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Will Peru Return to the Western Fold?
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14731 |
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Section : |
CURRENT ISSUES
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| Issue
Date : |
11 / 1988 |
2,859 Words |
| Author
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Howard J. Wiarda and Ieda Siqueira Wiarda
Howard J. Wiarda is an adjunct scholar at the American
Enterprise Institute and research associate at the Center for
International Affairs at Harvard University. Ieda S. Wiarda
is a lecturer in political science at the University of
Massachusetts and has written extensively on Latin American
political affairs. |
Young, decisive, impatient Peruvian President Alan Garcia Perez is called Caballo Loco (Crazy Horse) by his dwindling band of admirers in this third-largest South American country. The charismatic Garcia once loved appearing on the presidential palace balcony to the cheers of destitute farmers to tell them that their generations-long misery was about to end and that, during his administration, theirs would be a shining future. But this shining future seems now to be overshadowed by a bloody Shining Path. The terrorist group Sendero Luminoso is a growing menace in large areas of the country and for an ever-larger number of Peru's 20 million citizens.
These self-styled Maoist guerrillas are only one of the many calamities plaguing Peru, which is potentially one of South America's richest countries. Garcia's promises from the palace balcony fueled far greater expectations than could possibly be fulfilled, and his brand of economic populism and international America-baiting fueled far greater economic disasters than accomplishments. Possibly as a sign of the dire straits in which he finds himself, Garcia has very recently offered hints that he may well change course and seek rapprochement with the West after all.
One can understand why, in highly nationalistic Peru with its long history of anti-imperialism Garcia might want to play the nationalist, anti-American game at the rhetorical level. This tactic enables him to keep the Peruvian far Left at bay and buys him time to, presumably, carry out more sensible policies. The United States would then turn the other cheek, continue the flow of aid, and hope that the next Peruvian administration would be better. It is a familiar pattern in dealing with Latin American populists.
... (1989 of 17953 Characters)
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