Economics, Government, and Population
For the purposes of this Latin American country study, this website will focus on the country of Peru. Peru is located on the Pacific coast of South America. It lies north of Chile, South of Ecuador, and West of Brazil. The country is "split" from north to south by the Andes Mountain rage, which is an important factor in the country's economy. The populaion of 27.5 million, according to the CIA, is primarily one of Amerindian (45%), followed closely by Mestizo(37%). White(15%), black, Japanese and Chinese round out the rest of the Peruvian population(3%).
Geographically, Peru has varied and in some cases a rather extreme landscape. According to the CIA World Factbook, Peru's lowest point lies at 0m at the Pacific ocean, and rises to well over 6,000 feet in the Peruvian Andes. The geography of Peru is important because it limits the amount of farmable land, and leaves the cultivation of natural resources (i.e. minerals, etc.) as the primary source of monetary gains.
Peru, according to the BBC, has the potential to be an extremely wealthy country due to the abundant resources at its disposal. Peru possesses "rich deposits" of copper, silver, gold, petroleum, and natural gas. In additon to the country's abundance of metals, resources, and landscapes, Peru possesses a rich history. As the home of ancient Inca, there is a tourism pull for "seekers of history". Visitors are able to see the "lost city" of Machu Pichu and are able to visit the ancient Incan capital, Cuzco. Other attractions according to Lonelyplanet.com include Lake Titicaca and the Nazca lines. Even with all of the potential economic advantages Peru possesses, it still remains an economic underdog.
According to every source that was researched, the economic stagnation in Peru can be traced to a corrupt political system. Peru was a military government for the earlier part of the twentieth century. Today it is technically regarded as a Constitutional Republic. Elections are held every five years, although there seems to be a trend in re-elections.The history of the Peruvian government is seemingly filled with corruption. There have been various Presidents who were elected, ousted, and some were even re-instated (then ousted?). Some of the most notable of those were Fernando Belaunde who was overthrown twice, and Alberto Fujimori. Fujimori made great strides in containing the activity of Peruvian guerilla groups, such as the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path), and the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement. Even with the positive aspects of his time in office, his government was eventually accused of corruption and human rights violations. He fled to Japan leaving the Peruvian presidency open. The President today is Alejandro Toledo, whose position is also being charged with corruption.
(The following timeline is taken in whole from the BBC website)
1533 - Spanish conquer the Incas
1780 - Revolt against the Spanish led by Tupac Amaru (it ultimately failed)
1821 - General Jose de San Martin captures Lima from Spanish, proclaims Peru is independent
1836-1839 - Peru and Bolivia enter a short lived confederation
1879-1883 - Bolivia and Peru are defeated by Chile in the "War of the Pacific"
1924 - Victor Raul Haya de la Torre sets up the American Revolutionary Popular Alliance
1941 - Brief border war with Ecuador
1945 - Civilian government comes to power
1948 - Military government led by General Mauel Odria installed followed by a coup
1963 - Peru returns to civilian rule with Fernando Belaunde as President
1968 - Civilian government ousted in coup led by General Juan Velasco Alvarado
1975 - Velasco ousted in coup led by General Bermudez
1980 - Peru returns to civilian rule with the re-election of Fernando Belaunde and Shining Path activity begins
1981 - Peru fights border war with Ecuador
1985 - Alan Garcia Perez wins presidential election
1988 - Peru seeks help from the International Monetary Fund
1990 - Alberto Fujimori elected president, inflation reached 400%
1992 - Fujimori suspends constitution with army backing
1993 - New constitution adopted
1995 - Fujimori re-elected to second term
2000 - President Fujimori resigns folloing political and financial scandals
2001 - Alejandro Toledo is elected
2004 - Inauguration of major gas pipeline project connecting jungle gas field with Lima
2005 - Four day failed uprising by nationalist army reservists
Topical Focus
As implied in first section of this website, Peru has been without what would be considered an enviable government. There has been a trend for the country to flip-flop back and forth from a military regime to a civilian one. In additon having an unsteady form of government, Peru has had trouble finding a reliable leader. Many have seemed trustworthy scions of hope, but ultimately they failed. An example of one such leader was Alberto Fujimori.
According to the sources used in the development of this site, Fujimori was, for several reasons, a hard leader to define. Roy Davies states in his biography of Fujimori that he was a son of Japanese emigrants who fled to Peru from Japan. He was the first person of Japanese descent to become a leader of a foriegn nation. Fujimori, according to Davies, was an extremely hardworker, a genius mathematician and later a respected political analyst. It was because of those assets that he gained the respect of the Peruvian people. The people of Peru saw him as a worker, a struggler, one of their own. The people of Peru admired him, as proof they affectionately gave him the nickname, el chino, because of his oriental heritage. It wasn't until close to the end of his ten years as president that the people would change their opinion of him and his actions would send him into exile.
When Fujimori won the Presidential elections in 1990, he inherited a country in the midst of a major economic crisis. According to, countrystudies.us, Fujimori ran a campaign opposed to immediate and drastic economic change, the complete opposite platform of that of his opponent Vargas Llosa. Of course, as with every politician, his campaign promises were simply words. Once elected, Fujimori pursued the same economic ideal that had lost Llosa the election. However, the change in his economic policy was not entirely his idea. The countrystudies site states that after a visits to the United States and Japan, Fujimori was forced to adopt the drastic but traditional economic stance under threats to pull international aid. The reaction of the citizens to such drastic, quick change was much more sedated than the country's administration had anticipated. countrystudies explains that there were two reasons for this newfound tolerence. First, the change had been so radical that the populace had no time to be concerned over anything other than trying to survive every day life. Second, Fujimori's acceptence by the people as "one of them" helped to allay the people's fears. They trusted him with their livlihood, and for many years he did not let them down.Fujimori did many great things as the president of Peru. According to Davies he "settled a centuries old dispute and made a permanent peace" between Peru and Ecuador. Davies also states that he stopped hyperinflation, slashed coca production, defeated the terrorist groups (the Sendero Luminoso and the Tupac Amaru). He also dealt with the effects of natural disaster after what Davies calls, "the worst el Niņo's of the century". Even with all of these magnificent achievements, Fujimori eventually stumbled and fell.
Alberto Fujimori, like any many fascinating leaders before him, ended his political career in the midst of scandal and rumors. According to Davies, Fujimori's downfall began with a news conference in which Fujimori praised his confident and countryman for the "interception of a large consignment of arms from Jordan". The problem arose when Jordan revealed that it had actually sold the arms to the Peruvian government. The reports of arms dealing dealt a blow to the Fujimorian government but not as severe as the one to come. The most devastating evidence, according to Davies, to the shady nature of Fujimori's government came about with the airing of a videotape that showed Vladimiro Montesinos (the same man given credit for the arms interception)giving a $15,000 dollar bribe to ensure that the election of the governments chosen person became president of congress. The result being the closest election in Peruvian history (known as the 'no to fraud' campaign).
The combination of caught lies, video evidence, and human rights violations were enough to severely damage the Peruvian government. Even though Fujimori was able to win the election, he ultimately resigned and fled in exile to Japan where it was later learned he had been harboring Japanese citizenship. Fujimori had raised hope in the mind of peruvians, but delivered dissapointment instead.
Sources:
Lonely Planet
CIA World Factbook
BBC profile of Peru
Overview of Peru - Stanford University
Country Study - countrystudies.us
Roy Davies - Rise and Fall of Fujimori
