Peru’s choice: Chavez protege or Fujimori II?

It’s going to be an interesting couple of months for Peru as it appears that leftist former Army colonel Ollanta Humala — the top vote-getter in yesterday’s first-round election — will face off against Keiko Fujimori, daughter of jailed former President Alberto Fujimori: Humala, a former army colonel, is classified as a left-wing radical by ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.
MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP/Getty Images
MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP/Getty Images
MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP/Getty Images

It's going to be an interesting couple of months for Peru as it appears that leftist former Army colonel Ollanta Humala -- the top vote-getter in yesterday's first-round election -- will face off against Keiko Fujimori, daughter of jailed former President Alberto Fujimori:

It’s going to be an interesting couple of months for Peru as it appears that leftist former Army colonel Ollanta Humala — the top vote-getter in yesterday’s first-round election — will face off against Keiko Fujimori, daughter of jailed former President Alberto Fujimori:

Humala, a former army colonel, is classified as a left-wing radical by his adversaries, including most of the mainstream press. One of his biggest pitfalls, for voters is his personal friendship with Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez. Voter concern about those Chávez ties were brought up often among people waiting in line to vote on Sunday. Perhaps in response to such concerns, Humala told the foreign press on April 8 that he has no problems with Chávez, “but we do not accept the [Venezuelan] model.”

Analysts say Ms. Fujimori needs to prove to voters that she is mature enough to govern – her age is mentioned often by voters – and, most importantly, that she will actually be the one to govern. A large percentage of voters polled say they fear that her father, who is serving a 25-year sentence on human rights and corruption charges, will be in charge if she wins.

Both candidates have taken steps to separate themselves from their controversial backgrounds. Humala has promised to respect Peru’s free-trade agreements and Fujimori, who initally promised to pardon her father if she was elected, now says she will wait for the Constitutional Court to rule on his latest appeal.

This is not to say that she’s distanced herself from dad. The 35-year-old congresswoman travels to the prison outside Lima where Alberto is being held for political consulatations. And even if he’s toned down the Chavista populism,  Humala’s promise to institute a policy of "social control" rather than eradication for the country’s coca crop won’t win him many points in Washington. 

In any event, the two front-running candidates are also the ones with the highest negative ratings. This should be interesting. 

Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

Tag: Peru

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