2011 Peruvian general election

The election campaigns started early in the summer of 2010. During most of 2010, polls were led by two right wing political parties: Solidaridad Nacional (National Solidarity), led by former mayor of Lima Luis Castañeda Lossio and Fuerza 2011 (Force 2011), led by ex-president Alberto Fujimori's daughter, Keiko Fujimori. In November 2010, Alianza por el Gran Cambio (Alliance for the Great Change) launched the candidacy of the former prime minister Pedro Pablo Kuczynski. Claiming a more centrist stand are, APRA the ruling party and Peru Posible (Possible Peru), under the leadership of former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo.

The left-wing politician Ollanta Humala is supported by the Peruvian Nationalist Party.[2]

The Fuerza Social[3] and Cambio Radical[4] do not have presidential candidates. The incumbent Alan García's American Popular Revolutionary Alliance[5] is also not fielding a candidate in the election.[6]

Alejandro Toledo is a former president.

Keiko Fujimori campaign ran on support of the status quo free-market policies,[2] however she was seen as hindered because of her ties to her father Alberto Fujimori,[7] who is in prison for corruption and human rights crimes following a crackdown on the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement in the 1990s, following the Japanese embassy hostage crisis in 1996–1997.[2] In addition, her campaign has been criticized for vote-buying.[8]

Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, a former prime minister, is also known as "El Gringo" because he has U.S. citizenship[9] and is of European descent. His support was seen as limited outside Lima because of his support amongst the country's elite.

Ollanta Humala, who had once led a military revolt in 2000 that was quickly put down, softened what was seen as his anti-capitalist tone to look more moderate along the lines of Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. He told a campaign rally that "We are willing to make many concessions to unite Peru, we are going to talk with all political forces. Social problems must be resolved through dialogue. Let's vote without fear." Voters were seen to vote against Garcia in order to have a "fairer division of Peru's booming economy – backed by rich mineral resources – a key issue for more than a third of the population still living in poverty." The other candidates tried to discredit him by saying he would increase state control over the economy, roll back reforms and jeopardise about $40bn in potential foreign investment over the next decade in mining and energy exploration. Moody's ratings agency also said that Peru's investment-grade credit rating would not be threatened should Humala win. Despite this the sol and the Lima Stock Exchange's flagship index main stock index fell over the two weeks before the first round of the election on speculation that Humala would raise mining taxes, increase state subsidies and/or tighten control of such "strategic" sectors as electricity.

Opinion polls conducted in late May 2011 showed Fujimori and Humala in a statistical tie in a runoff vote scheduled for 5 June 2011, with one point separating the two candidates.[10]

Some of the candidates and parties eliminated in second round have expressed their support for one of the contestants in the run-off election.

Alliance for the Great Change candidate P. P. Kuczynski declared that he would vote for Fujimori,[11] as well as his running mate Máximo San Román and ally Humberto Lay (National Restoration), whereas Humanists' leader Yehude Simon declared his support for Humala.[12]

The Possible Peru Alliance and its candidate Alejandro Toledo also announced support for the "Peru Wins"-candidate[13] in exchange for a participation in Humala's aspired government.[14]

National Solidarity leader Luis Castañeda on the other hand uttered his backing for the Force 2011 frontwoman.[15]

APRA does not have a clear party line yet but former Prime minister Javier Velásquez inclined to Keiko Fujimori's side.[16]

Nobel laureate writer Mario Vargas Llosa, liberal presidential candidate of 1990 and opponent of Alberto Fujimori, stated that he would "never vote" for Fujimori's daughter and warned the nation of a "return to dictatorship" that came up with a victory of Keiko.[17] He, personally, would vote for Humala, "unhappily and with fear" but as the lesser evil.[18]

Prior to his inauguration on 28 July, Humala's popularity fell in opinion polls after he suspended his brother Alexis Humala from Gana Peru following allegations of corruption in relation to deals with Gazprom. His approval rating of 70% fell to 41%.[51]

For inauguration day itself Lima's main downtown square was scheduled to be open without security restrictions. Javier Sanguinetti, police chief for the Lima region, said that his office was working with the tourism police department and that 10,000 police officers would be deployed at popular tourist attractions around Lima on 28 and 29 July.[52]

Former President Alan García was not scheduled to attend the event because, according to him, the inauguration "is to hear the new president's message" and that although he attended Alberto Fujimori's inauguration in 1990 "there was such unrest in congress, because of my presence, that I'd rather focus on my health, and say ‘Let the new president give his message freely, let's not vent our frustrations in front of foreign heads of state.'" His critics read this as a snub to Humala.[53] However, foreign dignitaries such as Colombia's Juan Manuel Santos was scheduled to attend the event,[54] along with Brazil's Dilma Rousseff,[55] Uruguay's José Mujica,[56] Panama's Ricardo Martinelli[57] (and his wife First Lady Marta Linares de Martinelli),[58] Argentina's Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Chile's Sebastián Piñera, Ecuador's Rafael Correa,[59] Bolivia's Evo Morales, Guatemala's Álvaro Colom, Honduras’ Porfirio Lobo,[60] South Africa's Jacob Zuma[61] and Georgia's Mikheil Saakashvili.[62] They would also be joined by Cuban First Vice President Jose Ramon Machado Ventura and his delegation,[63] Spain's crown prince Felipe, Prince of Asturias,[64] Secretary-general of the Organization of American States Jose Miguel Insulza, the U.S. ambassador,[59] the brother of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Lee Sang-deuk of the incumbent Grand National Party[65] and Chinese President Hu Jintao's special envoy Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu.[66]

Piñera, who was welcomed by outgoing Economics Minister Ismael Benavides[57] after his arrival at 23:00[67] said: "From the core of my soul, I want to wish President Humala the best of luck, as well as to the Peruvian government and the Peruvian people." Santos, who was welcomed by outgoing Prime Minister Rosario Fernández, said that "We consider Peru a true strategic partner on many fronts. Every relationship can be strengthened, improved. The relationship with Peru has been extraordinary, but we're going to see how we can continue feeding it, strengthening it, improving it."[57] Machado Ventura, who was welcomed by the outgoing Minister of the Interior Miguel Hidalgo, relayed greetings and said that Humala electoral victory was an "example of the continuing advance of progressive forces in Latin America;" he added that the proposed a "nationalist programme" would "promote greater equity in the distribution of the country's wealth and that Cuba wishes him success in this effort." His delegation also included Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Deputy Foreign Minister Rogelio Sierra, the new Cuban ambassador to Peru Juana Martínez González and the outgoing Cuban ambassador Luis Delfín Pérez. The delegation was also invited Peru's commemoration of their 190 anniversary of independence.[68] The outgoing President Alan García hosted a reception for the visiting heads of state and foreign dignitaries the night before the inauguration.[69] Morales and Piñera also scheduled a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the event.[67]

Garcia left the presidential palace after he passed on the presidential sash to Humala.[70] Before wearing the sash, Humala also made a speech in which he promised "to fight for social integration, particularly of the poorest."[32] He also said that he would not alter the existing market-oriented policies and would keep trade policies intact; he added that he provide a minimum pension for all Peruvians over the age of 65 and raise the minimum wage. "We want the term 'social exclusion' to disappear from our language and lives forever. Economic growth and social inclusion will march together." In tackling social conflict and drug trafficking he said that the United States is a "strategic partner."[70] He also quoted South Africa's Nelson Mandela when he argued that there cannot be a democracy where misery and "social asymmetry" persist."[71] However, he broke with tradition when he did not travel to Congress to attend the inauguration.[70] During the swearing-in ceremony he was shouted down by the "Fujimoristas" (supporters of Keiko Fujimori and her father Alberto) after he said that was taking power" in the spirit of the 1979 constitution:[71] "The constitution of 1979, the last constitution of democratic origin, which many have not respected and that's why it has been forgotten, is for me a true inspiration for its national and democratic content."[64]

On 25 August, the Congress gave its vote of confidence in approving the Council of Ministers after Prime Minister Salomon Lerner Ghitis spoke to the Congress by a vote of 90 in favour, zero against and 33 abstentations, all of whom were from Fuerza 2011.[72] Tejada expressed his satisfaction and gratitude at the recognition of the "technical support" for the government's programmes and goals. "We call on Peruvians to be confident that President Ollanta Humala is setting the beginning of a new phase of growth with social inclusion in the history of Peru, respecting human rights and freedom of speech."[37] The initiatives were backed by the National Confederation of Private Business Associations (CONFIEP) as confirmed by President Humberto Speziani who said that "Overall we agree with all ten policies announced by the Cabinet, which is headed by Salomon Lerner. [Ghitis' goals are] "necessary to grow with social inclusion."[73]

One of Humala's first tasks amongst his promises for social inclusion was to start the implementation of a two-stage 25% increase in the monthly minimum wage to 750 sol and unveiling a pension increase for those older than 65.[74]

Humala also sought to create a national flag carrier airline in cooperation with private investment, especially to such unprofitable domestic markets as the hinterlands of the Andes and the Amazon.[75]

During the first month of Humala's presidency, an agreement was reached with mining companies that would increase taxes by up to three billion sols a year however, Carlos Herrera said a new royalty rate had not been set as yet. Prime Minister Salomon Lerner Ghitis said that "this tax will not affect investment or companies' competitiveness."[76]

Amongst his initial social policies, modeled after Brazil during the tenure of Lula da Silva, were: a non-contributory basic pension of about US$90 per month for the elderly who lack other provisions, a state-run child-care programme, an increase in scholarships for poor students who want a university education and the expansion of a conditional cash transfer scheme for the poor. However, he said that such programmes would be introduced gradually, hence, according to government officials, the cost for the following year would be a more moderate figure of US$275m.[77]