Peru Elections 2011
WOLA Elections Monitor
Will Alberto Fujimori be set free?
By Jo-Marie Burt
On April 7, 2009 former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori was convicted for human rights violations in three cases: the Barrios Altos massacre, the forced disappearance of nine students and a professor from La Cantuta University, and the kidnappings of journalist Gustavo Gorriti and Samuel Dyer.
Peruvians Organize Massive Anti-Keiko Protest
By Jo-Marie Burt
On Thursday May 26 an estimated 15-20,000 Peruvians participated in a peaceful march to protest the candidacy of Keiko Fujimori. Participants included human rights organizations, victims’ groups, trade unions, student associations, women’s groups, and artist collectives, among others.
“The people are speaking. They are saying that they do not want the return of the dictatorship,” said Rayda Cóndor, who led the march. Her son Armando Amaro Cóndor was one of the disappeared students from La Cantuta, one of the key cases that contributed to the 2009 conviction of Alberto Fujimori for human rights violations.
The offical press, among them Channel N, which played a crucial role in the downfall of the Fujimori dictatorship in 2000, reported that only 300 people were present at the march.
Photographs from Prensa Alternativa
Giuliani, Fujimori and me: Nostalgia for the 1990s?
by Jo-Marie Burt
I lived part of the 1990s in Lima during the time of Alberto Fujimori. I lived the other part of the 1990s in New York when Rudolph Giuliani was mayor. Now, the mayor whose administration was criticized for being authoritarian and abusive, is advising (in terms of crime policy) the daughter of the former president (and now convicted felon) who was also criticized for being authoritarian and abusive. How ironic! After absorbing the news of the arrival of Giuliani in Lima and his multi-city tour with Keiko Fujimori in Peru, I decided to write this post.
Peruvian election analysis: Why yesterday’s results, and what June 5 may bring
By Jo-Marie Burt and Coletta Youngers
Lima (April 11, 2011) – One day after Peru’s elections for president and congress, all indications are that Ollanta Humala and Keiko Fujimori will compete in the June 5 run-off. The question on many people’s minds is why these two candidates made it into the second round, given that they had the highest negative ratings of the leading candidates. Polls prior to Sunday’s election revealed that over 50% of the population said that they would never vote for either candidate. As we’ve noted in previous posts, in Humala’s case, one key factor is that he was the only candidate to offer an alternative to the existing economic model, in a country where a significant portion of the population has not benefited from years of steady economic growth.
Twitter and Peru’s elections: Remembering the legacy of fujimorismo
By Jo-Marie Burt
Twitter became a popular medium through which average Peruvians sought to remind their fellow citizens of the corruption and human rights violations that occurred during the Fujimori government and what might occur should Keiko Fujimori be elected president. Many Peruvians began tweeting using the hashtag #tupapa (#yourdaddy) to remind their fellow citizens of some of the worst crimes of the Fujimori regime. Here is a sampling of some of the most clever tweets.
Political Uncertainty as Peru Elections Approach
By Jo-Marie Burt and Coletta Youngers
Peruvians head to the polls on Sunday, April 10 in what are shaping up to be the most volatile and unpredictable presidential and congressional elections in recent memory. With no candidate likely to get the 50 percent of the vote needed to win in the first round, a second round of voting for President on June 5 is virtually assured. The most recent polls indicate that populist candidate Ollanta Humala will be the top-vote getter on Sunday and will easily make it to the first round —as he did in 2006, only to be routed by Alan Garcia. But it remains unclear who among his contenders will compete with him in the second round.
About Us
WOLA Peru Experts:
* Jo-Marie Burt, WOLA Senior Fellow and Associate Professor of Political Science at George Mason University. Ms. Burt is the author of Political Violence and the Authoritarian State in Peru (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007).
* Coletta Youngers, WOLA Senior Fellow. Ms. Youngers has lived in or worked on Peru since 1983 and is the author of Violencia Política y Sociedad Civil en el Perú (Instituto de Estudios Peruanos, 2003).
WOLA is the leading source for independent analysis and advocacy on Latin America: www.wola.org
Sign-up to receive publications from WOLA: http://www.wola.org/sign_up
Join our Twitter: @wola_org
Copyright © Theme created by 
