por partido fueron:
Gonzalo García. Candidato a la Vicepresidencia por el Partido Nacionalista
– Meritocracia que permita aumento de sueldo a docentes.
– Destinar un impuesto a sobreganancia a inversión en colegios
– Capacitación a los docentes durante los veranos.
Federico Prieto Celi. Experto en el área de educación por Unidad Nacional
– Vincular la demanda laboral con la formación académica.
– Apostar por recomponer la escuela pública.
– Erradicar el analfabetismo.
Mercedes Cabanillas. Experta en el área de educación por el APRA
– Ampliar las clases en los colegios de lunes a sábado.
– Orientar el ITF a los gastos en educación.
– Canje de deuda externa por inversión en educación.
Valentín Paniagua. Candidato a la Presidencia por el Frente de Centro
– Meritocracia para aumento de sueldo a docentes.
– Canje de deuda externa por inversión en educación.
– Relanzar programa de vivienda para el magisterio.
¿Los errores de siempre? Los dilemas y desafíos de Lourdes Flores Nano para estas elecciones
We have the pleasure of publishing a very thoughtful analysis written by Aldo Fernando Ponce, a Peruvian graduate student currently doing doctoral research in the University of Connecticut in the United States. The purpose of the paper is to assess the dilemmas facing conservative candidate Lourdes Flores Nano.
The paper begins by analyzing the fragmentation and erosion of the party system, a process that has given rise to “outsider” candidates. These conditions create problems for all established party leaders, but there are additional problems that have plagued the right in the past, including the tendency to form temporary alliances that are not very disciplined or enduring, and problems marketing their programs. The paper provides a good sense of the significant challenges that will need to be addressed by Flores Nano if she is to be successful in this contest.
¿Los errores de siempre? Los dilemas y desafíos de Lourdes Flores Nano para estas elecciones
By Aldo Fernando Ponce
January 17, 2006
En los últimos procesos electorales, el sistema electoral peruano ha mostrado una gran fragmentación que se ha manifestado por el alto número de candidatos a la presidencia y de listas para acceder a posiciones en el Congreso. Sin embargo, en números gruesos, la mayoría de votos ha tendido a concentrarse en tres fuerzas: la primera en el APRA con su tradicional bastión electoral concentrado en el norte del país; la segunda en diversas agrupaciones consideradas de “derecha”, entre ellas el PPC (Partido Popular Cristiano) y Acción Popular como una de las más representativas; y en una tercera relativamente más difusa e inestable que las dos anteriores, la cual hasta antes de 1990 recayó sobre ciertas agrupaciones de Izquierda aglutinadas bajo la alianza Izquierda Unida, y posteriormente sobre el surgimiento de outsiders oportunistas que, como Alberto Fujimori y Alejandro Toledo, se convirtieron en los actores políticos más exitosos de los últimos años.
Andrade Proposes Cuts to Congressional Salaries
Maxwell A. Cameron
January 17, 2006
Alberto Andrade, vice presidential candidate for the Frente de Centro (Valentin Paniagua’s slate), has proposed a drastic reduction in the salaries of members of congress, and the virtual elimination of luxurious expense accounts. The proposal is likely to be well received by most voters who are scandalized by the high salaries earned by members of congress.
Are salaries really out of line, or is the outrage based on populist demagoguery? Member of congress earn 10,120 Nuevo Soles per month, according to El Comercio, plus 16,600 Nuevo Soles in expenses. This brings their total income to 26,720 Nuevo Soles, or US $7,843/month ($94,000 annually). By contrast, the minimum wage is $149/month (506 Nuevo Soles) and average annual per capita income in Peru is $5,260 (according to the UNDP). By contrast, the typical member of parliament in Canada earns US $116,000 ($135,000 Canadian), while per capita income is US $31,571. So, while the Canadian parliamentarian is roughly 4 times richer than the average Canadian, the Peruvian member of congress is 18 times richer than the average Peruvian.
For data on per capita income: United Nations Development Programme
The Bachelet Effect
Source: Carlin, La Republica, January 17, 2006
The Poor and their Vote
Source: La Republica, January 17, 2006
APOYO January 11-13, 2006 National Survey: Humala in First Place
Source: El Comercio, January 15, 2006
Encuesta realizada por Apoyo Opinion y Mercado en exclusiva para el Comercio y Opinion Data, 11-13 de enero del 2006. Universo: 1618 personas en las principales ciudades del Peru.
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48 Congresistas Postularían a la Reelección
Source: La República, 16 de enero del 2006
Basándose en la reciente encuesta del Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales de la Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería que arrojó que el 75% considera que los congresistas solo se representan a ellos mismos, y solo el 5.8% opina que trabajan para el pueblo, la periodista Milagros Salazar realizó un informe para el diario La República sobre los congresistas que van a la reelección, mostrando la tendencia de las agrupaciones políticas a la renovación, motivada por el descrédito del Congreso.
Haciendo una revisión de las agrupaciones políticas con mayor representación en el Congreso vemos que de los 86 parlamentarios del Apra, Perú Posible, Unidad Nacional, Acción Popular, Somos Perú y Perú Ahora, 48 irían a la reelección, el 53% del total de congresistas.
Partido por partido, los resultados son los siguientes:
– APRA: Solo 10 parlamentarios de los 28 de la bancada integrarían la lista al Congreso, destacando los nombres de Mauricio Mulder, Mercedes Cabanillas y Jorge del Castillo.
– Frente de Centro: se ha renovado la confianza a los cuatro parlamentarios de los partidos de la alianza: Acción Popular y Somos Perú. En el caso de AP debido a que Yonhy Lescano y Pedro Morales han realizado una buena labor en la defensa del consumidor.
– Unidad Nacional: La renovación sería del 50%, participando 5 de los 12 congresistas, manteniéndose los casos de Rafael Rey y José Barba Caballero aún en negociaciones con Lourdes Flores Nano.
– FIM: 6 de los 11 congresistas postularían a la reelección.
– Perú Ahora: El cambio es casi total. Solo Jorge Chávez Sibina postulará al Legislativo.
– Perú Posible: De los 31 parlamentarios, 21 pugnarían por integrar la lista pese a ser la bancada parlamentaria más desacreditada y cuestionada.
Campaigns Follow Voters to Beach
The campaigning continued, even on Agua Dulce beach at Chorrillos on Sunday afternoon. Beachgoers who dared to participate in an dance contest won a case of beer.
Photo: M.A. Cameron
Renewal in Unidad Nacional?
Source: Alfredo, La Republica, January 15, 2006
Lourdes Flores with Arturo Woodman: “Rey [Rafael Rey of Renovacion] and Barba [Jose Barba Caballero, Cambio Radical] are leaving because we want renewal.”
Jurgen Schuldt on Ollanta Humala and the “Tunnel Effect”
Carmen Rosa Balbi on Business Groups and Peruvian Elections
Ollanta Humala’s Electoral Base
Source: La Republica, January 15, 2006
The chart combines the results of January results from IDICE (national) and UNI (Metropolitan Lima and Callao) polls with Datum (nacional) December poll.
According to Sinesio Lopez (sociologist) and Luis Benavente (pollster), the poorest support Ollanta Humala because policies of elected governments have not had a direct impact in their lives.
UNI Metropolitan Lima & Callao, January Survey
Source: La Republica, January 15, 2006
The “No Legislative Re-Election” Bandwagon
Maxwell A. Cameron
January 14, 2006
The topic of re-election of legislators is the flavor of the moment. Since Ollanta Humala proposed that no member of congress in Union Por el Peru (UPP) be allowed to run for re-election, most other leaders have jumped on the no-reelection bandwagon.
Fujimori Out of Contention
Fujimoristas converged on the offices of the National Election Board (Jurado Nacional de Elecciones, or JNE) to express their belief that their leader should be allowed to run in the April elections. Inside the JNE, Cesar Nakasaki, Fujimori’s lawyer, made the case for overturning an earlier decision by the Special Election Board that had banned Fujimori from running. Nakasaki argued that the Special Election Board did not have the authority to rule on the matter. Outside, the colorful protest was led by daugher, Keiko Fujimori, and other high-profile leaders.
Photo: M.A. Cameron
This evening it turned out that the protests were to no avail; the National Election Board upheld the earlier ruling. The decision is definitive and cannot be appealed. However, there has been a debate in recent months concerning whether the decisions by the National Election Board are, in fact, final. Some jurists insist that the Constitutional Tribunal has the final say in any case concerning fundamental rights–which presumably would include the right to run for office.
IDICE National Poll, January 9-12, 2006: Ollanta Humala Takes the Lead
Source: La Republica, January 14, 2006
Sample: 4,950 households. Margin of error +/- 4.5%
Peru Could Be Wooed By Yet Another Prophet
Embassy, January 11th, 2006
By Vladimir Torres
Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales began a lengthy international tour on Jan. 3. After visiting Cuba before the New Year, his second trip started with a brief visit to Venezuela, where Morales expressed his adhesion to the “anti-neo-liberal and anti-imperialist” struggle of Hugo Chavez.
Procedimiento para tachar postulantes
Source: El Comercio, 13 de enero del 2006 (JNE)
Humala Supporters Celebrate Victory, While Fujimoristas Continue Hunger Strike
Maxwell A. Cameron
January 12, 2006
Two radically different political dramas were played out on the streets of Lima today. While supporters of Ollanta Humala anticipated another victory in their effort to overcome legal obstacles to participating in the April elections, the supporters of former president Alberto Fujimori, who has been legally denied the right to run, continued in their hunger-strike and vigil before the electoral authorities.
Jesus Maria
A clamorous scene was observed in the otherwise quiet residential neighborhood of Jesus Maria near the center of Lima. A group of supporters of Ollanta Humala gathered outside the office of the Special Election Board for Lima-Callao as authorities inside deliberated over the merits of the arguments for and against Humala’s candidacy.
Photo: M.A. Cameron
The crowd sensed that the decision would go their way. Yesterday, the Board had decided to reject a similar motion of censure, which had been initiated by lawyer Julio Quintanilla. The mood was expectant, and the crowd demonstrated support for their leader with colorful banners and flags, and chants of “Urgente, urgente, Humala presidente!” Sun hats with “Ollanta Presidente” were de rigeur; the ads for Coca Cola on the visors presumably did not imply corporate sponsorship. The chorus was led by a wiry character festooned with flags and a megaphone strapped above his head. Another chant went: “If there’s no solution, there will be revolution!”
Photo: M. A. Cameron
Moving around, but always at the center of attention, one leader stood out: Dr. Liliana Humala De la Oliva, cousin of Ollanta and lawyer by training. From atop a pickup truck she doled out water to the dozens of supporters scorched by the mid-day sun. Once all the supporters were sated, she moved along the security perimeter established by the police, offering water to the men in uniform. The crowd roared approval with “Police, friends, Ollanta is with you.” Some of the police accepted the water, while other demurred. None dared drink it openly.
Photo: M.A. Cameron
Agreeing to an on-the-record interview, Liliana Humala suggested we use her mobile “office,” the cab of her pickup truck. Flanked by advisors and supporters, we bundled into the cab, occasionally jolted as water continued to be dispensed to the crowd from the back. “The people of Peru are going through a delicate sentimental crisis, she said; they have been betrayed by politicians who have cheated on them. Now they are giving their heart to a new person—Ollanta Humala.” Why have Peruvians deposited their affections in this new leader? “His transparency,” she answered; “we talk naturally, without putting on airs.”
At that moment, an advisor informed Liliana Humala that the decision had been taken: the second censure had been ruled unfounded. “How does this make you feel?” I asked. “The greatest happiness in the world. We are going to win in the first round” she responded. According to Liliana Humala, efforts to stop her leader’s candidacy were backfiring, and providing excellent propaganda for her movement. Who was behind these efforts to block Humala? I asked. “Olivera works with Quintanilla” she said. Fernando Olivera is the leader of the Frente Independiente Moralizador, or FIM, and Quintanilla had run on the FIM congressional slate in 2000.
Regarding the dispute with Michael Martinez, Liliana Humala insisted that the member of congress for the Union Por el Peru had done nothing for the Department of Apurimac, which he represents, and that is the reason Humala asked him, along with all other congressional incumbents, not to run again.
I asked whether Ollanta Humala, should he come to power, would govern with his supporters or abandon them when he took power, to which Liliana Humala responded that people should occupy their posts because they are “competent professionals.” She was chosen to be on the national executive committee (CEN) of her party because, she claimed, she is seen as someone capable of putting things in order and the rank-and-file have identified her as a leader. “I get very angry with the local press,” she said, “for comparing me with Margarita.” Margarita is the sister of Alejandro Toledo, current President of Peru, who has been accused of influence trafficking and of falsifying signatures for the registration of the ruling party, Peru Posible.
“I am a lawyer. I have not met with groups to falsify signatures. This I cannot accept. That woman did nothing, otherwise things would be different for Peru Posible. I am working to create a party like APRA, and to fulfill the demands of the people.” Alan Garcia was a leader, she said, but he has already governed.
Lima Cercado
Not far from the boisterous celebrants in Jesus Maria, a rather sadder drama was unfolding in front of the principal office of the National Election Board. On the corner of La Colmena and Jiron Lampa, across from what used to be the Banco de la Nacion before it was burnt down in protests against President Fujimori’s attempt to be re-elected to a third term in office in 2000, a smaller group of Fujimori supporters were camped. They were on a hunger strike, and some had been there as many as 17 days without service or medical attention.
Photo: M.A. Cameron
Asked what brought them to such desperate measures, they responded that they were all there to support the candidacy of Alberto Fujimori. “We want Fujimorisimo with Fujimori” said one. “We support Fujimori because he did many good things, good works” chimed in another. “He changed the history of the country in 10 years” said a young man in his 4th day without food, to a general murmur of agreement. Warming to the topic, he went on:
“He gave us the opportunity to know a new way of governing, different from traditional politicians who governed as demagogues and ignored the people. Fujimori reached to the farthest villages, bringing basic necessities like schools and medicine. Toledo has done nothing. Before Fujimori there was hyperinflation, terrorism, misery, hunger and chaos. He left the country without terrorism, with peace. He took the country from being unviable to stable. With Fujimori, authority and discipline were restored. This has been misinterpreted as dictatorial.”
“Why are they so afraid?” asked another, with reference to the refusal to allow Fujimori to run. “All we’re saying is he should be allowed to compete.” I asked whether the group thought Fujimori would win if allowed to run. “Without doubt” was the consensus. “People say that to be Fujimorista is to be a thief, corrupt. But there is no proof against Fujimori. There are thousands of commissions, and no proof. The Kroll commission cost $800,000 and not a single sol was found.” The $800,000 is a sum that has been mentioned on Fujimori’s website.
Photo: M.A. Cameron
Another hunger striker, 17 days without food, came forward and asked that his message be conveyed outside Peru: “Don’t send dollars to the NGOs. They are controlled by members of congress, and the help does not reach the poor.” He said he had been threatened by terrorists while on hunger-strike, and drew his hand across his throat ominously.
The animus of the two protests could not have been more starkly contrasting. Yet both crowds had taken to the streets to rally behind leaders facing what they believed were unjust obstacles to their participation in the election process. Obstacles imposed, moreover, by those who fear change. Undeniably, both represent important currents in Peruvian politics.
Frente de Centro Presentó Plan de Gobierno
El ex presidente y candidato a la presidencia por el Frente de Centro, Valentín Paniagua, presentó los tres principios fundamentales y seis lineamientos centrales que constituyen la columna vertebral del plan de gobierno de la alianza electoral de Acción Popular, Somos Perú y la Coordinadora Nacional de Independientes.
Los principios fundamentales son:
1. Un Gobierno abierto y dialogante
2. Satisfacer las exigencias y necesidades de la población
3. Establecer un sistema de homologación de sueldos en concordancia con los limitados recursos del Estado.
Mientras que los seis lineamientos centrales son:
1. Impulsar el desarrollo humano brindando acceso a servicios básicos a todos los peruanos.
2. Lucha contra la corrupción, por lo que solicitará facultades especiales al Congreso para legislar en los primeros 60 días contra dicho flagelo.
3. El compromiso del Acuerdo Nacional que busca destinar a la educación el 6% del PBI.
4. Incentivar la inversión nacional y extranjera.
5. Descentralización, no solo como la elección de autoridades, sino también el acceso a la salud y la educación.
6. Elevar la autoestima nacional a través de políticas de capacitación social.
Prueba Ciudadana
Source: Prueba Ciudadana
Prueba Ciudadana es una iniciativa de Transaparencia para que el ciudadano común mida cuánto sabe sobre el o los candidatos que tiene pensado votar, o tiene simpatía, en las proximas elecciones. Muchas veces en el Perú las apariencias engañan. Este cuestionario tiene como premisa: Los futuros congresistas y el Presidente trabajarán para nosotros. Nosotros los elegiremos para ese empleo. Lo mínimo que se hace al contratar a alguien es ponerlo a prueba para ver si estará a la altura del cargo. Cuando contratamos a alguien sólo porque nos cae “simpático”….las consecuencias ya son conocidas. Ya es hora que ejerzamos el poder de quien “contrata”. Háganse estas preguntas antes de votar por su candidato al Congreso y a la Presidencia.”
Interview with Susana Villaran
Wanted: Congressional Candidates – Part II
To deal with their bad image among the electorate, political party leaders are requesting current elected members not to run for re-election. Leaders are also seeking a large number of fresh faces for their congressional lists. Today La Republica posted that political parties are requesting between $5,000-25,000 to “potential” candidates to include them in congressional lists. Another strategy used to recruit new faces has been to post paid advertisement in local newspapers (see: Wanted: Congressional Candidates).
¿Cantidad o Calidad?
Source: Alfredo, La Republica, 11 de enero del 2006
Translation: Why didn’t anyone tell them there is no water in the pool?
24 planchas electorales inscritas es todo un récord
The registration of 24 candidates for the presidency–23 if we consider the rejection of the candidacy of Alberto Fujimori–illustates the fragmentation of Peru’s party system. Many analysts and politicians are expressing concern about the unprecedented proliferation of presidential aspirants.
Source: La República, 11 de enero del 2006
El número de 24 planchas electorales inscritas es todo un récord. Las opciones para este año han superado con creces el número de 17 candidatos que se registró en 1980, que era la cifra más elevada hasta este momento, quedando claro que la proliferación de candidatos afectará definitivamente la calidad de los comicios del 9 de abril. Como era de esperarse, las leyes electorales no pudieron evitar la fragmentación de candidatos, partidos y alianzas, aunque personajes políticos como el presidente del Consejo de Ministros, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, confía en que esa cifra se aminore y permita un número menor de opciones políticas.
Hugo Chavez calls Lourdes Flores “Candidate of the Oligarchy”
Lourdes Flores Corrects Woodman
According to business newspaper, Lourdes Flores corrected her vice presidential running mate, Arturo Woodman, who said the struggle against corruption is not one of his priorities.
The Illusion of Legislative Renewal
Maxwell A. Cameron
January 10, 2006
With the deadline to register presidential candidates past, attention now turns from candidates to the executive office to candidates to the legislature. The two front-running candidates are calling for sweeping renewal in congress. Ollanta Humala (candidate of Unión Por el Perú, UPP) is asking that all members of the congressional slate supporting his proposed government be non-incumbents. Lourdes Flores Nano (candidate for Unión Nacional) has also proposed a number of new faces for congress and has asked more established leaders to step aside. Both these initiatives, while popular with voters, have fallen like cold water on incumbent members of congress behind these candidates.
Ricardo Uceda on Peruvian Elections
Here is a very astute analysis by Ricardo Uceda, Peru’s election: a second leap into the void? posted on January 9 in Open Democracy. Uceda rightly emphasizes the importance of corruption as an issue in this election.
24 Presidential Candidates in the Running
Source: El Comercio, January 10, 2006
Monday, January 9 was the deadline to register presidential slates. The slates must be reviewed and approved by the National Election Board (Jurado Nacional de Elecciones, or JNE). With 24 presidential candidates applying for registration to compete, this election has broken the previous record set In 1980 with 15 candidates.
Three candidates are in the lead, so far: Lourdes Flores, Ollanta Humala, and Alan Garcia. Humala´s candidacy is not secure yet due to tachas, or censures, presented to the JNE. The JNE (Resolucion 010-2006-JEE-LC) rejected the application to register the Si Cumple presidential slate headed by Alberto Fujimori. The Fujimoristas had a backup plan, however, and registered Martha Chavez as presidential candidate under the label of Alianza Para el Futuro.
Presidential candidates have until January 18 to retire from the presidential run and opt for running for congress.
Diez Canseco in dialogue with Ollanta Humala
Maxwell A. Cameron
January 9, 2006
Who can best capture a public mood that demands change?
In an interview on “Hoy con Hildebrandt,” Javier Diez Canseco argued that Ollanta Humala personifies the desire for change among millions of Peruvians who feel like foreigners in their own country.
Dissent within the Ranks: Ollanta Humala called a “Little Dictator” by former ally
Maxwell A. Cameron
January 9, 2006
Congressman Michael Martínez has called Ollanta Humala a “little dictator.” Martínez is a sitting member for Unión Por el Perú (UPP), and he was reportedly instrumental in building the bridge between UPP and the Partido Nacionalista del Perú (PNP). His dispute with Humala arises from a suggestion made by Humala in an extraordinary national congress of the UPP on Saturday, January 7, 2006, that all sitting members of UPP should not run for re-election. This suggestion was greeted with applause, but it left UPP incumbents nonplussed. As a result, a group of party leaders impugned Humala’s candidacy in their own party before the election authorities (the Jurado Electoral Especial de Lima, or Special Election Board of Lima) on the grounds that he has not renounced his PNP membership and hence cannot be the candidate for UPP. The objection, the second to be imposed on Humala’s candidacy, is not expected to prosper. Humala was chosen as the leader of the UPP in internal elections on December 17, 2005. Word on the street is that Humala will make whatever alliances are necessary to reach the presidency, and that he will, like Fujimori, immediately disassociate himself with anyone who is inconvenient once in power.
Photo by Marco Garro, Peru.21
Alan Garcia’s Choice of VP Questioned
Alan Garcia would like to win the support of Fujimorista voters who may feel they have nowhere else to park their votes if their preferred candidate cannot run. So he has appointed a vice presidential candidate with past involvement in Fujimori´s municipal movement, Vamos Vecinos. Luis Giampietri also shares with Garcia responsibility for one of the worst human rights crimes of the 1980s: the penal massacre in El Fronton.
Presentan 2 tachas contra candidatura de Ollanta Humala
We´re in Lima
Readers of this blog will notice we have not posted anything in a couple of days. We have made the transcontinental trip from rainy Vancouver to sunny Peru. From now on we will write from Peru—mainly Lima, but our intention is also to travel within Peru. Our new location will change the content of our postings somewhat. In particular, there will be more content based on our own direct observations. That said, we will continue to provide the service of linking to sources such as polls, other blogs, and newspaper articles available on the Internet. We welcome comments on what we’re doing—or not doing—that readers may wish to make.
And a reminder to our readers: this weblog is academic and nonpartisan. We welcome comments and reactions and we do not mind if readers vent a little or express enthusiasm for candidates or express partisan ideas (as long as we are not mistaken for representing one or another of the parties in contention). However, abusive, sexist, racist, or demeaning language of any sort should seek outlet elsewhere. Thanks.
The Campaign Has Only Just Begun
Maxwell A. Cameron
January 8, 2006
Researchers in the field of comparative politics like to “soak and poke” in the areas they study as much as possible. Sometimes what we learn from primary research could be discovered by other means, especially in an era of instant communication over the Internet. That said, there is no question that being in a place, even for a short period, puts things into a new perspective. One acquires a sense of a place, an olfato politico, only by living in it. What follows are a few initial impressions.