Headlines, Human Rights, Latin America & the Caribbean

ELECTIONS-PERU: ‘The Lesser of Two Contradictions’

Ángel Páez

CUZCO, Peru, May 11 2006 (IPS) - Measured speeches and contradictions have marked the campaigns of Peru’s former president Alan García and his opponent Ollanta Humala, as they head into the Jun. 4 presidential runoff elections.

In the central Plaza de Armas square in Cuzco, the former capital of the Inca Empire, Jacinto and Heriberto, who work as prep cooks, and Aquiles, a waiter in a pizzeria, took advantage of a work-day lull to listen to the results of the first opinion poll on the second round of voting.

They were surprised by what they heard on TV. Social-democratic former president García (1985-1990) had come out ahead, with 57 percent of the decided vote, versus 43 percent for the nationalist Humala.

This 14-point spread disappointed the trio, who like 30 percent of Cuzco residents voted for the retired colonel and his radical anti-establishment platform in the first round on Apr. 9.

The results of the survey, conducted by the Apoyo polling firm and published in full on Monday, sparked a political debate among the three workers in the Plaza as they speculated on the reasons behind Humala’s drop in popularity.

They agreed that when Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez called García a “thief,” the incident benefited García’s Peruvian Aprista Party (or APRA, American Popular Revolutionary Alliance). They also concurred that Humala was hurt by the May 1 nationalisation of the oil and gas industry by President Evo Morales in neighbouring Bolivia.

“Chávez and Evo both support Ollanta. So, when Chávez attacked Alan, people thought he did it because he is for Humala,” explained Jacinto.

“Peruvians are nervous about nationalisation, because we had a bad experience during the military government (1968-1980),” he added. “That’s why people here weren’t pleased by Evo’s move. Now they’re saying: ‘That’s who is backing Ollanta?’ So they turn to Alan, even though they don’t like him.”

On Oct. 9, 1968 General Juan Velasco Alvarado’s regime announced the expropriation of the Breña and Pariñas oil plants owned by a U.S. company, which received compensation in 1974. The state corporation created from the takeover – Petroperú û could not surmount its oil-exploration and exportation difficulties, and ended up calling in foreign companies.

Humala’s platform includes nationalising strategic natural resources and drafting a new constitution, proposals that echo measures implemented in Venezuela and Bolivia, which has some Peruvians worried.

Despite the failure of his previous government, García is selling himself as a candidate who will not impose drastic change. He has toned down his rhetoric, forcing the aspiring nationalist to temper his own platform accordingly.

“If García is being accepted now, it is because he has changed,” said Professor John Crabtree, a research associate at Oxford University’s Centre for Latin American Studies and author of ‘Peru Under Garcia: An Opportunity Lost’.

“Up until 2001, García was critical of the market economy û now he accepts it,” Crabtree told IPS. “In the 1980s, when he was president, he was somewhat of an unorthodox nationalist, because he had business-sector allies. García no longer represents this kind of nationalism.”

Many Peruvians prefer him, even though his failed attempt to nationalise banks was blamed for triggering the economic fiasco that plagued his government.

“He recognises the mistakes he made. He is now a sensible man who would not act the same way,” said Crabtree. “The context is different as well: there is growth from the inside out, the import-substitution model is no longer an option, and I think he is aware of that. Although he could make different mistakes.”

Several analysts speculate that Humala is paying for his close ties with Chávez.

When the Venezuelan president called García a “thief,” Humala, under pressure from the press to comment on the matter, answered: “President Chávez, let us deal with our own thieves.”

“Chávez’s meddling in Peru’s elections is a key factor in explaining not only the lead García enjoys over Humala,” but also the erosion of electoral support for the nationalist candidate, Carlos Basombrío, former deputy interior minister for the outgoing administration of Alejandro Toledo and former researcher for the Legal Defence Institute, told IPS.

“Humala did not handle Chávez’ interjections very well, and as such he has not been able to distance himself from the Venezuelan president. The big question is if he ever will be able to,” observed Basombrío. “It seems to me that Chávez, through his statements, has tried to favour Humala, triggering the famous boomerang effect. Instead of helping, it’s hurting.”

But Humala has also proven himself to be well skilled in image makeovers.

Despite several accusations of human rights violations dating back to his command of a counterinsurgency army base in 1992 in Madre Mía, an Amazon jungle village, Humala is the only candidate to incorporate into his platform recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (CVR).

His spokesman on this issue, Carlos Tapia, is a former member of the Commission that studied and documented crimes committed in the “dirty war” against the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) Maoist guerrillas (1980-2000).

Humala’s policy plan declares his “full support of the final CVR report,” and proposes comprehensive reparation for victims of political violence, as well as the creation of a single registry of such victims. It also recommends “recognising the heroism, sacrifice and contributions of civilian and military men and women in the resolution of the armed conflict.”

However, no mention is made of ensuring judicial independence in the trials of military personnel accused of human rights abuses.

Basombrío speculates that “the struggle against impunity for human rights violations during the war” is not addressed because “that would complicate Humala’s legal situation.”

The executive secretary of the National Coordinator for Human Rights, Alejandro Silva, told IPS that more evidence has surfaced against Humala. Within the next three weeks, the attorney general’s office could subpoena him to testify.

Humala has consistently denied any involvement in such crimes.

In the other corner, García’s ticket includes retired admiral Luis Giampietri, who participated in the brutal repression of a riot staged by inmates jailed for “terrorism” in the prison on El Frontón island in 1986. The Truth Commission recommended investigating the officers involved in the crackdown, which left 300 prisoners dead.

In his deposition before the Truth Commission, Giampietri testified that then-president García was responsible for the operation.

“It was to be expected that García would not incorporate anything from the CVR when his vice-presidential candidate is Giampietri, self-declared enemy number one of the Commission,” said Basombrío.

During his government, García established a counterinsurgency policy that included an alliance with the armed forces, which limited executive branch oversight to curb human rights abuses, according to the Truth Commission report.

“The relationship between the armed forces and García has always been problematic,” said Crabtree. “There was even an attempted coup against him when he was president. I have the feeling that APRA has not studied the issue in depth. What’s certain is that the army is an influential power factor, especially in issues such as defence spending and human rights. And García will have to face up to the situation.”

These contradictions are not lost on voters. According to the Apoyo opinion poll, 14 percent of respondents plan to cast a blank ballot.

Respondents were also asked what they would do if the blank ballot option was eliminated, to which 19 percent replied that they would not vote at all, despite the 45-dollar fine imposed on those who do not exercise their voting rights.