Ollanta Humala wins presidential poll.

[Tabarnack]

Unofficial results give leftwing former soldier a narrow lead in runoff, with 51.3% of the vote against 48.7% for Keiko Fujimori

Ollanta Humala appeared on course to narrowly win Peru's presidential election after moderating his firebrand leftwing image and promising to rule from the centre.
Unofficial results on Monday gave the former army officer 51.3% of the vote against 48.7% for Keiko Fujimori, the rightwing daughter of a disgraced former president, after a bruising campaign that polarised the country.


Humala's supporters celebrated on Sunday night hours after polls closed, and Fujimori said she would concede – and not demand a recount – if official results confirmed the exit polls and unofficial tallies.


Bolivia's president, Evo Morales, did not waitto welcome the arrival of a fellow leftwing leader. "The great victory of Humala is the result of the people's struggle for dignity and sovereignty," he said.


Humala won overwhelming support from impoverished indigenous voters in Andean highlands who feel left out by Peru's mining-driven economic boom. He promised to share wealth more equally without frightening investors.


guardian.co.uk

[VirgJans12]

He promised to share wealth more equally without frightening investors.


Very nice.

[Tabarnack]

Ollanta backtracked on many things including the creation of a new popular constitution, hopefully there are more radically inclined people around him who will push him forward.

[RedSonRising]

Unless he decides to absorb the support of social movements and eventually involve workers in the daily political processes of the Peruvian economy, he's just a poser to me; a liberal alternative to the blatant face of neo-liberal capitalism that just stalls real social change. We'll see how he interacts with the ALBA crew.

[Crux]

If the choice is Ollanta or Fujimori, well I have to say I prefer Ollanta. Without any illusions though.

[Ocean Seal]

Ollanta backtracked on many things including the creation of a new popular constitution, hopefully there are more radically inclined people around him who will push him forward.
That's hopeful but not probable. Being that he only won the elections by about 3% and he lost his last election on the grounds that he was too radical, I'm not so sure how radical he will become.

[Blackscare]

This is more interesting from a continental, rather than national perspective. I wonder how this will tilt the balance of power down there, or if they'll join ALBA. Of course, this means more than just one more country tallied under "members" of ALBA, it shifts the center of gravity from which everything operates just a little farther to the left.


For a lot of Latin American countries, the prospects of aligning with ALBA and eastern countries is probably starting to look better than remaining client states of a teetering west.

[Crux]

As part of his moderation he is now orienting more towards Brazil and PT's neoliberalism than ALBA. It's possible this might change though but hard to tell. In any case the struggle goes on.

[Lunatic Concept]

You gotta wonder what would motivate nearly 50% of the people to vote for a right wing candidate with such crushing poverty exists for the vast majority of people.

[Ocean Seal]

You gotta wonder what would motivate nearly 50% of the people to vote for a right wing candidate with such crushing poverty exists for the vast majority of people.
Fear.
Fear of what a supposed Chavista will mean for Peru
Fear of what will happen to the foreign investment that maintains the artificial prosperity.
Fear of how the imperialist nations will react to the presence of Humala.

Lima is very afraid of leftist rhetoric and Lima has between a 1/3 and a 1/4 of the country's population not including Callao. And propaganda has made it such that everything associated with left is Sendero or Velasco. Sendero is seen as a brutal terrorist group and Velasco's reforms are seen as a failure. The neoliberal media has also done a good job of forgetting how awful Peru had it under Alan Garcia during his first term and how awful Fujimori was during the 90's. And don't think that I'm exaggerating when Fujimori was there things were really bad, even for Peru.


But if nationalization goes well, I think we might be ready for a change.

[Luís Henrique]

PT's neoliberalism

Why don't you say PT's Zionist Salafism already?

Luís Henrique

[Tabarnack]

Humala has said during this election that he has no intention of joining ALBA, he will not nationalize anything and will not push for a new constitution... not much left for him to do except being a lame duck president.

[Le Socialiste]

I fail to see how his election signifies a victory for the working peoples of Peru. This man has already stated his commitment to the free market, albeit a more "reformed", "people-friendly" one. All it says is that the Peruvian left hasn't any real foothold in state politics. What's more, any leftist party/organization that entertains entering the political arena is doomed to wander a reformist, reactionary road. Capitalistic bourgeois-parliamentary "democracy" and communism/socialism simply don't mix well.

[Tabarnack]

Peru: Increasing Pressure on President-Elect

Lima, Jun 7 (Prensa Latina) Peruvian President-elect, Ollanta Humala is facing strong pressure from conservative groups, which are trying to impose conditions after they were unable to prevent his victory.

The General Confederation of Workers issued a press release underlining the democratic and progressive character of Humala's victory and urging the president-elect to keep his promises.

Conservative politicians, entrepreneurs and journalists are openly requesting that Humala appoint certain well-known neoliberals to administration posts related to the economy, saying that this is how the new government will win the confidence of investors.

Humala has not given in to the pressure, and his Vice President-elect, Marisol Espinoza, announced a list of progressive figures and two career diplomats who are part of the Gana Peru Party commission charged with the administration handover.

Prensa Latina.



Ollanta Humala:
"You cannot talk about Peru progressing when there are still so many Peruvians in poverty," he told a crowd in the capital yesterday morning."
"We will correct this, making sure that economic growth does not depend on trickle-down but on real policies that resolve the problem."

Key pledges include overhauling Peru's ramshackle public education system, raising the minimum wage to £160 a month, introducing a state pension for the poor and taxing the "excess profits" of mining companies. He is also expected to sign legislation that could give indigenous communities a veto over oil and gas drilling and mining on their lands.


The Independent.

[Crux]

Why don't you say PT's Zionist Salafism already?

Luís Henrique
So what would you call what they are doing?

[Crux]

Major defeat for traditional parties in president elections (http://www.socialistworld.net/doc/5113)

[Luís Henrique]

So what would you call what they are doing?

Neopopulism? Nacional-desenvolvimentismo? Neokeynesianism?

In anyway, the strategy is definitely not "trickle down"; on the contrary, it is based on the idea that capitalism develops best when the wages are allowed to rise, so that aggregate demand is increased.

Luís Henrique