Peru leftist gears up for general strike

[Judi Lynn]

Peru leftist gears up for general strike
Mon Jul 7, 2008 11:22pm BST

By Terry Wade and Maria Luisa Palomino

LIMA, July 7 (Reuters) - Peru's ultranationalist opposition leader is backing a general strike this week to protest President Alan Garcia's free-market policies and is considering a second presidential bid.

Ollanta Humala, who nearly won the presidency in 2006 and is an ally of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, said Peruvians were demanding change because Garcia's economic model was broken and a six-year boom had failed to trickle down to the poor.

"People haven't seen the benefits reach their pockets," he told the foreign press club in Lima on Monday. "If there's no willingness to change, the social tensions and political instability in Peru will continue."

Humala said he might make another run for the presidency, adding, "My candidacy depends on me getting the nomination of my party."

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