March, 2002

March ?, 2002Archeologists discovered a new set of ancient ruins not far from Machu Picchu in Peru in February. In late March there was a terrorist bombing attack near the U.S. embassy in Lima, on the eve of President Bush's visit there. Some Peruvian government officials immediately blamed the attack on supporters of former President Fujimori. The U.S. government is pleased with Toledo's cooperative attitude but has expressed concern about the political bias evident in many of the trials against former officials in the Fujimori government. Partisan witch hunts? May 28, 2002Fernando Belaunde Terry, a bold visionary leader who was twice elected President of Peru and whom I once interviewed, passed away on June 4 at the age of 89, about two weeks after suffering a severe stroke. See the obituary for him. June 5, 2002Peru has begun a painful inquiry into the abuses by state security forces in the anti-subversive struggle over the past 20 years. For the first time ever, supporters of former presidents Alan Garcia (1985-1990) and Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000) find themselves on the same side. Like the "truth commissions" that had to tread so carefully in Argentina and South Africa, this process in Peru are constrained by fear of the armed forces and will thus never satisfy everyone. Nevertheless, there is a good chance it will avoid becoming a mere partisan witch hunt to deflect criticism from President Toledo, and eventually should heal many of the old wounds. July 1, 2002Peru took another step toward full-blown crisis as a protester was killed in Arequipa, the country's second biggest city. The issue is whether to privatize electric utilities. Interior Minister Fernando Rospliogosi was obliged to resign, and rumors spread that free-marketeer economy minister Pedro Pablo Kuczynski will be the next to go, though he denied it. July 1, 2002One person died in Arequipa (Peru's second biggest city) during violent protests against the government's decision to privatize electric utilities last week. The country's interior minister Fernando Rospliogosi was obliged to resign, and rumors spread that free-marketeer economy minister Pedro Pablo Kuczynski will be the next to go, though he denied it. The problem is that President Toledo had promised voters that he would not privatize the utilities when he was running for president last year, but after he took office he promised foreign banks he would do so, in exchange for continued access to credit. His excuse is that he had no idea how bad the country's finances were until he took office. Yeah, right. He just wants to keep everyone happy, but ends up making everyone mad. If past behavior is any indication, the protests were probably incited by APRA, the leftist populist party headed by roguish former president Alan Garcia. July 10, 2002In hopes of regaining the political initiative, President Toledo named five new members to his cabinet. Economy Minister Pedro-Pablo Kuczynski was replaced by Javier Silva Ruete, a pragmatist who had served in this position twice before; he played a key role in saving Peru from financial disaster in 1978, and served again during the interim government of Valentin Paniagua from November 2000 until July 2001. Also, Foreign Minister Diego Garcia Sayan was replaced by Allan Wagner, a professional diplomat who served in that position during the Garcia administration from 1985 to 1988. Both Silva Ruete and Wagner have solid credentials in terms of intellect and leadership, so there should be no negative repercussions in terms of investor confidence. Some of the other cabinet positions went to members of the Independent Moralizing Front, a reformist party. July 12, 2002In hopes of salvaging his government's agenda and perhaps boost his abysmal 15.7% approval rating, Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo has replaced five key positions in his cabinet. Most notable were the naming of Javier Silva Ruete as the new Economy Minister, replacing Pedro-Pablo Kuczynski, and Allan Wagner as the new Foreign Minister, replacing Diego Garcia Sayan. Both are highly regarded, experienced pragmatists. Most people assumed such changes would occur on July 28, the national holiday, and the fact that Toledo hastened the move is indicative of his desperate political plight. July 26, 2002Disco inferno -- At least 25 people died in an unlicensed discotheque catering to upper-middle class youth in Lima, Peru. Aug. 1, 2002[date uncertain] In Goldvein, VA, Federal agents seized documents from the home of American horticulturist James Kovach, who is suspected of illegal shipment of a rare orchid that he had discovered near the town of Moyobamba, located along the eastern forest-covered slopes of the Andes mountains in northern Peru. When he brought the specimen of "Phragmipedium kovachii" into the U.S. in June he did not have the proper CITES permit. Aug. 9, 2002The wife of Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo, Eliane Karp, has been harshly criticized for receiving a salary of $10,000 per month for "advising" Banco Wiese; she is a Belgian-born anthropologist with no known financial expertise. Aug. 23, 2002President Toledo visited Chile and expressed a firm desire for peace and increased trade with Peru's old enemy, a risky initiative at a time when his domestic support is so weak. Chile recently purchased ten U.S. F-16 fighter jets, enraging many Peruvians. Sept. 25, 2002Panama has extradited to Peru José Lizier Corbetto, accused of helping former rogue Peruvian spymaster Vladimiro Montesinos to escape after the downfall of Alberto Fujimori in late 2000. Oct. 7, 2002United Left congressman Eittel Ramos Cuya challenged 2nd Vice President David Waisman to a duel with pistols, saying his honor had been defamed. Ex-president Alan Garcia called "absurd and groundless" allegations by ex-president Fujimori that he had had links to Vladimiro Montesinos. Oct. 19, 2002President Toledo admitted in a live television address to the nation last night that he was the father of a 14 year old girl. There had been rumors about that for several months, but Toledo denied that the belated admission constituted a political defeat. He apparently agreed to pay a $100,000 settlement to the girl's mother. Nov. 1, 2002Germany seeks to outbid Russia for a contract to repair MiG-29 fighter jets in Peru. Peru has 19 of these ultra-modern supersonic jets in its arsenal, but only a third of them are operational. Several months ago, Chile angered Peruvians buy announcing a decision to purchase 12 U.S. F-16 "Falcon" jets. Peru, which lost a large amount of territory to Chile in 1879, fought a brief war with Ecuador in 1995 and is hypersensitive about security matters. A Peruvian general recently charged that Ecuador is not living up to the 1998 peace treaty, and regional tensions may be rising. Nov. 16, 2002Roberto Dañino was named as ambassador to the U.S. He had served as prime minister in President Toledo's cabinet, which was revamped in July. Nov. 19, 2002President Toledo's "Peru Possible" party fared very poorly in regional and local elections held across the country on Sunday, winning in only one of the 25 newly created regions. The leftist-populist APRA party won 12 of the regional races, a sign that disgraced former President Alan Garcia's political comeback is still on track. This was a step toward decentralizing politics in Peru, somewhat like the federal system which is used in the United States and the larger Latin American countries. Luis Castañeda (of the National Unity party) won the mayoral election in Lima with 41.2%, unseating incumbent Alberto Andrade (of We Are Peru), who only received 30.3%. Nov. 20, 2002 The Washington Post had an in-depth story on the Camisea natural gas pipeline project that is raising environmental concerns in Peru. Camisea is located in the eastern jungle flatlands, near the precious Manu National Park, about 75 miles northeast of Cuzco. The pipeline would rise to 15,000 feet elevation while crossing the Andes Mountains, and the clearing of trees has already caused erosion damage and river pollution. A liquefied natural gas facility will be constructed on the coast of Peru, and you can bet that there will be extremely high security measures to ward off terrorism there. Nov. 26, 2002World Bank president James Wolfensohn met with President Toledo in Cuzco, Peru, and pledged financial support for the regionalization program Toledo has been promoting. This initiative seems to have merit in that it would reverse the extremely centralized system of decision-making in Peru, hopefully resulting in more democratic accountability. Given the low education levels in the outlying provinces of Peru, however, nothing is assured. One sign of improving confidence among international investors is that Peru has just sold $500 million in sovereign bonds. Extreme caution must be exercised to make sure that these funds won't be squandered, which would put the country deeper into the debt trap. Dec. 6, 2002President Toledo spoke to the European Parliament in Brussels, urging European countries to stop selling weapons to Latin America, and to instead end restrictions on imports from Latin America and help build rural highways to foster economic development. Meanwhile, Peru and China signed a military assistance convention under which China will donate $724 million worth of unspecified "logistical material." This marks a new strategic relationship, the meaning of which is yet unclear. (RPP) Dec. 23, 2002The city of Lima ordered the Luchetti company, based in Chile, to vacate its pasta manufacturing plant which occupies land that has been declared a special ecological preserve. Chile protested this decision as a violation of the mutual investment accord that the two countries signed in 2000. (CNN-E)