DISPATCHES
1990s to one of the world’s
fastest-growing econo-
mies—has mostly bypassed
the rural poor. The widen-
ing gap between Lima and
rural regions in the coun-
try’s interior fueled a sig-
nificant protest vote during
the April 10 presidential
election that sent two inex-
perienced politicians from
opposite ends of the politi-
cal spectrum on to the June
ica and Europe rather than
the capital, and they may
stay abroad.
In effect, poor voters dis-
counted in advance the
promises made by the
mainstream candidates—
Toledo, former Lima Mayor
5 second round of voting.
Luis Castañeda and former
And Gahona is not alone.
Peru’s transformation—
from near-collapse under
a violent insurgency in the
CRIS BOURONCLE/AFP/GE T T Y
Former army officer Ollanta Humala, 48, a leftwing nationalist, and
Keiko Fujimori, 36, a right-wing congresswoman and
daughter of jailed former
President Alberto Fujimori,
defeated three seasoned,
moderate politicians who
had split the vote among
centrist voters.
Keiko Fujimori’s strong
showing in the shanty-
towns around Lima and
in the industrial north
suggested that the hu-
man rights abuses and
corruption of her father’s
authoritarian government
between 1990 and 2000
resonated less with low-
income Peruvians than
memories of that govern-
ment’s success at ending
hyperinflation and bring-
ing security to the country.
The elder Fujimori was sen-
tenced in 2009 to a 25-year
prison sentence for his role
in approving death squad
murders and kidnappings
during the government’s
struggle against the Maoist
Sendero Luminoso (Shining
Path) guerrilla insurgency
(deadliest between 1980 and
2000). But his daughter’s
supporters also associate
the Fujimori name with ru-
ral development initiatives,
such as low-budget housing
and microlending.
Nevertheless, it was
Humala who best captured
the underlying discontent
of the rural poor. He earned
32 percent of the first-round
vote, beating Fujimori by
eight percentage points and
Kuczynski by 13 percent.
In Madre de Dios, the
least populated of Peru’s
26 districts, Humala won
45 percent of the votes. Gahona, who supported Humala during his first bid for
the presidency in 2006, felt
compelled to do so again
this year.
Prime Minister Pedro Pablo
Kuczynski. The message
they sent was clear: it was
time to give the alternatives
a chance.
“I had no choice,” he ex-
plained, complaining that
the traditional politicians
“don’t do anything for the
provinces—they never
have.”
After an unprecedent-
edly tight and polarizing
run-off vote, Humala won
the presidency with 51. 5
percent of the vote, while
Fujimori captured 48. 5 per-
cent. In the second round,
the upper class largely ral-
lied around Fujimori be-
cause they believed she
was the most likely candi-
date to maintain the cur-
rent economic model. But
