Peruvian president calls for equal opportunity for LatAm Indians

[Say_What]

Council of Hemispheric Affairs is speculating that Peru's president may be the next to topple along with the pres. of Ecuador.

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Lima, Dec 5 (EFE).- Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo said the indigenous communities of Latin America lack equal opportunities for development and urged the countries of the region to rectify the situation.

"The challenge is for our children to progress, to have the right to an education, health and integration, to be accepted and to be proud of their roots," the president said.

Toledo made his remarks Thursday at the opening of the 5th General Assembly of the Indigenous Peoples' Fund (IPF), which is being held at the presidential palace in this capital.

The Peruvian leader emphasized the need to promote respect for cultural diversity and the environment in a "new globalized world." Toledo added that Latin American countries made a commitment to work on behalf of the region's Indian populations at the last meeting of the Rio Group and at the Ibero-American Summit, which was held in Bolivia in November.

http://www.efenews.com/includesasp/noticias.asp?opcion=1&id=5744373

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Will Peru’s President be the Next Andean Domino to Fall?

· Is Toledo destined to join a growing group of has-been presidents, including de la Rua of Argentina, Mahuad of Ecuador and Sánchez de Lozada of Bolivia?

· In June of this year Toledo’s approval rating hit a rock-bottom 11%.

· Alejandro Toledo faces growing opposition due to inconsistent policy-making, egregious insensitivity, and an inability to honor election promises to improve the standard of living of the country’s poor.

· Anger over mishandled privatization strategies has led to massive protests this year and last, causing Toledo to repeatedly impose states of emergency, and call out the police and the military.
· Resurgence of the Maoist guerrilla group Shining Path, and their links to narcotrafficking, pose a growing threat to Toledo’s government.
· As in other Andean countries, militant coca growers and intransigent U.S. drug policies promise to bring matters to a head.

· The Lori Berenson case could be a wild card forcing Toledo to take action to defuse its irritant impact on U.S.-Peruvian relations.

http://www.coha.org/NEW_PRESS_RELEASES/New_Press_Releases_2003/03.71_Is_Toledo_Next.htm

[Judi Lynn]

1. Toledo rolled out the red carpet for the pResident

Without a doubt, March 23, will take its place in Peruvian history as the first time a North American president has visited our country. The arrival of George W. Bush to Peru was preceded by a terrorist attack that occurred in front of a commercial center, only 50 meters from the United States Embassy, three days before his arrival. The assault claimed the lives of nine victims and left more than 30 people injured. Nevertheless, Laura W. Bush, the First Lady of the United States, explained that this demented attack would not halt their visit to Peru. At the same time she expressed her profound pain for the victims of the assault.

Impressionable means of security

The arrival of President Bush, as expected, brought a great deployment of security. The President traveled in a bulletproof automobile. Security was provided by land, air and sea. Seven thousand Peruvian officers (and almost six hundred others that arrived with President Bush) provided attentive protection at the locations he would visit as part of his agenda. There were also snipers along the way, Peruvians and North Americans, as well as police disguised as civilians. Three war ships (two Peruvian and one from the United States) were also deployed as part of this gigantic defense for the presidential visit.

Important agreements

The importance of the visit of the United States president is understood as a firm support of the democratic process in Peru, in which the advances of the recuperation of the democratic institution is highlighted, the validity of the right side, the respect for the human rights and the liberty of expression. (snip/...)

http://ezdragon.cortland.edu/log/pe/pe22/pe22.htm



Holy Moly! Personal biographical material:

Toledo is married to the Belgian anthropologist Eliane Karp, who unlike him speaks the native Indian language Quechua. During the electoral campaign, Karp agitated against the white bourgeoisie - one has to admit that they did not always cover themselves with glory and that is why political outsiders such as Fujimori and Toledo were able to attain the presidency. What does not fit into the new presidential couple's populist style is their tendency to avail themselves with luxury products. They carefully adapt their public appearances to their public.

Toledo could not convince everybody that he is innocent of allegations that he fathered an illegitimate child (Zarai Orosco) - he refused to submit to a paternity test. He was also accused of incorrect accounting regarding electoral campaign donations, of taking cocaine and visiting prostitutes.

For many Peruvians, the election of Toledo was the lesser evil. In contrast to the defeated Alan Garcia, they do not expect an adventurous economic policy from him. However, Toledo led a populist electoral campaign. It will soon become clear whether this was necessary in order to gain the support of the Peruvian masses or whether it is a dangerous trait of character of the new president. One must admit that a "serious" but pale bourgeois candidate would probably have lost the election to the smart left-wing candidate Alan Garcia (APRA), which would most probably have been another disaster for Peru.

Doubts about Toledo remain. During his electoral campaign, he stylized himself as the successor of Pachacútec. The poor Peruvian Indians, who are among Toledo's most fervent followers, baptized him "Pachacuti" which means "cataclysm" or "destroyer". It was the name chosen by the Inca ruler Yupanqui who once expanded and unified the Inca empire. After Toledo had been sworn in as the new president in Lima on July 28, he moved on to Machu Picchu where he held another ceremony at the world famous ruins. Is this already the beginning of Toledo's megalomania? (snip/...)

http://www.cosmopolis.ch/english/cosmo17/toledo_peru.htm

[Say_What]

4. Even though of Indian descent he doesn't speak the language

and that Machu Picchu trip sounds like the Peruvian version of "Mission Accomplished". also this:

Toledo has never held public office before and therefore has no executive experience. His political qualification comes down to three candidacies for president, the first one in 1995 when he only achieved meagre 3% in his first race against Fujimori.

..During the electoral campaign, Toledo promised, above all, more jobs to the Peruvian voters. At least, he intended to create them mostly through the private sector. However, he not only promised the moon to peasants, but almost anything to all economic sectors. On his governmental agenda, Toledo has further privatizations in 2002, more support for education and schools, a reduction of the large army of state employees, a plan of decentralization, to improve respect for human rights, an army without corruption, an independent and efficient system of justice and police without corruption, a constitutional reform with the abolition of its authoritarian traits introduced under Fujimori, the fight against drug dealers and much more. Very soon it will become clear which promises Toledo will be able to fulfill.

Based on the fact the country may be ready to throw him out, guess he didn't follow through on his promises.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Oddly enough, the Vice President's in trouble, too

I lied, I'm sorry, Peru vice president admits

By Jude Webber


LIMA, Peru, Dec. 4 — Peruvian Vice President Raul Diez Canseco, who faces congressional corruption charges that could bar him from office for 10 years, admitted on Thursday that he lied to the country, but stopped short of resigning.

In a speech, Diez Canseco, who stands in when President Alejandro Toledo is away, acknowledged he made ''a grave error'' over a personal relationship that led him to quit as foreign trade minister last month, but said he meant no wrong. (snip)


(snip) The 55-year-old businessman did not explicitly comment on allegations he signed a decree granting his girlfriend's father a tax waiver on a business he runs at Lima airport and got other members of her family jobs in government agencies. (snip)

(snip) Hauled before lawmakers last month, a tearful Diez Canseco, who is married with four children, denied everything -- including that the 26-year-old woman was his girlfriend. (snip/...)

http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters12-04-100100.asp?reg=AMERICAS

[Judi Lynn]

3. More info. on the Vice-President's situation

Maximo Mena, the whip of President Alejandro Toledo's Peru Posible party, said Diez Canseco was the more responsible of the pair and would have to state his case to Congress.

When Diez Canseco was called before the commission last month, he cried and denied the allegations that he drew up a law to allow his supposed girlfriend's father to skip taxes for a business he runs at Lima airport.

The commission voted by 6 votes to 5 to accuse Diez Canseco and by 6 to 1, with 5 abstentions, in Silva Ruete's case. It removed the explicit recommendation Diez Canseco be barred from office for 10 years by 6 votes to 4. Some legislators had left the session, accounting for differences in voting numbers.

Diez Canseco has also been accused in the media of getting her relatives jobs in state agencies, but he denies any wrongdoing.

There was no immediate comment from either man and it was not clear when the plenary session would consider the case.

Some lawmakers are calling for Diez Canseco to resign, a highly unusual step which would leave Peru with just a deputy vice president half-way through Toledo's term. (snip/)

http://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2003/12/03/perus_central_bank_governor_vp_face_fraud_charges/

[Say_What]

5. One thing is certain

there's never a dull moment in LatAm politics... :evilgrin: