Quien ganará?

Keiko vs. Ollanta. Democrat vs. Dictator. Woman vs. Man. The 2011 Perú Presidential elections will reach their final historic ending today, June 5th. The candidates are pretty different and like the first round of elections a few months ago, there is no clear leader in the polls.

Keiko stands for education – building schools and improving access to education in rural areas. She’s promised to change unemployment rates, and wage a fight against crime. She’s also the daughter of prior president Alberto Fujimori, who was inn office from 1990-2000. “A controversial figure, Fujimori has been credited with uprooting terrorism in Peru and restoring its macroeconomic stability, though his methods have drawn charges of authoritarianism and human rights violations. Even amidst his 2008 prosecution for crimes against humanity relating to his presidency, two-thirds of Peruvians polled voiced approval for his leadership in that period.” (Wikipedia.org) Many of Keiko’s critics oppose her for her family history and also claim that since she’s become involved in politics, she in unexperienced and has failed to take any significant action.

Ollanta is a big advocate against crime. Rumor has it that if he wins, he will completely re-design the constitution, install a country-wide nightly curfew, and send all boys age 14 and up into the military. He also claims to improve the education system by providing financial access to university education for young people, regardless of ability to pay. He also plans to change international trade agreements, particularly with the U.S., and shift Perú into a system of national-only companies for all exports. His military career had some accusations of human rights violations, and he also receives criticism over his past leadership within the Communist Party of Perú and the Movimiento Ethnocacerista, “an ethnic nationalist group composed of former and current Peruvian soldiers many of whom are veterans from the domestic conflicts against the Shining Path, and to a lesser extent against the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement and the brief Cenepa War between Ecuador and Peru.” (Wikipedia.org)

In polling friends and family, it appears that there’s a pretty even split on who will vote for who. Many of my patients claim they will select neither, because they do not approve of either candidate. As I mentioned in a prior post, Peruvians are required to return to their hometown to vote (if they don’t, they incur a large fee). The school systems gave the kids Friday and Monday off school in honor of the elections, and since Thursday the city has been on a “dry” status- no purchasing of alcohol and the closing of all bars. The streets have been a flourish of activity these last few months, and this week it got even crazier as Trujillo had a special visit by Keiko. I’m looking forward to an end to the political adds, loudspeaker messages, painting, chanting, etc. – looking forward to life going back to “normal” here in La Esperanza.

Who will win? I’ll post an update later today!