The political context of Peru

executive peru

The XNUMXth century in Peru it is marked by many coups d'état and the succession of military regimes. The last of them began in 1968 and brought Juan Alvarado to power, and ended in 1979 with a new Constitution. In 1980, the election of belaunde The presidency officially marks the return to democracy. However, these transition years take place in a context of economic difficulties, which began in the 1950s. In addition to high inflation, a tense social climate, with many strikes.

In 1985, it was the first time that the country had two consecutive free elections. However, Alan García, the new president, cannot control the crisis and must face the problem of Sendero Shining. Born in 1980, this communist guerrilla group established violent actions in the following years and was imitated in 1984 by the revolutionary movement Tupac Amaru.

The Fujimori years

Thus, when the 1990 presidential elections take place, the political, social and economic situation in Peru is catastrophic. Against all expectations, the liberal writer Mario Vargas Llosa is defeated by a Peruvian of unknown Japanese origin, Alberto Fujimori.

Upon his election, the new president establishes the fujishock. Take radical economic measures. Markets are deregulated and the state begins a series of privatizations. Inflation is mastered and deficits are under control, but the country is in recession. Fujimori fight Sendero Lbright as a priority.

In 1992, he proclaimed a self-coup and dissolved Congress, because it refused to grant more power to the military, political support for Fujimori. The same year, two leaders of the Shining Path are detained in Lima. In 1993, a new construction is adopted, reinforcing the power of the president.

The fight against terrorism and an economic improvement lead to Fujimori to win a second term in 1995. In 1996, the MRTA kidnaps 400 people from the Japanese embassy. This episode ends with the death of the guerrillas, a kidnapped person and 2 soldiers after the assault ordered by the army. The president runs for a third time in 1998, with an election held on suspicion of fraud, but he must go to Japan in 2001 after a corruption scandal.

Later he will be accused of crimes against humanity because he is suspected of being responsible for the massacres during the war carried out against Sendero Shining. In 2007 he was extradited and sentenced in 2009 to 25 years in prison for violation of human rights, a sentence that he is currently serving in Lima.


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