Peru Politics (Peru)

Member Name:

Product:	Peru
Date:	16/05/02 (79 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: see below

Disadvantages: see below

ººº APRA ººº

Peru’s oldest political party, the ‘Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana’ was created in 1924 as an international party to support the rights and needs of South America’s indigenous populations. It failed to establish a base in other countries, however, and in spite of policies that appealed to a wide range of sectors at home, it did not come to power in Peru until 1985. The high hopes that accompanied APRA’s election were soon dashed, as human rights abuses continued, Shining Path terrorist activities went on abated and failure to make foreign debt repayments plunged Peru into bankruptcy. In 1990 APRA lost to Alberto Fujimori’s Cambio 90.

ººº Shining Path ººº

Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) is a Maoist terrorist group operating in Peru and founded by a former philosophy lecturer, Abimael Guzmán. Its aims are to bring about a Communist revolution. Since 1980 it has been conducting a guerilla war against the Peruvian Government (APRA + Cambio 90) and its institutions.

ººº Cambio 90 ººº

Alberto Fujimori, then a newcomer to politics, founded the Peruvian political party Cambio 90 shortly before the 1990 elections. He pledged to introduce state control of resources, improve social services, renegotiate Peru’s foreign debt with the IMF and provide incentives for small industry. He also undertook to deal with terrorism by tackling poverty rather than by using military force. With this platform Cambio 90 won a comfortable victory. Once in office Fujimori was hampered by the need for coalitions with traditional parties and abandoned his election platform. The war against Shining Path escalated and restrictions on labour, civil and human rights came into force. Fujimori’s increasing autocratic style culminated in the April 1992 ‘autogolpe’ in which he dissolved Congress and suspended the Peruvian constitution in order to implement his policies
unhindered.

IanJC

Summary: