First Native Amerindian President of Peru

Alejandro Toledo who will be inaugurated as the President of Peru, is the first elected president of Amerindian descent.

Peru had been in political chaos due to Alberto Fujimori`s political exile since the presidential election malpractice on April of last year. But it will recover the stability of the political situation as Toledo was elected as a president.

Toledo was born as one of 16 children of a poor family in an Andean Indian village of the Andes Mountains. He is a self-made man who was a one-time shoeshine boy, but did not give up studying, and finally rose to the presidency. He had acquired the doctoral degree of economy from Stanford University, had worked in the international financial institutions such as the World Bank, and had gone into the politics.

Because he was a hero of the success story as well as a native, Peru people have enthusiastically supported, believing in him as the right person to regain the glory of the ancient Incas civilization. The victory of Toledo in the presidential election derived from the strong support from the Amerindian people occupying 80 percent of the population of 26 million.

Another reason that Toledo could enjoy the immense popularity is that he has resisted squarely against then-President Alberto Fujimori who had Peru under his despotic rule. Without the malpractice in the process of the ballot counting on April of the last year, he would have been elected as a president last year. He did not participate in the final vote, and rather dared to require the resignation of the government. It was the politically hazardous adventure for him. As he held the large-scale rallies to require the resignation of the President, he put pressure on Fujimori. At last, Fujimori applied the political exile to Japan, where he visited during a tour of various countries.

The principal task of Toledo is to overcome the economic hardship. During the election campaign, he promised publicly to create the employment of 1 million and to accomplish the economic growth of the average 6-7 percent. However, because Peru has suffered from the low foreign credibility as well as the prolonged inflation and the increase of unemployment rate, it seems hard to maintain his promise.

mickey@donga.com