Death of President Alberto Fujimori Leaves Peru Divided
Mr. Alberto Fujimori, President of Peru, emerges from his aircraft moments after arriving at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland
Alberto Fujimori, one of Peru’s most consequential presidents who governed the country from 1990-2000, died on September 11. He was 86.
Fujimori’s death leaves Peru divided. Following President Dina Boluarte’s declaration of a period of public mourning, thousands of Fujimori’s most ardent supporters took to the streets in commemoration as his body lay in an open casket memorial, while many other citizens took to the streets and to social media, protesting the plethora of honors he received. To some, he was a hero who stabilized the economy and effectively defeated terrorism. To others, he was a power-hungry dictator who violated human rights and fought only to enrich himself. But to all, he remains an influential leader whose ideology and decade-long tenure continue to have ripple effects on the country’s politics.
Fujimori came to power as a political outsider, giving hope to a nation in economic and political turmoil. Decades of fiscal mismanagement left Peru with an unsustainable national debt and unceasing inflation. Fujimori’s predecessor, Alan Garcia, advocated protectionism while discouraging foreign investment, nationalizing critical industries and printing large sums of money to pay down the deficit. This caused inflation to reach over 7,500 percent by 1990, as nearly 60 percent of the population lived in poverty. At the same time, two terrorist insurgencies, the Marxist-Leninist Shining Path and Maoist Movimiento Revolucionaro Túpac Amaru, grew increasingly powerful, launching attacks against police and military officers, government officials, and killing thousands of civilians in the crossfire.
Fujimori won the election of 1990 and immediately began addressing Peru’s challenges through neoliberal economic reform and military strength. President Fujimori immediately sold state-run companies, replaced Peru’s unstable currency, and reduced price controls, tariffs, and government subsidies. This economic shock therapy initially caused prices to soar, with bread becoming 1,500 percent more expensive and the price of gas rising over 3,000 percent. But eventually, the economy stabilized, inflation fell drastically, foreign investment poured in, the GDP grew fast, and the nuevo sol became one of the most stable currencies in Latin America.
Fujimori rapidly ramped up the country’s defenses, arming local counter-terror militia groups and sending the military throughout rural Peru to imprison and kill terrorists and their sympathizers. His effort was arduous and ultimately effective in quelling terrorist violence, but it came not without controversy. The Peruvian Army was charged with many human rights violations, including using excessive force, torturing suspected terrorist sympathizers, and killing many innocent civilians. In fact, President Fujimori himself would later serve a 25-year prison sentence for crimes including human rights abuses and ordering death squads to commit civilian massacres.
While Fujimori displayed some success in stabilizing Peru, he was ultimately delegitimized by his own scandals and crimes. In 1992, when Congress would not agree to his legislative agenda, he dissolved Congress, staged a self-coup with the backing of the Peruvian military, and filled the government with his allies. He launched the Programa Nacional de Población (National Population Program), with the goal of limiting Peru’s population growth. However, this policy actually sterilizing over 200,000 women. Ultimately, he was forced to resign after he was caught embezzling government funds to bribe politicians and the media. Fujimori was forced into exile in Japan, but ultimately extradited and convicted, spending the majority of his post-presidency in prison.
The presidency of Alberto Fujimori is decades old, but the challenges he confronted, and mistakes that he made still impact Peru today. In 2022, Peru’s newly elected president Pedro Castillo found himself in a similar predicament as Fujimori did in 1992, with much of congress opposed to him, putting him in a lockhold of policy. He similarly attempted to dissolve the government, but this time the military didn’t support him and he was jailed and replaced. As Peru has faced political instability with 6 presidents in 7 years, only time will tell if the country will be able to stabilize.