Who can give me a quick overview of Peruvian politics during the 80s-90s?

[T Roosevelt]

An editorial appeared in our paper (the Orlando Slantinel) that discusses Peruvian politics and the current US trade talks (registration required). Certain words caught my eye making, me wonder just what's going on, and WHAT THE US INVOLVEMENT in their politics has been:

Peruvian politics vex U.S. trade talks

By Terry L. McCoy | Special to the Sentinel
Posted May 24, 2004

LIMA, Peru -- The United States is conducting talks with Peru and its Andean neighbors, Colombia and Ecuador, to create a free-trade bloc. Negotiating a trade agreement with the world's largest, most advanced economy should be cause for celebration. Instead, the visitor finds this country on the Pacific coast of South America mired in self-doubt.

Peruvian angst is in large part a product of a chronically unsettled political situation. With rich mineral resources to sell on booming global-commodity markets, Peru's economy is performing well. But the 26 million citizens of Peru have not been able to arrive at a political formula that would allow their nation to realize its full economic potential. Political discontent persists despite the fact that Peru is better off today by most measures than at any time in its history.

<snip>

Populist President Alan Garcia, who served 1985-1990, compounded Peru's troubles by pursuing irresponsible economic policies that triggered runaway inflation and bankrupted the economy. After completing his term, Garcia fled Peru to avoid arrest on corruption charges.

Peru's apparent salvation came from an unexpected source. Little-known, politically independent Alberto Fujimori won a surprising victory in the 1990 presidential election, and was re-elected in 1995. Fujimori restored the country's economic health by adopting the free-market policies promoted by the international financial community.

<snip>

And as president, Toledo has implemented orthodox economic policies that have restored growth over the past three years while keeping inflation under control and the national currency strong.

<more>

[jay-3d]

1. then Fujimori

ran away to Japan with personal richs gained from Peru

[Michael Costello]

3. Peasant uprising

The Peasants in Peru are poor, indigenous and have been treated like crap for a long time. There was a lot of organizing among them and by 1991 the majority of land in the country was held by them. The Communist Party of Peru led this. That's probably the "chronically unsettled political situation" and "political discontent" that they're talking about. Anyhow, the political situation in Peru in the 1980s and the 1990s were the victories of the PCP (Communist Party of Peru), and the opposition to the PCP. Most of the PCP support was in the countryside (they're Maoists), but they also had a bit of support from the poor and blue collar workers in the cities as well. At one point Fujimori dissolved Congress and became a dictator. They really went after the PCP and succeeded in beating the PCP back, for the time being anyhow.

[T Roosevelt]

4. I'm just wondering what roll we had in this

I know that their international credit dried up midway through Garcia's term, but what caused the hyperinflation they experienced in the late 80s?

[swinney]

2. www.google.com search (peru war) details first item om list

[David__77]

5. A brief summary...

Alan Garcia replaced a bland conservative in 1985. Military rule unded in 1980. Garcia's party was called APRA and he moved to nationalize banks and was not following a neo-liberal economic agenda. The legal United Left movement gained a lot of support in the cities and threatened the left-leaning APRA. The Maoist PCP ("Shining Path") began insurgency in 1980 in the Andean Ayacucho province, gaining support from the poorest peasants. The insurgency spread into neighboring areas. In 1986, hundreds of Maoist prisoners were slaughtered by the military. By the end of the decade, PCP was active in the vast slums of the capital Lima, controlling certain neighborhoods.

The fascist Fujimori was elected in 1990 by promising NOT to impose austerity. He promptly broke his promise. PCP threatened to take the capital by the summer of 1992. But a fatal weakness of the group was its almost religious devotion to its leader "Presidente Gonzalo." And when the Peruvian secret police captured him with CIA support in September 1992, the Maoist movement began a rapid collapse and today probably numbers in the hundreds and is largely underground and confined to a few areas in the mountains. Fujimori had executed a coup in March 1992 and proceeded to stack everything in his favor politically. Finally, revelations of his underling spy chief Montesinos' drug and arms-running precipitated Fujimori's flight from the country. The most recent elections saw the pro-austerity, pre-"free market" candidate narrowly defeat Garcia, the former president. There have been accusations of electoral fraud.

[T Roosevelt]

6. Can't imagine this went over well with corporate interests

moved to nationalize banks and was not following a neo-liberal economic agenda

[David__77]

7. Well, here's the thing.

Foreign corporations hated it. Many local business people did support Garcia. His politics were "populist" and he even tried to appeal to the Maoist supporters by condemning the "damned parliamentary bourgeois democracy," but I think he was closer to a left-variant of fascism, like the early Mussolini. Some of the wealthy supported Garcia because they saw him as an effective defense against communism.

[T Roosevelt]

8. What influence did foreign corps wield?

Seems they could have pushed the IMF, governments, etc, to withold loans and other monies, refused to trade, etc, thus pushing the Peruvian economy to the edge...