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Gopher
Joined: 04 Jun 2005
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Bulsajo
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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 Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2006 6:58 pm Post subject: |
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I was in the lowlands of Ecuador during the elections of '88
[which were areal hoot as the the President had just recently been freed by his kidnappers, led by the Chief of Staff of the military, who, BTW, also happened to be the Godfather of the President's daughter].
Anyway, the big platform that most of the politicians were promising was "potable water and hospitals".
When those are the issues that are perceived to bring the voters to the polls, then it's not all that surprising that free and fair elections tend to see lefty types winning.
Maybe I'm wrong but I think that in terms of that states of their respective nations, Peru (as well as Ecuador) have more in common with Bolivia than they do Chile and Argentina, for example.
Like Venezuela, Ecuador has oil revenues. |
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Leslie Cheswyck
Joined: 31 May 2003
Location: University of Western Chile
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| Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2006 9:40 pm Post subject: |
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| They haven't qualified since '82 and they failed this time around. They have a good attack in their scorer, Farfan. But my guess is they need to shore up their defence. Maybe we'll see them in '10. |
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Gopher
Joined: 04 Jun 2005
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| Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2006 9:43 pm Post subject: |
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Actually, I guess that answer's the question, too, doesn't it?
Cheers, Leslie. Don't be such a stranger... |
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Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2006 10:16 pm Post subject: |
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| probably far left.. |
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Gopher
Joined: 04 Jun 2005
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| Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2006 5:32 pm Post subject: |
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Garcia won. Given his prior history, it is not clear whether this is good news or simply not necessarily bad news.
In any case, at least Humala -- Chavez's man -- lost.
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LIMA, Peru (AP) -- Former President Alan Garcia, whose 1985-90 government left Peru mired in guerrilla violence and economic chaos, defeated nationalist ex-army officer Ollanta Humala Sunday in Peru's presidential runoff, according to exit polls and a sampling of ballots.
The Apoyo polling firm said that a statistical projection based on a sampling of ballots nationwide gave Garcia 52.9 percent of the vote compared to 47.1 percent for Humala. The sampling had a margin of error of about 1 percentage point.
An exit poll earlier by Apoyo showed Garcia with 52.8 percent to 47.2 percent for Humala. It was based on some 20,000 interviews and had a margin of error of about 5 percentage points.
Another exit poll by the Datum International firm gave similar figures: Garcia had 54.9 percent to Humala's 45.1 percent, based on 27,476 interviews.
The bitterly fought election has included street clashes and virulent exchanges of slurs, including from President Chavez, who exacerbated the ill will by vigorously endorsing Humala and calling Garcia a crook.
At one point, Garcia was hit in the face by an egg, leaving a nasty bruise. The attack, in the highland city of Cuzco, a stronghold for Humala, was followed hours later by a shootout involving supporters of the two rivals.
In the final days of campaigning, election observers from the Organization of American States urged the two campaigns to tone down the rhetoric and avoid violence.
Humala, a retired military man like Chavez, has spooked upper- and middle-class Peruvians by attacking the established parties as corrupt and unresponsive to the needs of the poor. He vows to write a new constitution stripping them of power.
Mario Vargas Llosa, Peru's most famous novelist and a staunch critic of Garcia, called Humala a dangerous autocrat.
"What is at stake in Peru is whether the democracy we have, with all its imperfections, is going to survive or is going to disappear once again and be replaced by a military and nationalist dictator, which is what would happen if Mr. Humala wins," said Vargas Llosa, who made an unsuccessful bid to succeed Garcia in 1990.
A win by Humala, a 43-year-old political newcomer, could help Chavez extend his "anti-imperialist" influence in the region after gaining a loyal ally with the December election of Evo Morales as Bolivia's president.
Garcia, 57, has adroitly turned the race into a referendum on the Chavez factor, depicting Humala as an aspiring despot who would fall into lockstep with the Venezuelan's populist economics and Cuba-friendly anti-Americanism.
He has labeled Chavez, who is rolling in petrodollars from record-high oil prices, as "a midget dictator with a big wallet." Chavez in turn has called Garcia "a genuine thief, a demagogue, a liar."
Before voting, Garcia met with reporters over breakfast, urging voters to reject Chavez's interference in Peru's election.
"Not only are we defining our way of life, but also putting a roadblock in front of the expansion of a country that, because it has more wealth, wants to export its model," he said. "I believe that Peru has the right to choose its own path and its own model."
Humala's radical, anti-system rhetoric -- he vows to follow the lead of Chavez and Morales by imposing higher taxes on foreign companies that exploit the nation's natural resources -- resonates among Peru's poor, the majority of them dark-skinned mestizos.
The poor feel they have not benefited from economic growth that averaged 5.5 percent over the past 4 years, when the poverty rate dropped just two percentage points to 52 percent.
"We have faith we can develop a nation without discrimination, a society where our young people have a future," a smiling Humala told reporters after voting, avoiding the incendiary rhetoric that has marked much of his campaign.
Pre-election polls showed Garcia with a clear but shrinking lead over Humala, a mestizo with a middle-class upbringing by a fiercely nationalist father who believes Peru's "copper-skinned" majority should rule over its European-descended elite. Humala says he doesn't share his father's racist views.
Garcia knows nightmarish memories of his government, with its raging inflation, political violence and long lines for food, will give many Peruvians pause before casting ballots for him. He says he is aware that some Peruvians "will hold their noses" when they vote for him as "the lesser of two evils" but is determined not to repeat the errors he made as a young president.
As polls opened Sunday, Carlos Chavez Rios, a municipal street sweeper whose wrinkled face appeared much older than his 69 years, said he was willing to give Garcia a second chance.
"Alan Garcia made mistakes when he was young. We all make mistakes when we're young. He's mature now and has more experience," he said, broom in hand, outside a voting station in a drab working-class district.
But Andres Garcia, a 66-year-old taxi driver, said he had cast his ballot for Humala "so that there is a change. A military man is tough. There is too much corruption. Let's hope he can impose order. If Ollanta can't change this, no one can change it." |
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/06/04/peru.elex.ap/index.html |
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ChimpumCallao
Joined: 17 May 2005
Location: your mom
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| Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2006 7:04 pm Post subject: |
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wow. talk about short memory. alan garcia was a joke of a president in ther 80's who basically sat back while the shining path destroyed the country.
i cannot believe that douchebag won again. what a stupid country.
im glad chavez's man at least didnt win. that would have sealed latin america's fate to be the new africa in a good 10 years. talk about lesser of two evils.
i wish that pro-biz chick had won.
latin america is the continent of the future....and always will be. |
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