Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [21]
Peru, however, hadn’t heard the last of Fujimori. In 2005, he returned to South America, only to be arrested in Chile on an extradition warrant to face long-standing charges of corruption, kidnapping and human-rights violations. He was extradited to Peru in 2007 and, that same year, was convicted of ordering an illegal search. Two years later, he was convicted of ordering extrajudicial killings, and three months after that, was convicted of channeling millions of dollars in state funds to Montesinos. In 2009, he also pleaded guilty to wiretapping and bribery. Altogether, he faces almost three decades in state prison. (Montesinos, in the meantime, is serving a prison term of 20 years, for bribery and selling arms to Colombian rebels.)
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The hard-hitting documentary State of Fear: The Truth About Terrorism (2005), directed by Pamela Yates, examines Sendero Luminoso’s devastating effect on Peru and the erosion of democracy under Alberto Fujimori.
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Fujimori has shown little remorse for his actions. At his embezzlement trial, he simply said, ‘The true judgment for me is that of the people, who have long absolved me in their hearts.’
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THE 21ST CENTURY
The new millennium, thus far, has been better to Peru than the previous two, and the country has been enjoying a decade of relative stability. In 2001, shoeshine-boy-turned-Stanford-economist Alejandro Toledo became the first person of Quechua ethnicity to ever be elected to the presidency. (Until then, Peru had had mestizo presidents, but never a full-blooded indígena.) However, along with his new title Toledo inherited some very difficult economic and political situations: he lacked a majority in congress, which hampered his effectiveness, and the country was in the midst of an economic recession. By 2003, his popularity had reached an all-time low of less than 10%.
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Forgotten Continent: The Battle for Latin America’s Soul (2009) is an acclaimed political tome by Economist contributor Michael Reid that examines the continent’s strained relations with the US and Europe.
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Following the conclusion of Toledo’s term in 2006, the election turned into a three-way contest between right-wing candidate Lourdes Flores, populist Ollanta Humala and – of all people – the APRA’s Alan García, the very man who had put Peru on a path to financial ruin during the late 1980s. After a run-off election, voters eventually settled on García. His second term – thus far – has been relatively stable. The economy has performed well, due to a strong market in mining and agricultural exports, and strong local governance in Lima has left the capital renewed and its port facilities upgraded after decades of decay.
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IN THE WAKE OF THE INTERNAL CONFLICT: TRUTH & RECONCILIATION
One of the most remarkable things to come out of Alejandro Toledo’s presidency (2001–2006) was the establishment of the country’s Comisión de la Verdad y Reconciliación (Truth & Reconciliation Commission). Chaired by Salomón Lerner, a philosopher at Lima’s Catholic University, the commission thoroughly examined the innumerable acts of mass violence that plagued Peru throughout the Internal Conflict (1980–2000). Though the panel wasn’t endowed with prosecutorial powers, its public hearings nonetheless proved to be an emotional – and tremendously cathartic act. Men and women of all ages and races came forward to testify to the massacres, rapes and disappearances that had occurred at the hands of the military and the various guerrilla groups during those 20 years.