Posted on 04/12/2006 1:39:02 PM PDT by Kitten Festival
Latin America: It looks like Peru's election will bring a new leftist strongman to the region. That's sad, given how much progress Peru has made in recent years.
There's still tallying to do. But if trends continue, the winner will be far-left Ollanta Humala, followed by Peru's disastrous ex-president, Alan Garcia. The unpromising pair will face off for a final round in May. Hard to say which would be worse.
Humala's a verified human-rights violator who tortured peasants as an army officer in the 1990s. He's also an admirer of dictators, like Peru's last one, Juan Velasco, remembered in the U.S. for holding U.S. tuna boats hostage. More serious still, he's in the pocket of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, who's made no secret of his desire for a new ally. He plans to follow Chavez's model for consolidation of power.
Humala has loads of crazy ideas; the worst is his plan to nationalize Peru's mineral resources by breaking contracts, and then use the cash to finance pork-barrel spending for a new welfare class.
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
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