On April 9, when Peruvians elect a new President, they will choose between Ollanta Humala Tasso, a nationalist former army commander who proposes radical economic and social change, and Lourdes Flores Nano, who would maintain the country’s current neo-liberal policies. Whoever wins, the results will echo across Latin America.
A victory for Humala would seem to confirm the waning appeal of the neo-liberal policies that have dominated the continent since the 1980’s. It would bolster the informal axis of Venezuela’s populist Hugo Chávez (also a former soldier) and Evo Morales in Bolivia, but also the line supported by Brazil`s Lula da Silva and Argentina’s Kirchner who combine administrative efficiency and left-leaning rhetoric.
On the other hand, a victory for Lourdes Flores would stand out as an exception in the area, together with Alvaro Uribe in Colombia, whose reelection at the end of May seems certain today.
On April 9, when Peruvians elect a new President, they will choose between Ollanta Humala Tasso, a nationalist former army commander who proposes radical economic and social change, and Lourdes Flores Nano, who would maintain the country’s current neo-liberal policies. Whoever wins, the results will echo across Latin America.
A victory for Humala would seem to confirm the waning appeal of the neo-liberal policies that have dominated the continent since the 1980’s. It would bolster the informal axis of Venezuela’s populist Hugo Chávez (also a former soldier) and Evo Morales in Bolivia, but also the line supported by Brazil`s Lula da Silva and Argentina’s Kirchner who combine administrative efficiency and left-leaning rhetoric.
On the other hand, a victory for Lourdes Flores would stand out as an exception in the area, together with Alvaro Uribe in Colombia, whose reelection at the end of May seems certain today.