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Time - Man of the Year
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1992-09-10
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THE WEEK, Page 29WORLDFujimori Takes Over
Frustrated, Peru's President shuts down Congress and rules by
decree
Relentless terrorism and economic disintegration dealt a
mortal blow to Peru's fragile democracy. With military support,
President Alberto Fujimori closed down Congress and the
judiciary, suspended the constitution and said he would rule by
decree. Troops and tanks surrounded the Palace of Justice and
the parliament building; journalists and opposition politicians
were placed under arrest.
The only surprise for many observers was that it took so
long for the putsch to come. Large tracts of Peruvian territory
have been overrun by drug traffickers and vicious Shining Path
guerrillas, whose terrorist campaign has reached the shantytowns
around Lima, the nation's capital. Less than 20% of the work
force is employed full time. More than half of Peru's 22 million
people live in dismal poverty; a recent cholera epidemic killed
more than 3,000.
While some expressed sympathy for Fujimori's plight, the
U.S. cut off all new nonhumanitarian aid, and the Organization
of American States scheduled an emergency meeting to consider
economic sanctions of the kind imposed on Haiti's dictatorship.