Leftwinger Ollanta Humala’s narrow win in Peru unnerves markets

Stock exchange plunges 12% after he wins close race against daughter of jailed former president Alberto Fujimori Ollanta Humala gained a narrow but undisputed victory in Peru’s election, it was confirmed on Monday , provoking rapture, dread and uncertainty over whether the former soldier would rule as a leftwing moderate or radical. With almost all votes from Sunday’s poll counted, Humala had won 7,182,788 and his rival Keiko Fujimori 6,807,933, translating into 51.3% and 48.7% respectively after a bitter campaign that polarised the country. Humala, 48, told cheering supporters in central Lima that a “great transformation” would share out Peru’s wealth more equally while respecting democratic norms and market capitalism. “It’s not possible to say that the country is progressing when 12 million people are living in extreme poverty without electricity or running water. The task will be difficult but we will work … to unite the Peruvian people without any type of discrimination.” Celebrations erupted in indigenous Andean communities where extreme poverty has persisted despite a commodities-fuelled economic boom. Humala, 48, promised new anti-poverty programmes partly funded from a tax on windfall mining profits. The election result exposed a sharp rural-urban divide, with many coastal towns and cities, including the capital, narrowly favouring Fujimori and her promise to keep foreign investment flowing into Peru. Big business and media groups backed the 36-year-old senator despite the fact that her father, Alberto, is in jail for corruption and human rights abuses committed while he was president in the 1990s. Humala, who led an unsuccessful coup against Fujimori in 2000, pulled ahead in the final days of the campaign after reminding voters of forced sterilisations and rampant corruption during Fujimori’s rule. His victory sent the stock exchange plunging 12%, prompting temporary suspension of trading and fears of capital flight. Investors fear the former lieutenant colonel may follow radical economic policies of his one-time mentor, Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez. Humala renounced Chávez during the campaign, swapped red T-shirts for dark suits and promised to rule like a Lula-style social democrat. But doubts remain. “We believe there is still a significant amount of uncertainty regarding who is the ‘real’ Humala,” said a research note from RBC Capital Markets. Humala and Fujimori are reviled by many Peruvians as dangerous demagogues but centrist rivals cancelled each other in the first round in April, putting the two populists from opposite ends of the political spectrum into the runoff. Bill Richardson, a former New Mexico governor who was in Lima as an Organisation of American States election observer, called Humala “a nationalist and an enigma with evolving views and a pragmatic streak”. He added: “I think he’s educable and the business community should give him a chance.” Analysts will watch closely to see who he names to his cabinet, especially the finance minister, and whether he seeks ties to the Chávez-led Alba trade group. Peru Rory Carroll guardian.co.uk

Posted by on June 6, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.