Inaugurated last July, Peruvian President Alan García Perez completed the first 100 days of his second administration in early November. Winning a run-off in the June elections with 52% of the vote, García inherited a country torn by divisive socioeconomic and political issues. His first three months in office have been marked by a combination of policy innovation and continuity as he seeks to find workable solutions to difficult problems.
Lourdes Flores Nano, lawyer, centrist politician, and former legislator, looks set to become the next president of Peru. If her campaign stays on track, she will reverse the neopopulist trend in Latin America, most recently evidenced by the election of Evo Morales in Bolivia. She will also become the first woman elected president of Peru, just months after Michelle Bachelet made similar history in Chile. As with Bachelet in Chile, a Flores Nano victory will signal a major cultural change in Peru.
Key Points
Key Points
When the Peruvian air force shot down a civilian Cessna last week, killing missionary Veronica Bowers and infant daughter Charity, it was the CIA-contracted crew of a U.S. surveillance plane who had tagged the tiny craft as a suspected drug carrier. This so-called “liberal shoot-down policy” would never be tolerated in this country, but it’s been part of U.S. policy in Latin America for years. In fact, military forces there, aided by the U.S., have “forced down” over 120 planes suspected of transporting drugs, according to the 1999 congressional testimony of General Charles Wilhelm.
Closing the Latin American Air-Bridge:
For there to be a successful antidrug policy in Peru, two conditions must be met. First, there must be a clearly democratic government, with executive, legislative, judicial, police, and military institutions that effectively guarantee a balance of powers and enforcement of the rule of law-all of which will prevent impunity and increase government accountability to the country’s citizens. And second, there must be an economic policy that makes a priority of reducing unemployment and improving the rural economy.
Key Points