Peru has been rocked by demonstrations for the past several days, as the country is moving closer to a political power struggle between the clan of former authoritarian president Alberto Fujimori, and ruling president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (PPK).
The protestors on the street call for PPK to resign following his highly controversial pardon of Fujimori, who had ruled the country from 1990 through 2000, and was previously convicted to 25 years in jail for crimes against humanity and corruption.
Fujimori is hailed by some as a hero for effectively defeating the Maoist terror group “the Shining Path” (Sendero Luminoso) and creating a stable economy in Peru. However, Alberto Fujimori also ruled in an authoritarian manner and dissolved the country’s parliament.
He was convicted of crimes against humanity for sanctioning a paramilitary death squad, the “Grupo Colina”, which conducted extrajudicial killings not just of terrorists, but also of civilians. The Barrios Altos massacre, which took place in Lima in the year of 1991 resulted in the execution of 15 people, and the La Cantuta Massacre one year later resulted in the death of nine university students and one lecturer.
In the name of “family planning”, between 1996 and 2000, the regime conducted forced sterilizations of over 200,000 people, mostly women. These sterilizations, which were conducted mostly without the use of anesthesia, targeted only indigenous people.
The pardon comes at a time of political turbulence in Peru, as ruling president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski faced the process of impeachment due to lying about receiving bribes from the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht. The impeachment failed – by eight votes – but many Peruvians sense a “dirty deal” between PPK and Kenji Fujimori, the son of former president Alberto Fujimori, and a member of parliament for the right-wing Popular Force (Fuerza Popular), which in turn is run by Keiko Fujimori, the former president’s daughter. Many Peruvians believe that in exchange for Kenji and his followers voting against Kuczynski’s impeachment, the latter promised to release Alberto Fujimori.
Kuczynski claims that his decision was made for “humanitarian reasons”; the 79-year-old Alberto Fujimori allegedly suffers heart issues.
Kenji Fujimori thanked the president for what he called a “noble gesture”; and Keiko Fujimori called it a “night of joy”.
The Peruvian public is polarized on the issue. On the one hand, they fear a power grab by the still powerful Fujimori clan and a power struggle between the Fujimoristas and the PPK government. However, they are also sick of corruption in the Peruvian government, and hope to get rid of an inefficient neo-liberal administration.
Thousands have protested the president’s decision to pardon Fujimori. Some were seen waving signs with pictures of the victims of the former president’s bloody crackdown on the opposition. The police used tear gas and set up barricades to stop the demonstrations from reaching the Lima hospital in which Fujimori is being treated.
There is a real chance of a power struggle to play out between the nationalist “Fuerza Popular”, which is the largest opposition party and holds a majority in parliament, and the ruling government. The party, though it is an authoritarian party, was able to renew its image and is now seen by many Peruvians as the “democratic branch” of an authoritarian party which hopes to eliminate corruption from the government and pursue a policy of “Fujimorismo”. One thing is close to certain, however: political turmoil in Peru is far from over.
Poor Peruvians.