Peru: Stirring Hope

For two months he had displayed all the appeal of a rock star as he campaigned from the barrios and suburbs of Lima to the ancient plazas of Cuzco and Arequipa. Youthful (35), tall (6 ft. 3 in.) and darkly handsome, he electrified crowds with his theme that "Peru is an unrealized hope." He promised food for the hungry, jobs for the jobless and an end to diseases like tuberculosis, which is still a major cause of death among Peruvian children. Several hours after the polls closed last week, Alan García Pérez bounded onstage at his party headquarters to proclaim victory in the race for the presidency "Now the Peruvian people will change governments, change the economy, change politics and consolidate democracy," he told his supporters. The ecstatic crowd of 5,000 responded with the chant: "Alan, Presidente! Alan, Presidente!"

It was not just another electoral rite in Latin America, replete though it was with rhetoric, euphoria and ill-defined promises. For the first time in 40 years, an elected Peruvian government was in the process of handing over power to another elected government. Although the official results will not be announced for a month, Garcia, leader of the center-left Popular American Revolutionary Alliance (APRA), unofficially captured 48.7% of the vote, a better than 2-to-l lead over his only significant rival, Lima's Marxist Mayor Alfonso Barrantes Lingán, who headed the ticket of the United Left, an agglomeration of eight leftist and Communist parties. Voters overwhelmingly rejected the Popular Action Party of outgoing President Fernando Belaúnde Terry, whose policies have failed to alleviate Peru's worsening economic crisis. The party's candidate, Javier Alva Orlandini, won only 5.9% of the vote.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx rantes in June, which he would be highly favored to win. In either event, he would not take office until July 28. But for the thousands who cheered his victory, García was already Peru's President-elect.

If elected, Garcia will inherit daunting domestic challenges. Many of Peru's 19.2 million people live in appalling poverty, with an average per capita annual income of only $867. In the Andes, the army is at war with Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path), a guerrilla group that advocates a Maoist-style revolution. Be cause of fears of terrorism, 105,000 army troops and police were placed on alert on election day. A dynamite blast, blamed by police on guerrillas in the central Andes city of Huancayo, killed two children and wounded four other people. But a call by Sendero Luminoso to boycott the election went unheeded, and voter participation in the Andean regions was believed to be heavier than ever before. Said Writer Mario Vargas Llosa: "APRA was seen by many as the best defense against the extreme left."

García was born in Lima and earned his doctorate in law in Madrid. In 1978 he was elected to the constituent assembly that two years later paved the way for restoration of democracy after twelve years of military rule. He also became a member of the National Congress in 1980.