Fringe radical on cusp of power in Peru(Fringe radical=anti-privatization)

[Robbien]

LIMA, Peru - Few could have guessed a year ago that a fringe radical who started his campaign with single-digit support could come so close to winning Peru's presidency.

But retired army Lt. Col. Ollanta Humala, whose name means "warrior who sees all" in Quechua, has capitalized on the deep resentment of Peru's poor majority by promising to rewrite the constitution to strip power from Peru's political establishment, intervene in Peru's free-market economy and radically redistribute the wealth.

. . .

But just making it to Sunday's runoff vote is quite an accomplishment, considering where he began. "We are a new project, with great drive, ideology and desire to serve the nation," Humala told tens of thousands of cheering followers at a rally Wednesday night in a Lima slum. "We are not corrupt, shameless, and we are not thieves."

Humala, 43, burst onto the political scene when he led a small-scale, bloodless military rebellion in 2000 in an isolated mountain region a month before ex-President Alberto Fujimori's corruption-riddled government fell.

http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/breaking_news/14734393.htm

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

1. He's about a 10 point underdog at the moment.

There are a lot of foreign mining companies watching this closely and they feel Garcia (who is still pretty far left) would be less likely to nationalize their holdings.

[Robbien]

4. Yes, and they are playing games by removing polling stations

from the more rural areas of Peru. I read where over 700 machines were pulled from the poorer remote regions for "safety reasons".

If Humala wins it will be because the people are really motivated for change and work hard to get their vote cast and counted.

[Robbien]

2. Guardian: Facts About Peru and Sunday's Election

ELECTION: Peruvian presidents are constitutionally limited from seeking consecutive terms. More than 16 million Peruvians are registered to vote in the election to replace President Alejandro Toledo. Sunday's vote is a runoff, because no candidate topped 50 percent in the April 9 election.

---

CANDIDATES:

Ollanta Humala, 43, retired army lieutenant colonel, leftist nationalist, disciple of former military dictator Gen. Juan Velasco. Has allied himself with Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's populist president, and pledges radical redistribution of wealth to benefit the poor.

Alan Garcia, 57, left-leaning populist known for spellbinding oratory. President 1985-1990, left office amid surging rebel violence, corruption and 3,000-percent annual inflation. Returned from exile in January 2001 to launch a re-election bid in which he narrowly lost to Toledo in a runoff.

---

COUNTRY: Slightly smaller than Alaska, Peru is the third-largest nation in South America. Population about 27 million, 80 percent Indian or mestizo. Three geographical regions: Pacific coastal desert, Andes mountain range and Amazon jungle.

---

ECONOMY: Peru has stood out in South America during Toledo's five-year term with annual economic growth of about 5 percent, according to government figures. Annual inflation held steady in 2005 at 1.5 percent. But during those five years, the poverty level dropped only 2 percentage points - from 54 percent of the population to 52 percent.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5863415,00.html

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

5. Of particular interest is the Toromocho Project

Owned by Canada's CUP and is rumoured to be one of the biggest Copper discoveries in recent years. PCU has announced an intention to make a bid for CUP right after the elections and it's been heard Mexico Groupo and the Chinese have also expressed interest in it.

[Robbien]

6. Is that the one which is causing all the pollution and deaths

and deforestation? Peru is getting hit hard with heavy polluters making much of their drinking water undrinkable.

Peru would have had a better chance if that copper had never been discovered. I worry about Garcia because the last time he was in power he was the darling of corruption and big business.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

7. No, it's not yet been mined. If CUP keeps the project, they are

more environmentally minded and worker friendly than many of the big boys like Barrick.

[IndianaGreen]

3. If Humaya is the choice of Peru's majority, the poor

then his election would be a victory for freedom and democracy, and a slap in the face of the elites and the American investor class.

[jaysunb]

8. Are they using Diebold ????

gotta be :evilgrin:

[Acadia Blue]

9. I wonder if the people of Peru realize how bad privatization is for their

country.

[Skink]

10. Yes people all over the world realize they're resources are being stolen.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

11. Please buy a copy of the Holt Handbook.