Devil in the detail for Peru's voters

[Judi Lynn]

Last Updated: Tuesday, 30 May 2006, 22:17 GMT 23:17 UK

Devil in the detail for Peru's voters
By Hannah Hennessy
Lima

On 4 June, voters in Peru will decide whether, for them, it's better the devil you know or the devil you don't.

The two men vying for president both represent a swing to the left. The former President, Alan Garcia, would mean a move to the centre-left.

His nationalist rival, Ollanta Humala, could deliver a more seismic shift to the kind of politics favoured by Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, his close ally and a growing thorn in the side of Washington.

The policies and political experience of both men will have an impact on Peru's economy, which has been one of South America's top performers in recent years.

Mr Humala is politically naïve, but has tapped into a growing vein of disillusionment with Washington-friendly free-market policies that are seen as failing the region's poor.

Mr Garcia is more business-friendly, but his 1985-1990 presidency was marked by rampant inflation, destabilising terrorism and debt default.
(snip/...)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5007556.stm



Alan Garcia, Ollanta Humala



Oh, Jeezus

[medeak]

1. we've been offered many many jobs in Peru

very lucrative contracts....turned them all down as friend was kidnapped and after a year in jungle escaped.

Can't imagine that country ever being safe.