Peruvian President Alan Garcia-once the Darling of Leftists everywhere-seems to have turned his back on his former ideals-quite the turn of events(!)http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/world/americas/15941970.htm
Peru's Garcia appears to be erasing legacy
RICK VECCHIOAssociated Press
LIMA, Peru - In only 100 days, President Alan Garcia has made Peruvians forget the food shortages, four-digit inflation and guerrilla violence that marred his first government in the 1980s.
The once reviled leader has an approval rating near 60 percent from preaching responsible, thrifty government and increased spending on social programs.
He has even managed to sail safely through a potential crisis over reports he recently fathered a child out of wedlock.
As he approached his 100th day, which fell Sunday, Garcia seemed to acknowledge he's still on a political honeymoon, and said it would take time for his investment-boosting efforts to pay off.
"Six months to put into motion the first measures and two years for them to mature - that seems to me a reasonable period," he told reporters.
During his 1985-90 term, Garcia might have passed as a prototype for the leftist South American populism characterized today by anti-U.S. crusader Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.
Swept into office as Latin America's youngest president at 36, Garcia railed against Washington's intervention in Nicaragua and its invasion of Panama, while proclaiming a new socialist deal for the poor and balking at paying off Peru's huge foreign debt.
At 57, Garcia has recast himself as the region's market-friendly alternative to Chavez.
Relations with Caracas remain icy since Garcia's narrow runoff victory in June against retired army officer Ollanta Humala, whom he adroitly painted as Venezuela's ideological pawn.
Relations with Washington are rosy since his Oct. 10 meeting with President Bush. Garcia pushed for ratification of a free-trade deal and reiterated Peru's commitment to fighting cocaine.
Garcia has pledged not to repeat his past errors, and this time he has limited the number of members of his Apristas party in his 16-member Cabinet to six. He has appointed nine independent technocrats. Six Cabinet ministers are women, the most in Peru's history.
As finance minister, he named a hard-line fiscal conservative, former Central Bank director Luis Carranza.
In 1987, Garcia sent an armored car to smash the doors of the country's biggest bank in a nationalization attempt. Francisco Pardo launched a highly public sleep-in in the offices of his Banco Mercantil, challenging Garcia to drag him out. After 28 days, Garcia backed down.
Pardo, now retired, counts himself among Garcia's fans.
"I like what I see. I think he's doing things right," he said. "I think everyone has the right to learn, and I believe that President Garcia has matured, thank God."
Garcia has pledged to spend $1.6 billion in the first 17 months of his administration to build roads, schools and health clinics in rural areas where poverty is severest.
He said the program will be funded by foreign loans, donations from mining companies and savings from austerity measures.
Garcia still shows hints of his old populist style, such as cutting his and other officials' salaries, but these have prompted criticism that he's after easy headlines.
Isabel Melgar, a 30-year-old administrator in a Lima software firm, said she was irked by Garcia's push to reinstate the death penalty for sexual predators who kill children and for terrorists.
"It seems to me he's been creating smoke screens and trying to generate debate with lots of small issues," Melgar said. "I would have liked to see him say something about more important issues like corruption."
Garcia inherited a far healthier economy than the one he left behind in 1990, when he drained the nation's reserves for populist spending. Growth for 2006 is projected at 6.6 percent, inflation is around 2 percent and Peruvian gold, copper and other metals are fetching high prices.
Last month, he managed to turn the revelation that he fathered a child out of wedlock in 2004 to his advantage, confirming the rumors in a public statement with first lady Pilar Nores at his side.
Alfredo Torres, director of the Apoyo polling firm, said Garcia's numbers rose after the appearance. It was "spectacular damage control because he confronted it with his declaration and resolved it in 24 hours," he said.
"I think it's a textbook example of how a politician should handle a personal issue."
[ 06 November 2006: Message edited by: Harry Chorpita ]
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