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1994-05-02
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<text>
<title>
Peru: History
</title>
<article>
<hdr>
Background Notes: Peru
History
</hdr>
<body>
<p> When the Spanish landed in 1531, Peru's territory was the
nucleus of the highly developed Incan civilization. Centered at
Cusco, the Inca Empire extended over a vast region from
northern Ecuador to central Chile. In search of Incan wealth,
the Spanish explorer Francisco Pizarro arrived in the territory
after the Incas had fought a debilitating civil war, and he
easily conquered the weakened people. By 1533, the Incan capital
at Cusco had fallen, and by 1542, the Spanish had consolidated
control. Gold and silver from the Andes enriched the
conquerors, and Peru became the principal source of Spanish
wealth and power in South America.
</p>
<p> Pizarro founded Lima in 1535. The viceroyalty established at
Lima in 1542 had jurisdiction over Panama and all Spanish
territory in South America except Venezuela for almost 250
years. By the time of the wars of independence (1820-24), Lima
had become the most distinguished and aristocratic colonial
capital and the chief Spanish stronghold in America.
</p>
<p> Peru's independence movement was led by Jose de San Martin
of Argentina and Simon Bolivar of Venezuela. San Martin
proclaimed Peruvian independence from Spain on July 28, 1821.
Emancipation was completed in December 1824, when Gen. Antonio
Jose de Sucre defeated the Spanish troops at Ayacucho, ending
Spanish rule in South America. Spain made futile attempts to
regain its former colonies, but in 1879 it finally recognized
Peru's independence.
</p>
<p> Since independence, Peru and its neighbors have engaged in
intermittent territorial disputes. Chile's victory over Peru
and Bolivia in the War of the Pacific (1879-83) resulted in a
territorial settlement the effects of which still create
controversy. Following a clash between Peru and Ecuador in
1941, the Rio Protocol (of which the United States is one of
four guarantors) sought to establish the boundary between the
two countries. Continuing disagreement led most recently to a
brief armed conflict in early 1981.
</p>
<p> The military has been prominent in Peruvian history. Coups
have repeatedly interrupted civilian constitutional government.
The most recent period of military rule (1968-80) began when
Gen. Juan Velasco Alvarado overthrew elected President Fernando
Belaunde Terry of the Popular Action Party (AP). As part of
what has been called the "first phase" of the military
government's nationalist program, Velasco undertook an extensive
agrarian reform program and nationalized the fishmeal industry,
some petroleum companies, and several banks and mining firms.
</p>
<p> As a result of Velasco's economic mismanagement and
deteriorating health, Gen. Francisco Morales Bermudez Cerruti
replaced Velasco in 1975. Morales Bermudez moved the revolution
into a more pragmatic "second phase," tempering the
authoritarian abuses of the first phase and beginning the task
of restoring the country's economy. Morales Bermudez presided
over the return to civilian government in accordance with a new
constitution drawn up in 1979. In the May 1980 elections,
President Belaunde Terry was returned to office by an impressive
plurality.
</p>
<p> Nagging economic problems left over from the military
government persisted, worsened by a period of unusual weather
in 1982-83, which caused widespread flooding in some parts of
the country, severe droughts in others and decimated the schools
of ocean fish that are one of Peru's major resources. After a
promising beginning, Belaunde's popularity eroded under the
stress of inflation, economic hardship, and terrorism. The 1983
municipal elections were won largely by opposition party
candidates. In 1985, the American Popular Revolutionary
Alliance (APRA), founded in 1928 by Victor Raul Haya de la
Torre, won the presidential election, bringing Alan Garcia Perez
to office. The transfer of the presidency from Belaunde to
Garcia on July 28, 1985, was Peru's first exchange of power from
one democratically elected leader to another in 40 years.
</p>
<p>Current Political Conditions
</p>
<p> After a 57-year wait, the American Popular Revolutionary
Alliance (APRA), Peru's oldest mass-based political party, came
to power in 1985 with the inauguration of President Alan Garcia
Perez. At 36, Garcia became one of the world's youngest leaders.
</p>
<p> A dynamic orator now famous for his hours-long balcony
speeches, Garcia mixes populism, pragmatism, and the basic
tenets of APRA ideology (anti-imperialism and Latin American
integration) and occupies a unique position in the noncommunist
left. In the 1985 election, the center-right Popular Action
(AP) of President Fernando Belaunde Terry suffered a disastrous
defeat (receiving only 6% of the vote), leaving the United Left
(IU) as Garcia's primary opposition.
</p>
<p> In dealing with the Marxist left, Garcia frequently tries to
usurp its positions, especially in his appeals to the poorest
sectors of the society and his anti-imperialist rhetoric. His
strategy appears to have been successful and led APRA to an
upset victory in the 1986 municipal elections when APRA
candidate Jorge Del Castillo defeated incumbent Lima Mayor and
IU President Alfonso Barrantes. Barrantes' defeat has threatened
the stability of IU's six-party coalition as the more radical
IU members push for grater confrontation with APRA. Barrantes
resigned as IU President in May 1987.
</p>
<p> Peru's political situation is complicated by two Marxist
terrorist organizations--Sendero Luminoso (The Shining Path)
and the MRTA-MIR (Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement-Movement
of the Revolutionary Left). The Maoist Sendero Luminoso began
its terrorist violence in 1980 and has concentrated its
subversion in seven mountain departments. In the past 3 years
Sendero has become increasingly bold, expanding into the
capital, where it commits frequent bombings and assassinations
of military and police officers and political leaders. The
MRTA-MIR, a more traditional insurgent group, is concentrated
in Lima and generally limits it attacks to property.
</p>
<p> The Popular Action Party (AP) and the Popular Christian
Party (PPC) make up the center-right and right of the Peruvian
political spectrum. President Belaunde heads AP (despite the
problems of his last administration, he remains personally
powerful). The PPC is led by is founder, former Lima Mayor Luis
Bedoya Reyes. His party remains strong among Lima's upper- and
middle-class residents but has made few inroads among the urban
poor or outside the capital. Bedoya ran for president in 1985
and mayor of Lima in 1986, but both cases placing third behind
the APRA and IU candidates.
</p>
<p> Following its successes in the 1985 and 1986 elections, APRA
controls both houses of the Peruvian Congress as well as
municipal governments in a majority of Peru's important cities,
including Cusco, Huancayo, Trujillo, Piura, Iquitos, Huaraz,
and Cajamarca. With control of the Congress, Garcia has been
able to fight off legislative attacks by the opposition and push
his own agenda, which includes decentralization of the Peruvian
bureaucracy and reorganization of several government branches.
</p>
<p> The next municipal elections will occur in 1989, but the
real test of APRA's performance comes in the 1990 presidential
elections. Just as the responsibility for an abysmal economy
was laid at the feet of Popular Action in 1985, APRA will most
likely be judged by the voters on its economic performance.
</p>
<p>Source: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Public Affairs,
December 1987.
</p>
</body>
</article>
</text>