Archive for the ‘Interviews’ Category
Interview with Aldo Panfichi
Interview with Henry Pease
Marketers vs. Politicians in Unidad Nacional
Maxwell A. Cameron
April 28, 2006
Last night I ran into an old acquaintance in the Café Haiti. He told me he has been working on the campaign for Lourdes Flores, and I asked him for his assessment. “The campaign,” he said. The problem lay in a campaign in which Lourdes Flores was depicted as a candidate of the rich. But he also had another more surprising observation: Flores, he said, was marketed like a product. She was surrounded by election marketers and technocrats; the brain-trust of PPC political operators was shunted aside. Politically experienced people like Antero Flores-Araoz were marginalized. “You don’t sell champagne in Abancay,” said my acquaintance. “You can have a great champagne and great publicity, but if people want to drink something else it is useless to sell them champagne.”
This is an interpretation that seems to be gaining ground. The other day, Arturo Woodman noted errors of political judgment, including underestimation of Alan Garcia (something my friend confirmed). Today there is an interesting interview with Felipe Osterling, an old PPC stalwart, who says: “this campaign was carried out basically by technocrats and not by politicians.” Of course, there is a reason why people like Osterling and Flores-Araoz, not to mention Rafael Rey Rey and Jose Barba Caballero, were pushed aside—they are not leaders who have Flores’ broad popular appeal. But an appealing candidate is not enough—solid political judgment and experience is also required to win an election.
Read also: La olla de Dionisio
Julio Carrion on the Second Round
Political Science professor Julio Carrion (University of Delaware) offers his analysis of the second round in the Diario Financiero (Chile). Professor Carrion has written for this blog and participated in a forum on the election we organized last December.
Interview with Salomom Lerner Febres
Ollanta Humala Speaks with the Foreign Press
Ollanta Humala met with the association of the foreign press in Peru on Friday, March 31. He answered questions on a wide range of topics. Here are the highlights:
Re-Election
Re-election is not necessarily bad; it can be good under certain conditions. However, the current congress should not be re-elected. When some members of congress make as much as $18,000 dollars while teachers earn 250 Soles, re-election is not positive. Humala declined to state categorically that he would not seek presidential re-election. “Ask me this after April 9” he said. “In principle I am opposed to re-election, starting with me.” Humala also intimated that he favors recall, saying he wants to look at “democratic mechanisms by which they people can remove those who have defrauded their voters.”
Constituent Assembly
Peru needs a new constitution, said Humala, one that does not limit the role of the state in the economy but rather allows it to play a developmental role. The 1993 constitution is a spurious document, one that was created after the congress was closed in 1992. On April 9, the composition of the new congress will be seen. Humala said he would dialogue with all sides and search for the way to create a new constitution. He refused to go into any detail with respect to the mechanics of constitutional change, and denied that he would use Venezuela under Chavez as a model for Peru. He did talk about a popular referendum and said whether this would involve suspending the congress elected on April 9 would not depend on him and that he did not believe this was necessary. At the same time, he did not rule it out.
Democracy
Humala called Peruvian democracy “virtual, electoralist democracy,” in which there are “electors but not citizens.” Politics has become a “dictatorship of political operators of economic groups.” There is a re-composition of political systems occurring in the region. Ecuador has had three changes of president recently, and throughout the Andean region there have been golpes which have brought presidents down, but none that have succeeded in imposing new leaders. New leaders have entered democratically. There is a new family of democratic forces emerging. The common denominator is that they are progressive forces seeking alternatives to neoliberalism.
Left vs. Right
The distinction between left and right has less and less important, said Humala when asked where he locates himself on the left-right spectrum. “I am neither left nor right but rather below” he said. He argued that the terms left and right made sense in the context of the confrontation of two empires during Cold War. When that ended, capitalist globalization won out and from that point on the new confrontation has been between globalizers and globalized. That is, globalization is perforating sovereignty giving rise to a new force–nationalism. Humala also argued that his conservative adversary does not represent an ideological option for Peru. Rather, Peru’s right is composed of political operators who work on behalf of powerful economic groups.
The Military
Humala argued that military officers who committed crimes under the Fujimori regime should be punished with expulsion from the armed forces. He denied that military are over-privileged, however, saying that some of the benefits they are given (such as free gasoline or travel expenses) compensate for low salaries. He denied that there is anyone in his entourage with links to Vladimiro Montesinos and he characterized the “Vladivideos” as as important as Mariategui’s Seven Essays because they exposed the reality of corruption in Peru, which afflicts not just the armed forces but also the media and entrepreneurial groups. The military needs to restore its legitimacy in the eyes of the citizenry, said Humala, but he also stressed that the military is a popular institution. He said one can search in vain the the barracks for people with last names like Kuscynski, Diez Canseco, Ferrero, or Belaunde.
Taxes and Royalties in the Natural Resource Sector
An Humala government would review all contracts in the mining sector to determine: (1) whether companies are paying their taxes; (2) whether they are paying royalties; and (3) whether they are damaging the environment. Companies that are paying taxes and royalties and are not hurting the environment have nothing to worry about said Humala.
Drug-trafficking and the United States
According to Humala, he is not anti-anyone. His assessment of policies with respect to drug trafficking is negative. There are 300,000 families living off the production of the coca leaf, and they need profitable alternatives. He opposes the forceful eradication of coca production. Peru as a sovereign country has the right to end interdiction flights and to insist that the only military forces on Peruvian territory are the armed forces of Peru.
Corruption and Tax Evasion
Humala calls corruption “the strongest institution in Peru.” Crossing a red light costs 5 Soles. With the right bribes you can move through the Palace of Justice like you were on ice skates. Humala called for the owners of television stations who have not paid back taxes to pay up. “What does it matter is the macroeconomic figures put the country in black when there is no development?” The people, he claimed, are fed up with corruption and laws that are enforced in a discriminatory way.
Homophobia
This should not matter in the 21st century, said Humala. There should not be discrimination against people for choosing a different option. The only thing that he would demand of people in his government is that they be committed to the project and it is unimportant whether they are male or female, black, white or copper-tone, homosexual or not. “I am not homophobic” he said.
The Campaign
Asked what he has learned from 5 months of campaigning, Humala said that he has confirmed that Peruvian politics is a sewer. The people do not believe the candidates anymore, and they realize that in Peru there are divisions, that Peru is a fractured society. At the same time, and on a more positive note, Humala said he has been touched by gifts he has been given by people on the campaign trail. He said he has received notes, poems, small donations and even a crucifix. He also mentioned that at one point he saw woman in a crowd looking at him with eyes filled with hatred and he said this gave him pause to think and then to state in a campaign speech that he does not want to sow hatred in the country.
Fraud
Humala said that, with all humility, his party is seeking a victory in the first round. The law has given the vote to the armed forces. But mechanisms are being created so that this vote will be impossible. 80 percent of the military will be tied up on election day so that those who will actually be able to vote will be 20 percent or less. It is not enough that soldiers and police have been exonerated from the fine for not voting. The point is they can’t vote. This disturbs the electoral panorama. When something like this happens, it is always “for the benefit of someone” said Humala. The political class thinks it is not convenient for the military to vote. “My perception,” said Humala, “is that the armed forces are highly nationalistic.” The National Election Board has not allowed the UPP to use the word nationalism (in the party label), complained Humala. The authorities have not been impartial in their treatment of his movement, he said. “But in their field, with their umpire, we are going to score big.”
Interview with Maxwell A. Cameron: Humala has Filled the Vacuum Created by the Collapse of the Left
Interview with Arturo Woodman
In an interview with Mariella Balbi, Arturo Woodman, vice presidential candidate for National Unity, denies that he represents the Romero group.
Ollanta Humala Plans Constituent Assembly with Power to Close Congress
Ollanta Humala, if elected, will convene a Constituent Assembly with the power to close the congress elected on April 9. This proposal, as noted by Juan Carlos Tafur, bears a striking resemblance to the strategy used by Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. It could undermine the separation of branches of government, and lay the basis for a regime with greater executive powers.
Carmen Rosa Balbi Evaluates the Electoral Process
Entrevista de El Clarín con Ollanta Humala
El Diario El Clarín de Argentina publicó este lunes una entrevista realizada a Ollanta Humala Tasso, quien se definió a sí mismo como “un revolucionario”, que no es “un hombre peligroso” ni “antichileno”.
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.
Expert explains Japanese view of Fujimori
Yves Tiberghien is a political scientist at The University of British Columbia, currently enjoying a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University. As an exceptionally knowledgeable observer of Japanese politics, we asked him to explain why the Japanese public and political leadership seems to have such a positive view of Fujimori.