From: nyt@nyxfer.UUCP
Newsgroups: soc.culture.latin-america
Date: 26 Jan 93 22:21 PST
Subject: Peru Newsbriefs 1/25 ed-lp
Nf-ID: #N:XRH1XB17w165w@nyxfer.uucp:1651649347:000:5045
Nf-From: nyxfer.uucp!nyt    Jan 26 22:21:00 1993


Subject: Peru Newsbriefs 1/25 ed-lp
From: nyxfer!nyt (NY Transfer News)


Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit

From el diario/La Prensa

Translated and edited by Toby Mailman. "el Diario/La Prensa" is 
a Spanish language newspaper published in New York City.

Peru: Alleged Coup Members To Be Tried On January 25

As reported in the Peruvian press on January 20, January 25 
will mark the beginning of the military trial of 32 officers, 13 
of whom are in jail, accused of participation in an attempted 
coup against President Alberto Fujimori's government. The process
will include public meetings, where the political act itself will
be discussed, and private meetings, in which national security 
issues will be discussed. The accused tried to avoid a trial by 
accusing prosecutor Alberto Lau of not being eligible to 
prosecute, since he is not a profesisonal military man. The 
seriousness of the charges was also questioned by defense lawyer 
Jose Santos Chichizola. (edlp 01/21/93 from AFP)


Peru May Sign New IMF Agreement

Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori said on January 21 that 
he expected to sign an agreement on January 22 with the 
International Monetary Fund (IMF) which would allow a credit of 
$1.4 million. The agreement will be conditioned on the 
fulfillment of certain goals and payment of amounts according to 
the growth of the economy, which could complicate the 
negotiations and delay them for six months. (edlp 01/21/93 from 
EFE)



Fujimori's Candidate for Lima Mayor Withdraws from Race

The government-backed candidate for mayor of Lima, Pablo 
Gutierrez, announced his withdrawal from the campaign on January 
21. Elections will take place on January 29. Gutierrez, a 
candidate representing the governement's New Majority-Change 90 
alliance, was aware of the lack of enthusiasm on the part of the 
voters for his candidacy, as registered in opinion polls. He said
his eventual defeat at the polls could be used for political ends
which he considered best to avoid. Sources close to Gutierrez 
said his withdrawal was related to the fact the President 
Fujimori had been distancing himself from the candidate recently.
Political analysts also said, although Fujimori appeared recently
supporting Gutierrez, the withdrawal of the candidate was 
precipitated by Fujimori, who did not want to face an electoral 
defeat which could have negative repercussions, domestically and 
internationally, two months after his party won the elections for
the Democractic Constitutional Congress. (edlp 01/22/93 from AFP)


Mayoral Candidate and Manager Murdered

A mayoral candidate, Felix Santiago, and his campaign 
manager, Antiaco Aquino, were killed on the night of January 19, 
presumably by guerrillas, said a police source on January 21. The
killings took place in Paramonga, in the Department of Lima, 180 
kilometers (1 kilometer = .62 miles) northeast of the capitol. 
According to family members the two victims were taken from their
respective houses to a beach, where they were tortured and had 
their throats cut. (edlp 01/22/93 from AP)



Mayoral Candidate Withdraws to Avoid Election Defeat   

The sudden withdrawal of the government-backed mayoral 
candidate Pablo Gutierrez may be the first reversal for Peruvian 
President Alberto Fujimori since he took power in 1990. Gutierrez
was presented by Fujimori on December 15, 1992 as the Change 
90-New Majority alliance's candidate for Lima's mayor, the most 
politically important mayoralty in Peru. Fujimori is the head of 
Change 90 party, while the head of the New Majority party, former
Energy and Mines Minister Jaime Yoshiyama, is president of the 
Constituent Assembly.

Gutierrez announced his withdrawal from the January 29 
elections, saying there is not enough time for his campaign. The 
opposition newspaper, La Republica, said that "in an attempt to 
avoid his first electoral defeat in two and a half years in 
government" Fujimori decided to withdraw the government backed 
candidate for Lima's mayor, through a meeting with associates and
members of his cabinet in which a poll which showed Gutierrez at 
a disadvantage was analyzed.

 La Republica said that according to experts Gutierrez "is a
difficult product to sell in the electoral market." Expreso, a 
pro-government newspaper, said Gutierrez decided to withdraw to avoid
causing the government problems by losing the election. His 
popularity fell from 18.8% to 13% by the middle of January, while
independent candidate Luis Caceres' increased from 18% to 25.4%, 
according to private polls. Lima's mayor, Ricardo Belmont, an 
Independent who is seeking re-election, showed an increase from 
16% to 22.5%.

All of Peru's political organizations and independent groups
will be participating in the January 29 elections. (edlp 01/24/93
from AP)


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