The election makes for an interesting story, and his victory comes partly from strategy and partly from tremendous luck... since the centrist vote split evenly between three candidates, Humala's only competition in the run-off election was Ms. Fujimori. Some may recall that her father, Alberto Fujimori, set in place the free market reforms that caused Peru's economic boom but also ruled as a corrupt autocrat. He is now serving 25 years in prison for human rights abuses and corrupt acts committed during his time as president. Because of this, Humala got votes from citizens that may have been fundamentally opposed to his political stance but couldn't bring themselves to support the Fujimori family. To appeal to the masses, Humala shifted his policies from left to center and switched his allegiances from Venezuelan nationalist Hugo Chavez to Brazil's former social democrat president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. He even brought in political advisers from Brazil’s ruling Workers’ Party. But in the campaign for the first round of the election, on April 10th, he was still proposing a “nationalist” economic policy and pledged to unpick contracts that have brought private investment in mining, gas and infrastructure. Needless to say, Peruvians are wondering where their new president's loyalties truly lie. The uncertainty surrounding the President Elect's policy intentions has created quite a mess for Peru. The day after the election, Lima's stock market dropped 12.5%, the largest daily fall in the country's history, and the shares of many companies with stock in Peru posted significant losses as well. Most of the losses were quickly recuperated, but the potential changes to Peru's financial and social policies have people worried that the country's economic boom might be coming to an end.
Read it here at The Economist.
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