Peru’s President a Chávez Clone or Washington Partner

Peruvian President Ollanta Humala speaks at a press conference during an official visit to Spain, at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid on Jan. 25. (Dani Pozo/AFP/Getty Images)

As per tradition in Latin American politics, election season means vicious personal attacks against individuals running for office. In Peru, the 2011 campaign season saw Ollanta Humala of the Peruvian Nationalist Party attacked for his friendship with Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez, as well as for the legacy of his brother Antauro, currently in prison for leading a failed uprising in January 2005 that left several police officers dead in the Andean town of Andahuaylas.

And yet, after half a year in power, the worst right-wing predictions about Humala’s government have yet to come true, casting doubt on his critics’ claim that Humala would be a “clone” of the eccentric Venezuelan president.

Humala will hardly be an apologist or supporter of radical violent movements.

Failed Expectations?

Even now, commentaries continue to appear about whether Humala is the Peruvian version of Chávez; similar discussions abound regarding presidents Evo Morales in Bolivia and Rafael Correa in Ecuador. According to the current rhetoric, as exemplified by statements from former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo, Humala is trying to militarize his government.

These accusations took root in December 2011, when Salomon Lerner resigned as prime minister and Humala appointed Oscar Valdés Dancuart, a retired lieutenant colonel close to the president, as his successor.

But Humala has not carried out the repressive measures that critics predicted he would. Even before he won the elections, Humala campaigned on a fairly moderate platform, promising not to change the economic model that has brought a great deal of economic growth to Peru in the last few years, and vowing not to become a new Chávez. During the campaign, Humala also asked Chávez to stop calling him a “soldado” (soldier), as he is no longer in the military.

Humala has neither nationalized major industries nor carried out censorship initiatives against opposition parties and the Peruvian media.

Yet Humala has not renounced his friendship with Chávez either. During an early January trip to Venezuela, Humala gave his Venezuelan counterpart a book with the speeches of former Peruvian military president, Gen. Juan Velasco Alvarado. The two countries are currently in negotiations to sign a trade integration agreement.

Due to his economic initiatives, Humala has been compared to Brazil’s former President Lula, who led the Portuguese-speaking nation through a decade of financial and diplomatic growth.

Interestingly, there has been no speculation that Humala could become like former Peruvian dictator Alberto Fujimori, who replaced key government posts before his famous “auto golpe” (self-coup) in April 1992, in which he dissolved the Peruvian Congress and eventually wrote a new constitution in 1993.

The Case against the Chávez Comparison

Since taking office, Humala has neither nationalized major industries nor carried out censorship initiatives against opposition parties and the Peruvian media. Indeed, so far he has not cracked down on opposition members, allowing them to continue their attacks against the head of state.

In addition, the Peruvian economy is expected to grow 5.5 percent in 2012, while tourism in the Andean country is expected to grow 12–14 percent. Far from nationalizing private industries, Humala recently traveled to Spain to court foreign investment. Nor has the Peruvian leader freed his brother Antauro from prison, despite accusations during the campaign that he would.

On the other hand, a December 2011 report in the Chilean daily La Tercera pointed out that Valdés’s appointment marks the first time since the Peruvian military governments of 1968–1980 that the two most important offices, those of the president and the prime minister, are occupied by military officers. Also in an important position is Adrian Villafuerte, Humala’s national adviser on security issues and a retired colonel himself.

Nevertheless, contrary to military regimes past, Humala was democratically chosen in elections that have been internationally recognized as free and fair. Moreover, it is only expected that, as president, he would appoint capable individuals that he knows and trusts. The majority of Peruvian ministry positions remain in the hands of civilians. In any case, rather than behaving like a dictator-in-the-making, Humala enjoys a 54.5 percent approval rating after six months in office.