Nationalism and Populism Propel Front-Runner in Peru

[Judi Lynn]

April 2, 2006
Nationalism and Populism Propel Front-Runner in Peru
By JUAN FORERO

MOQUEGUA, Peru, March 28 — In a presidential campaign filled with symbolism, the front-runner here found a perfect image for his hard-charging crusade: on Tuesday, he jumped on a chestnut mare and, with his followers sprinting behind him, galloped to the central plaza to promise to revolutionize this Andean country.

The candidate is Ollanta Humala, 43, who was seeking to evoke the image of the authoritarian man on horseback known as the caudillo. He says that if elected on April 9, he will waste no time before cracking down on the multinationals he says cheat citizens and arresting the crooked politicians he says have plundered Peru. As the leader of the newly formed Nationalist Party, he also says he will ally himself with President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, who wants to form a bulwark against the Bush administration.

Mr. Humala, whose first name means "warrior who sees all," is as populist as they come on a continent that has been swept by leftist leaders mining popular discontent with free-market policies and suspicions of the United States. His antiglobalization stance and talk of transforming the economy provoke fear in the entrepreneurial class; the stock market suffered its biggest tumble in five years when he rose in the polls.

But his message — Peruvians first — is compelling to many in this country of 27 million.
(snip)

"He's with the people," said Victor Herrera, 40, who was among the thousands who followed Mr. Humala on his recent swing through this arid desert in southern Peru. "He's not like the other candidates, who are with the big businessmen."
(snip/...)

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/world/americas/02peru.html?hp&ex=1143954000&en=903e2cf206e41015&ei=5094&partner=homepage

http://insurgente.org/ficheros/Maira.%20Ch%E1vez,%20Evo%20y%20Ollanta.2.jpg

[leftchick]

1. excellent photos Judi!

:woohoo:

I am so glad to see SA freeing themselves from the US corporate grip of death.

[movonne]

2. Now if only we could....

[Judi Lynn]

4. He has a wonderful face, doesn't he? They ALL do!

I've never seen lovelier smiles than those worn by the new Latin American leaders.

Contrast these Chilean Presidential faces:



Nixon's installed puppet President Augusto Pinochet and the future Chilean ELECTED President he had tortured,
along with her military official father, who died during torture, her mother, herself, and her boyfriend who simply was "disappeared."

Who IS the kinder person, would one say, simply examining the faces?

[sadiesworld]

3. I truly hope these folks will be able to give the global elites

a run for their money. :thumbsup:

(he's quite attractive...not something I normally inject into politics but...I'm just sayin')

[WhiteTara]

5. Ollanta is certainly a handsome Warrior

even his pictures exude life.

[cliss]

6. I got chills looking at the bottom photo....

when do we EVER see photos like that here in the US? Look at those happy people. They've got their hands on Señor Humala; it almost looks like they're patting him for good luck.

Just amazing photos. And look at the one above, with all 3 leaders; Evo Morales, Hugo Chavez and Humala. I pray to God that they will succeed; they've certainly paid their dues to the US for their freedom.

[Judi Lynn]

7. Peru leans to strict candidate

Sunday, April 2, 2006 - Page updated at 12:00 AM
Peru leans to strict candidate
By Monte Reel
The Washington Post


MARIANA BAZO / AP
© 2006 The Seattle Times Company

Peruvian candidate Ollanta Humala has
been compared to Venezuela's President
Hugo Chávez. The two friends share a
liking of revolutionary rhetoric and a distrust
of free-market policies.

UQUIA, Peru — On April 9, every adult who lives in a cluster of adobe huts clinging to the Andean mountainside here will rise before the sun, walk miles down a rocky path to a larger village and stand in line for hours to vote for a new president.

If they don't, they will face a fine of about $40 — an enormous sum in a country where half the population lives on $1.25 a day or less, and in a community where securing one's property often means tying the family pig to a 10-pound rock.

But their votes will be valuable for another reason — poor Peruvians are helping make a front-runner out of Ollanta Humala, an authoritarian, nationalistic ex-military commander who promises to redistribute wealth like a 21st-century Robin Hood.

"A president must be strong and strict," said Estelita Celmi, 35, a mother of three who sat under a thatch shelter knitting a blanket last week. "And it's better when they are from the military, because they work harder, earn less and suffer more. They understand our lives."
(snip/...)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002905254_peru02.html

[Terran]

8. This guy isn't all good.

I have a friend in Lima, a middle-class academic type, who is gay. He tells me that Mr. Humala's parents are a driving force behind his campaign, and his mother in particular has a high profile. She has stated publicly that homosexuals "should be shot" to make an example to the rest of the population to avoid such "deviant" behaviors. Granted, the candidate himself has not said this, but I worry about my friend's future. I support Chavez and people who ally themselves against the Bush administration, but at what cost?

[Judi Lynn]

9. Nationalist leads Peru poll

Nationalist leads Peru poll
Sun Apr 2, 2006 5:35 PM BST

By Robin Emmott

LIMA, Peru (Reuters) - Support for nationalist front-runner Ollanta Humala fell slightly, according to a new poll on Sunday, a week ahead of a presidential election in Peru that appears headed for a runoff.

Thirty-one percent of voters support Humala, who is campaigning to restrict foreign investment, according to the respected Apoyo poll published in the newspaper El Comercio, compared with 33 percent a week earlier.

The former army officer, who promises a "revolution" for Peru's poor, remains well below the 50 percent support he would need on April 9 to avoid a May run-off with the second-place finisher.

However, the poll did not cover 19 percent of voters in remote rural areas where Humala's support is strongest.
(snip/...)

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-04-02T163511Z_01_N31369796_RTRUKOC_0_UK-PERU-ELECTION-POLL.xml&archived=False

[Joanne98]

10. Peru in April Mexico in July! GO!

[Celeborn Skywalker]

11. Country by country

the white oligarchy in latin america is falling and it's about damned time.

[Judi Lynn]

12. Humala Uses Nationalism, Populism To Lead In Peru's Presidential Campaign

Humala Uses Nationalism, Populism To Lead In Peru's Presidential Campaign

Posted on Sunday, April 02 2006 13:26:34 PDT by Intellpuke
Read 6 times

In a presidential campaign filled with symbolism, the front-runner here found a perfect image for his hard-charging crusade: on Tuesday, he jumped on a chestnut mare and, with his followers sprinting behind him, galloped to the central plaza of Moquegua to promise to revolutionize this Andean country.
The candidate is Ollanta Humala, 43, who was seeking to evoke the image of the authoritarian man on horseback known as the caudillo. He says that if elected on April 9, he will waste no time before cracking down on the multinationals he says cheat citizens and arresting the crooked politicians he says have plundered Peru. As the leader of the newly formed Nationalist Party, he also says he will ally himself with President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, who wants to form a bulwark against the Bush administration.

Humala, whose first name means "warrior who sees all," is as populist as they come on a continent that has been swept by leftist leaders mining popular discontent with free-market policies and suspicions of the United States. His antiglobalization stance and talk of transforming the economy provoke fear in the entrepreneurial class; the stock market suffered its biggest tumble in five years when he rose in the polls.

But his message - Peruvians first - is compelling to many in this country of 27 million.
(snip)

In an interview, Humala said he had distanced himself from his relatives. "They are free to express ideas, but I reject them," he said. "My family is the people. The Humalas come second."
(snip/...)

http://freeinternetpress.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=6443