Last week, the current president of Peru, Alejandro Toledo, highlighted that during his presidency the country has grown on average at 5%, which is quite an accomplishment when compared to previous periods in Peru’s recent history. However, while Alejandro Toledo has “been a good manager, he has been a clumsy communicator.”
Since the start of his presidency, Alejandro Toledo has had strong confrontations with different sectors of society, driving his popularity ratings down to the single digits. The lesson for other countries is: it is not just important to implement the right policies, but you have to create consensus in society about the need for reforms.
Reports about the leading presidential candidate, Ollanta Humala, are very alarming. In a recent interview Mr. Humala explained that
he is a ”nationalist” who wants to defend Peru against the ”negative effects of globalization.
And that
the free-market globalization model ”is helping rich countries export their industrial overproduction to developing nations,” which hurts Peruvian companies.
Peruvians will vote for their next president this Sunday. Most analysts predict that a second round will be necessary. What is clear at this point is that Peru might drastically change direction in the next couple of months.
Published Date: April 06, 2006