Alberto Fujimori - Rise and Fall El Sendero Luminoso and El Movimiento Revolucionario Túpac Amaru Peruvian Terrorism When Fujimori become president in 1990 Peru was facing catastrophe. The economy was in the grip of hyperinflation but, even more seriously, in the countryside a bloody civil war was raging between the army and the guerrilla movement, el Sendero Luminoso or the Shining Path, which controlled about a third of the country. Abimael Guzmán, a philosophy lecturer in the University of San Cristóbal de Huamanga, in Ayacucho, founded the Shining Path in 1970 as a Maoist breakaway movement from the pro-Russian Peruvian Communist Party. Poverty and injustice made Ayacucho a fertile breeding ground for the movement which started a campaign armed insurrection in 1980. By the middle of the decade several thousand guerrillas were operating in rural areas and by late 80s urban terrorism was also a problem. Sendero Luminoso was not the only terrorist movement.

The other was the Movimiento Revolucionario Túpac Amaru, generally known by its initials, MRTA, or as Túpac Amaru which was the name of the last Inca ruler who was assassinated by the Spaniards in 1572. Almost two centuries later, Tupac Amaru's great-grandson, José Gabriel Condorcanqui, better known as Tupac Amaru II, led a new uprising against Spanish rule but his rebellion was crushed and he was captured and, after being tortured, was executed in the main plaza in Cusco in 1781. The MRTA, which was smaller and less extreme than Sendero Luminoso, started its guerrilla campaign in 1984. In February 1989 the MRTA suffered a setback when its leader, Victor Polay, was captured but on July 8, 1990, less than three weeks before Fujimori became president, 47 MRTA members, including Polay, escaped from Canto Grande prison via a 332 metre tunnel.

Che Guevara in Peru In 1951-52 Che Guevara and his doctor friend Alberto Granado undertook a journey by motor bike from Argentina through Chile and Peru to Venezuela. It was in Peru that Guevara came in close contact with South America's Indian masses for the first time. In his diary he noted the words of a school teacher in Puno with whom he made friends. "The present system of education ... on the rare occasions it does offer indians an education, ... only fills them with shame and resentment, leaving them unable to help their fellow indians and at a tremendous disadvantage in a white society which is hostile to them and doesn't want to accept them." "The fate of these unhappy people is to vegetate in some obscure bureaucratic job and die hoping that, thanks to the miraculous power of the drop of Spanish blood in their veins, one or other of their children will somehow achieve the goal to which they aspire until the end of their days." No doubt the experiences he gained on his epic motor bike trip played an important part in the formation of Che Guevara's political outlook.

What he said about the native people of Peru could also be said of those in Bolivia where, 14 years later, Guevara tried to organise a revolution like the one he had helped Fidel Castro to lead in Cuba. However he was captured in 1967 and executed on the order of President Barrientos. Despite the failure of his campaign Bolivia, Che Guevara's words and deeds were to inspire the MRTA in Peru. At first Fernando Belaúnde did not take the terrorist threat very seriously but in December 1982 he authorised the intervention of the armed forces in the counterinsurgency struggle. Atrocities were committed by both the terrorists, particularly the Shining Path, and the government. General Luis Cisneros, the Minister of Defence, explained the government's strategy with brutal clarity. The police do not know who the senderistas are, nor how many there are, nor when they are going to attack. For the police force to have any success, they would have to begin to kill senderistas and non-senderistas alike, because that is the one way they could ensure success.

They kill 60 people and at most there are three senderistas among them and for sure the police will say that all 60 were senderistas. Alan Garcia who succeeded Belaúnde as president in July 1985, tried to put an end to indiscriminate killing by army and security forces but had little success. The Sendero Luminoso drove government forces out of the upper part of the Huallaga Valley and repulsed the attempts of their rivals in the MRTA, who were strong in the central part of the valley, to get footholds there. At that time Huallaga accounted for about 40% of the world's production of coca, the raw material for cocaine. Most production of the drug actually occurred, then as now, in Colombia, but Sendero Luminoso's control of the biggest source of coca leaves helped to finance their rebellion. MRTA used kidnapping and extortion as well as drug trafficking. The dirty war continued and Garcia's economic policies proved disastrous, thus increasing discontent with the government in those parts of the country that were still relatively free from terrorist activity and paving the way for Fujimori's victory in the 1990 presidential election.

Fujimori's "Self Coup" or Autogolpe To tackle Peru's economic problems Fujimori decided to adopt a programme of shock treatment similar to that advocated by his defeated rival, Vargas Llosa. Within a year, he brought down inflation from a peak annual rate of 7,650% to 139%. (In 1999, President Fujimori's last full year in power, the annual rate of inflation fell to 3.7%. See Peru en Cifras: Informaciï¿½n Econï¿½mica ). However the security situation continued to deteriorate. Fujimori lacked a majority in Congress and therefore on 5 April 1992, like a Peruvian Cromwell, he dissolved Congress and suspended the constitution, declaring that he needed a freer hand to introduce more economic reforms, combat terrorism and drug trafficking and root out corruption. He also purged the judiciary, dismissing 13 of 23 Supreme Court justices and dozens of other judges.

A couple of months after Fujimori's coup, on 10 June, Victor Polay the leader of MRTA was recaptured, but that success was overshadowed by the actions of Sendero Luminoso which stepped up its campaign in the capital, Lima, itself. However, behind the scenes significant developments were taking place. Major Benedicto Jimenez, an officer in DINCOTE (la Direccion Nacional Contra el Terrorismo or the National Office Against Terrorism) being disgusted with the dirty war, had proposed to capture the leaders of the terrorist movement by patient detective work and despite a lack of support from most of his superiors he set up a small unit with that objective. Jimenez asked the Americans for assistance but his initial overtures were rebuffed. However, after Jimenez discovered a terrorist safe house in Lima, they changed their minds and the CIA provided considerable assistance . Britain also helped by sending an expert in surveillance operations from Scotland Yard to provide training. After another safe house was discovered agents regularly examined the rubbish discarded by the occupants until one day they found a package that had contained a medication for psoriasis, an ailment from which Guzman suffered, a label from his favourite brand of vodka, and other clues indicating his presence.

On 12 September the commander of DINCOTE, General Antonio Ketin Vidal, led a raid on the house and arrested Guzman to whom he said: "In life, one has to know how to win and lose. As a man of the dialectic, you should know that you have lost." That was the turning point in the war against terrorism that is estimated to have cost 30,000 lives. Fujimori's popularity soared but there were influential Peruvians who were troubled by his autocratic rule. On 13 November General Jaime Salinas led an abortive counter-coup with the aim of restoring democracy but he and the other leaders of the conspiracy were captured by the security forces. Salinas subsequently spent three years in prison. Less than two weeks after the failed counter-coup, elections for a new Congress were won by Fujimori's party giving him the authority to push through the changes that he wanted. However his wife Susana Higuchi proved less amenable to his bidding than Congress. That same year the couple split up and Higuchi announced her intention of running against her husband in the 1995 presidential elections.

Fujimori responded by having a law passed which prevented close relations of the president from seeking higher office and Higuchi was not able to get divorced until after the election. In January 1995 there were clashes between Peruvian and Ecuadorian troops along the border in Cenepa, an area which had been disputed since the Spanish colonies in South America gained their independence. A cease-fire was arranged in February and both countries agreed to settle their differences by negotiation. The next month Fujimori was re-elected, defeating the former secretary general of the United Nations, Javier Perez de Cuellar, by a landslide. The Japanese Embassy Hostage Crisis What at first appeared to be a major setback took place on the evening of December 17, 1996. In the official residence of the Japanese ambassador a party in honour of the Emperor's birthday was in full swing when Tupac Amaru guerrillas seized the building and took 452 guests hostage, including Fujimori’s brother, the foreign minister, the agriculture minister, and the Japanese ambassador, and prominent Japanese businessmen. The rebels demanded the release of several hundred guerrillas who were held in Peruvian prisons.

The women among the hostages were soon released and although Fujimori rejected the rebels' demands the Red Cross acted as an intermediary between the government and the guerrillas. Over the next few months most of the remaining hostages were released but 72 were still being held when, on 22 April 1997, all but one who suffered a heart attack, were freed in a dramatic raid by Peruvian commandos. All of the 14 Tupac Amaru rebels and two soldiers died in the assault. The successful freeing of the hostages boosted Fujimori's popularity to new heights. The Challenge of the 1997-98 El Niño El Niño is a meteorological phenomenon that causes chaotic conditions over a large part of the globe but Peru and Ecuador are usually the countries worst affected. It is believed that the destructive effects of El Niño were responsible for the collapse of the Moche civilisation in the north of Peru during the period AD 650-700.

A dramatic illustration of its power was the appearance in February 1998 in the Sechura desert, 500 miles northwest of Lima, of a lake 185 miles long, 25 miles wide, and 33 feet deep. The cost to Peru of one of the severest El Niños of the 20th century was considerable and was made worse by the fact that it occurred just after the crisis in the so-called Asian tiger economies. In 1997 the Peruvian economy had grown at a rate of 6.8% but in 1998 output fell by 0.6%. Fujimori had made plans in advance for coping with the floods and landslides that El Niño was expected to bring and when the situation was at its worst in early in 1998 assumed responsibility for co-ordinating engineering work, disaster relief and the evacuation of threatened areas. Once again his resolve in a time of crisis boosted his popularity - in the short term. Inevitably the economic downturn had the opposite effect.

The Border Dispute with Ecuador On 13 May 1999 President Fujimori met President Jamil Mahuad of Ecuador at the military post of Puesto Cahuide where an orange-painted boundary stone was laid, the last one in the disputed area that the two countries had fought over three times in the twentieth century - in 1941, 1981 and 1995. Their meeting in that place set the seal on the agreement that they had reached in October 1998. Ecuador had sought access to the Amazon (and thus to the Atlantic Ocean) ever since the country was created in 1830. Under the terms of the treaty Ecuador was given navigation rights and sites in Peru for operating port services. The border between the two countries follows the heights of the Cordillera del Condor mountain range, as Peru had maintained it should. Ecuador had wanted Tiwintza Hill which their soldiers had successfully defended in 1995 and where some of them are buried but, in a judgment of Solomon ownership was separated from sovereignty, the former being given to the Ecuadorian government while Peru retained the latter.

The Cocaine Business After the Sendero Luminoso's grip on rural areas, and especially the Huallaga Valley, the Peruvian government began to tackle the drug dealers. Vladimiro Montesinos put into force a policy of shooting down suspicious planes that ignored orders to land and measures were taken to reduce the cultivation of coca, which has some legitimate uses, (e.g. as mate de coca, a tea made from coca leaves which is merely a mild stimulant like coffee) and encourage the production of alternative crops instead. The latter policy had considerable success and the area of land devoted to coca dropped from 115,300 hectares in 1995 to 34,100 hectares in 2000, according to the Economist magazine. In Bolivia too, there was a considerable reduction. Unfortunately those improvements were more than offset by a huge increase in coca production in Colombia, the home of the cocaine cartels, where the area under cultivation increased from 50,900 to 136,200 hectares in the same period.

Moreover, FARC, a guerrilla organisation, and right wing paramilitary groups are said to protect the interests of the cocaine barons in that country. Subsequent revelations that the Peruvian intelligence services, headed by Mr. Montesinos, had at one stage provided protection for bribe-paying drug traffickers tarnished the governments record in cutting coca production in that country. El Chino versus El Cholo President Fujimori had already tinkered with the constitution to allow himself a second term and to disbar estranged his wife from standing against him. Even so it was a surprise when in August 1996, quite early in his second term, he introduced a law that allowed him to interpret the constitution in such a way that the limit to two consecutive terms of office as president only counted from the end of his first term! Peru's constitutional court disagreed but the Congress dismissed three of the judges thus removing that obstacle. The main opposition candidate in the 2000 presidential election was Alejandro Toledo who had been minister of labour under President Belaúnde (Fujimori's predecessor's predecessor) and had also been the chief economic adviser to the Central Bank of Peru and had worked for the World Bank.

Because of his origins Toledo was affectionately called by his supporters El Cholo, a usually derogatory term applied to urbanised Indians. He had been born in a poor Indian village in the Andes and was one of 16 brother and sisters. His family subsequently moved to the coastal city of Chimbote where his father worked as a bricklayer and his mother sold fish, and Alejandro himself started work as a shoeshine boy at the age of seven. Nevertheless, such was his performance at school that at the age of 16 he won a scholarship to the University of San Francisco. Later he gained a a Ph.D. in economics from Stanford where he met his wife, a Belgian anthropologist, Elaine Karp. When the couple moved to Lima in 1981 people tended to assume that he was her driver. However, unlike most white Peruvians she learnt to speak Quechua fluently and made speeches in that language in support of her husband during his campaign for the presidency. In contrast Fujimori would sometimes don a poncho and would make the audience laugh by replying in Japanese to questions posed in Quechua. The election in April 2000 was bitterly contested.

Officially Fujimori narrowly failed to get the 50% of the votes required for an outright victory and therefore a second round of voting was necessary in June but Toledo dropped out, alleging that the election was being rigged in his opponent's favour. However Fujimori's days in power were numbered. Vladimiro Montesinos, the Man from SIN In August President Fujimori held a news conference to announce the interception of a large consignment of arms from Jordan destined for FARC guerrillas in Colombia and he gave the credit for smashing the operation to his right hand man, Vladimiro Montesinos. However, the Jordanian government claimed that it had sold the arms to the Peruvian armed forces. Not long afterwards, on Thursday 14 September 2000 a video was broadcast that was to lead to the fall from power of Alberto Fujimori. The video, that had fallen into the hands of one of the opposition parties in Peru, showed Montesinos, giving a bribe of $15,000 to congressman Luis Alberto Kouri to switch sides in order to try and ensure that the government's favoured candidate would be chosen as president of Congress.

According to one later report Montesinos himself had been responsible for the arms sale to FARC , angering the CIA, who turned against a man with whom they had previously had close links, and a group of Peruvian army officers who were emboldened to break into his office and steal the tape - one of a collection of thousands incriminating politicians, officials and military officers. Montesinos was not the only one to be accused of a double role in the arms for FARC affair. Months later, Robinson Rivadeneyra a member of Alejandro Toledo party and no friend of Montesinos, claimed in El Comercio newspaper that the CIA had approved of the arms shipments to FARC in order to justify US military intervention in Colombia. Whatever the the truth about the origin of the video, in the uproar that ensued following its broadcast, Fujimori announced that he would hold new presidential and parliamentary elections in which he himself would not be a candidate. At the same time, he announced the dissolution of SIN, el Servicio de Inteligencia Nacional (the National Intelligence Service), of which Montesinos was the de facto chief.

The parents of the spy chief, regarded by many as Fujimori's Rasputin, were communists and therefore they named their son, who was born in Arequipa in 1946, Vladimir Ilyich after Lenin, an ironic choice for the boy who was to grow up to become the pillar of a right-wing regime. By coincidence Arequipa was also the birthplace of the novelist Mario Vargas Llosa, Fujimori's opponent in the 1990 election, and Shining Path leader Abimael Guzmán. In 1966 Vladimiro Montesinos joined the army and subsequently became the personal adjutant of another officer from Arequipa, General Mercado Jarrín. When the president, General, Juan Velasco Alvarado made Jarrín his prime minister in January 1973, Montesinos moved closer to the reigns of power in what was a left-wing regime. Soon it became apparent that information was being leaked to the US embassy and suspicion fell on Montesinos.

When General Guillermo Arbulú took over as commander-in-chief took of the army in 1976, Montesinos was transferred to a remote garrison of El Algarrobo near the Ecuador border. Montesinos stayed there only a matter of days before flying to Washington where he had meetings with officials in the CIA but on his return to Peru he was arrested, was convicted of falsehood and desertion of command, expelled from the army, and sentenced to a year's imprisonment. While in prison he studied law and on his release specialised in defending people accused of tax fraud and drug traffickers. As the cocaine barons had corrupt allies in the army and police the information Montesinos acquired through his job made him an increasingly powerful figure. When General José Valdivia was accused of having been responsible for the massacre of innocent civilians in the Shining Path stronghold of Ayacucho in 1988, he turned to Montesinos for help and the case against him was dropped. Even SIN found Montesinos useful because of his contacts and files on all sorts of people and he began to supply the agency with information.

When, during his campaign for the presidency in 1990, Fujimori was worried about accusations of tax evasion which were damaging to a candidate who made much of his clean reputation, General Díaz, the boss of SIN, suggested that Montesinos should help him. From then onwards Fujimori found himself increasingly dependent on Montesinos whose reputation became even more controversial. In November 1991, 15 people at a party in a poor district of Lima where killed in one of the most notorious acts of La Colina death squad, formed to combat the Shining Path. Local media claimed the death squad had mistaken the party for a terrorist meeting. According to rumours Montesinos was the man behind La Colina. The unit within DINCOTE established by Benedicto Jimenez for tracking down and arresting terrorist leaders was the complete antithesis of La Colina in its methods. Despite the rumours, Montesinos was one of the very few people in authority who gave Major Jimenz practical support. He agreed to provide equipment, and money if Jimenez hired four analysts from military intelligence. However, when the major discovered that the analysts were reporting back to Montesinos he sacked them.

Later, when the Sendero Luminoso leader was safely behind bars, Benedicto Jimenez was posted to the Peruvian Embassy in Panama as a police attache - not much of a reward for his role in ridding Peru of terrorism. Nevertheless in some ways he was fortunate. Even generals learnt that it was unwise to cross Montesinos. Biography of Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori Biography of Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori Visionary Leader or Corrupt Politician? Sign Up for Our Free Newsletters Thanks, You're in! What I Learned About Today You might also enjoy: Health Tip of the Day Recipe of the Day There was an error. Please try again. Please select a newsletter. Please enter a valid email address. Did you mean ? Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori Swears in Interior Minister. Getty Images Updated April 06, 2016. Alberto Fujimori (1938-) is a Peruvian politician of Japanese descent. An academic by background, he was elected President of Peru three times between 1990 and 2000, although he fled the country prior to completing his third term.

A highly controversial figure, he is credited with ending the armed rebellion associated with the Shining Path and other guerrilla groups and stabilizing the economy. However, his administration is considered corrupt and there were many human rights violations during his time in office. He is currently in Peru, facing charges for a number of different crimes. Early Years Fujimori’s parents were both born in Japan but immigrated to Peru in the 1920’s, were his father found work as a tailor and tire repairman. Alberto has always held dual citizenship, a fact that would come in handy later in his life. continue reading below our video What are the Seven Wonders of the World A bright young man, he excelled in school, and graduated first in his class in Peru with a degree in Agricultural Engineering. He eventually went to the United States, where he earned his master’s degree in Mathematics from the University of Wisconsin. Back in Peru, he chose to remain in academia. He was appointed dean and then rector of his alma mater, the Universidad Nacional Agraria, and in addition was named president of the Asamblea Nacional de Rectores, essentially making him the top academic in all of the country.

1990 Presidential Campaign In 1990, Peru was in the midst of a crisis. Outgoing President Alan García and his scandal-ridden administration had left the country a shambles, with out of control debt and inflation. In addition, the Shining Path, a Maoist insurgency, was gaining strength and popularity and brazenly attacking strategic targets in an effort to topple the government. Fujimori decided to run for president, backed by a new party, “Cambio 90.” His opponent was the well-known writer Mario Vargas Llosa. Fujimori, running on a platform of change and honesty, was able to win the election: it was something of an upset. During the election, he became associated with his nickname “El Chino,” (“the Chinese Guy”) which is not considered offensive in Peru. Economic Reforms Fujimori immediately turned his attention to the ruined Peruvian economy. He initiated some drastic, sweeping changes, including trimming the bloated government payroll, reforming the tax system, selling off state-run industries, slashing subsidies and raising the minimum wage.

The reforms meant a time of austerity for the country, and prices for some basic necessities (such as water and gas) skyrocketed, but in the end, his reforms worked and the economy stabilized. Pleased to see an economically responsible government in Peru, the International Monetary Fund helped secure loans, and foreign investment increased. The Shining Path and the MRTA During the 1980’s, two terrorist groups had all of Peru living in fear: the Movimiento Revolucionario Túpac Amaru (MRTA: Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, named after the last ruling Inca , executed by the Spanish in 1572) and the Sendero Luminoso (“Shining Path”). These groups wished to topple the government and replace it with a communist one modeled on Russia (MRTA) or China (Shining Path). The two groups organized strikes, assassinated leaders, blew up electrical towers, detonated car bombs, and by 1990 they controlled entire sections of the country, where residents paid them taxes and there were no government forces whatsoever.

Ordinary Peruvians lived in fear of these groups, especially in the Ayacucho region where the Shining Path was the de facto government. Fujimori Cracks Down Just as he had done with the economy, Fujimori attacked the rebel movements directly and ruthlessly. He gave his military commanders free rein, allowing them to detain, interrogate and torture suspects with no judicial oversight. Although the secret trials drew the criticism of international human rights watchdog groups, the results were undeniable. In September of 1992 Peruvian security forces severely weakened the Shining Path by capturing leader Abimaél Guzmán in a posh Lima suburb. In 1996, MRTA soldiers attacked the residence of the Japanese ambassador during a party, taking 400 hostages. After a four-month standoff, Peruvian commandos stormed the residence, killing all 14 terrorists while losing only one hostage. For his success in defeating these two groups, Fujimori is credited by most Peruvians for ending terrorism in their country.

Prev List of books and articles about Alberto Fujimori | Online Research Library: Questia Home » Browse » History » South American History » South American Countries » Peru » Alberto Fujimori Alberto Fujimori Alberto Fujimori (älbĕr´tō fōō´jĬmôr´ē), 1938–, president of Peru (1990–2000), b. Lima, Peru. The son of Japanese immigrants, he was educated in Peru and attended Univ. of Wisconsin. Fujimori was an unknown economist when he scored an upset in the 1990 presidential elections. He inherited a nation experiencing a severe economic crisis and facing one of Latin America's most brutal guerrilla insurgencies, the Shining Path . He slashed inflation and restored economic confidence by cutting subsidies, aggressively collecting taxes, and raising prices. In 1992 he suspended congress and the courts and declared emergency rule to combat corruption and the Shining Path terrorism. Under strong international pressure, he announced elections to a new congress, but these were boycotted by the principal opposition parties.

A break with his wife, Susana Higuchi, a civil engineer, led to her abortive attempt (1994) to contest his bid for reelection; they were divorced in 1995. In the presidential election (1995), he defeated Javier Pérez de Cuéllar . Despite high popularity ratings from the Peruvian public, Fujimori was widely criticized for autocratic rule and suppression of opposition voices. He retained office in the 2000 presidential election after Alejandro Toledo Manrique withdrew from the May runoff because of the expectation of fraud; in April, the election commission had been accused by observers of trying to steal the election in the first round. After his chief adviser, Vladimiro Montesinos, was accused of bribing opposition lawmakers in September, Fujimori offered to hold new presidential elections in which he would not run, but he ultimately resigned in November while traveling in Japan. He remained in exile in Japan, and the Japanese government subsequently recognized him as a Japanese citizen.

Charged by the Peruvian congress with dereliction of duty for failing to return, he also had a variety of Peruvian criminal charges filed against him, and was banned from holding elected office until 2010. In 2005 he visited Chile as a prelude to launching a bid for the Peruvian presidency and was detained at the government of Peru's request; a subsequent attempt to register him as a Peruvian presidential candidate was denied. In Sept., 2007, following a prosecutor's recommendation, the Chilean courts approved his extradition to Peru. Despite being placed under house arrest during the court proceedings, he was an unsuccessful candidate for Japan's Diet in July, 2007.

In Dec., 2007, he was convicted in Peru of ordering an illegal search in 2000; he was also convicted on human rights charges in Apr., 2009, and on bribery charges in July, 2009, pleaded guilty to wiretapping and embezzlement charges arising from the 2000 election in Sept., 2009, and convicted of diverting government funds in the 2000 election in Jan., 2015. The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright© 2016, The Columbia University Press. Alberto Fujimori: Selected full-text books and articles Peruvians march to call for release of former leader Fujimori | Reuters Fri Jul 22, 2016 | 11:10 PM EDT Peruvians march to call for release of former leader Fujimori 1/6 People attend a rally demanding the release of former President Alberto Fujimori in Lima, Peru, July 22, 2016.

Reuters/Mariana Bazo + 2/6 People attend a rally demanding the release of former President Alberto Fujimori in Lima, Peru, July 22, 2016. Reuters/Mariana Bazo + 3/6 People attend a rally demanding the release of former President Alberto Fujimori in Lima, Peru, July 22, 2016. Reuters/Mariana Bazo + 4/6 People attend a rally demanding the release of former President Alberto Fujimori in Lima, Peru, July 22, 2016. Reuters/Mariana Bazo + 5/6 People attend a rally demanding the release of former President Alberto Fujimori in Lima, Peru, July 22, 2016. Reuters/Mariana Bazo + 6/6 People attend a rally demanding the release of former President Alberto Fujimori in Lima, Peru, July 22, 2016. Reuters/Mariana Bazo + LIMA Hundreds of Peruvians who view the country's former authoritarian leader Alberto Fujimori as a misunderstood hero marched through the streets of downtown Lima on Friday to demand the incoming president free him from prison.

Fujimori, who will turn 78 next week, as centrist President-elect Pedro Pablo Kuczynski takes office, has been in jail since 2007 and is serving a 25-year sentence for human rights abuses and corruption during his 1990-2000 populist right-wing government. Protesters waved white flags chanting "Fujimori Freedom!" and carried banners bearing recent images of the weary-looking former statesman, whose request for a pardon from outgoing President Ollanta Humala was rejected in 2013. "Mr Kuczynski, please, the people are asking you from the bottom of our hearts to grant Alberto Fujimori freedom," said protester Mavela Alcala. Kuczynski, who narrowly defeated Fujimori's daughter, Keiko Fujimori, in a run-off election last month, reiterated that he would back a law that allows aging prisoners like Fujimori to carry out the remainder of their sentences under house arrest. But Kuczynski said he opposed a pardon that would clear Fujimori of guilt. "They can do what they want," he told reporters about the protesters.

"If they want to ask for a pardon they have the right to do so." Despite his autocratic rule, Fujimori's supporters say he ended years of hyperinflation and recession and blame his sinister spymaster for the vast corruption scandal that led him to flee Peru in 2000. Many Peruvians also credit him with quashing the bloody Shining Path insurgency and bringing sorely needed roads and schools to far-flung Andean provinces. The party that Fujimori, the son of Japanese immigrants, founded as an anti-establishment outsider nearly three decades ago will control a solid majority of seats in the next Congress. Keiko Fujimori and her brother, congressman Kenji Fujimori, did not take part in the march, which Reuters witnesses said drew between 1,000 to 2,000 people. Prominent lawmakers who promoted the march on social media did not show up either. (Reporting By Reuters TV; Writing by Mitra Taj; editing by Robert Birsel) ADVERTISEMENT South American Leaders || Fujimori South American Leaders Wikimedia Fujimori's Life In 1938, Alberto Fujimori was born in the capital of Peru, Lima.

He is of Japanese descent, but is also Peruvian due to birthplace. Throughout his life, he dealt with living in poverty "as his parents were shopkeepers in Lima" (Guillermoprieto, Heart That Bleeds, 76). His impoverished childhood helped motivate him to improve their conditions. Significance of Presidency In 1990, he decided to run for President of Peru with a movement called Cambio '90 (Change '90). His objective was to modernize Peru, but to also make "the country more responsive to the interests and potential of small-businessmen" (Ibid, 79). When Fujimori came to power, Peru became engulfed in chaos. Fujimori enacted his paquetazo: violent package, which made prices sore. As Alma Guillermoprieto states, "An already intolerable inflation rose up to 38.4 per cent a month, shot up to four hundred percent" (Ibid, 70). Peru became divided between citizens approving or disapproving of his incumbency. In a country dominated with economic plight, the populace demand change from the President.

Peru already struggled with a guerilla rebellion led by the Communist Party El Sendero Luminoso (The Shinning Path). According to Simon Strong, "By 1980, police intelligence reported that the Shining Path would launch its rebellion" (Strong, Shinning Path, 22). Abimael Guzman led the Shinning Path based on the philosophy of rebellion of oppressed societies. His vision of Peru correlates significantly to that of the Incas or Mao Ze Dong. His vision for a Communist Peru had horrific effects on the country. Strong discussed how the Shinning Path increased by stating, Guzman’s crusade for a Communist utopia left 20,000 poor people dead" (Ibid, 23). Clearly, the Shinning Path's mayhem needed to be stopped by Fujimori. Was he the President that would lead Peru to peace? By Fujimori's presidency, Peru still contended with the uncontrollable terror and torture done by the Shinning Path. To combat the terror of the Shinning Path, Fujimori increased both military aid, and domestic spying on citizens. His measures even went to kidnapping citizens and questioning them about their role in the Shinning Path.

Even though these measures were extreme, Fujimori finally caught Guzman on October 7, 1992.Despite catching the Shinning Path, Fujimori's Presidency did not assist Peru economically or socially. Peruvians still remained impoverished and race conflicts still plagued the country. By the end of his incumbency (2000), Peruvian officials accused him of blackmailing, and human rights charges. Indeed, there were human rights violations against Fujimori for his plan to eliminate the Shinning Path. When Peruvian officials charged Fujimori, he fled to Japan, and faxed his resignation from his plane. Recently, Fujimori got extradited back to Peru. Book Review Simon Strong's book, Shinning Path: Terror and Revolution in Peru offers the reader numerous objectives in analyzing the reasons of the formation of the Shinning Path. He started by providing a biographical sketch of Abimael Guzman, the commandante of the Shinning Path. His disdain for the living conditions and absence of education became the focal point for rebellion. Through time, the Shinning Path grew in popularity occupying almost all of the country.

Surprisingly, Strong provided the reader with a partial depiction of the Shinning Path, and Fujimori.Simon Strong did extensive research about the effects of the Shinning Path on Peru. For his primary sources, he interviewed hundreds of Peruvian citizens between the years 1981 and 1991, when the Shinning Path was most destructive. In addition to interviews, he collected numerous articles, documents, and books pertaining to the perilous mayhem of the Shinning path. His English and Spanish resources elucidated the plight of a country struggling with terrorism. His book is very informative for readers interested in recent Peruvian politics. Amusing Links Articles about Alberto Fujimori by Date - Page 2 - latimes ARTICLES ABOUT ALBERTO FUJIMORI BY DATE - PAGE 2 WORLD Peru's Former President Released From Jail May 19, 2006 | Eva Vergara and Patrick J. McDonnell, Special to The Times Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, flashing his trademark smile, was released Thursday from jail here in a move that stunned Peru less than three weeks before hotly contested national elections in that neighboring country.

"Obviously, I'm very satisfied, very happy," Fujimori, looking somewhat thinner after six months in custody, told reporters. "I feel confident, and I'm going to be patient." Advertisement Election Board Bars Fujimori From Running January 11, 2006 | From Times Wire Reports Peru's election board barred former President Alberto Fujimori from running in an April election as he fought efforts by prosecutors to have him extradited from Chile on charges of rights violations and corruption. Fujimori has been detained in Chile since November, when he arrived unexpectedly after five years in exile in Tokyo. He went to Japan in 2000 when his decade-long autocratic regime collapsed under the weight of growing scandals. Fujimori denies any wrongdoing. WORLD Peru Seeks Extradition of Ex-President Fujimori January 4, 2006 | From Times Staff and Wire Reports Peru formally asked Chile to extradite former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori on human rights and corruption charges.

Peru's ambassador and a special prosecutor delivered 12 sealed boxes of documents to Chile detailing allegations that include 25 death-squad killings in the 1990s, illegal phone tapping, diversion of state funds to the intelligence service, bribery of politicians and the transfer of $15 million to Fujimori's spy chief, Vladimiro Montesinos. WORLD Peru's Fujimori Denied Bail; Extradition Begins November 9, 2005 | From Times Wire Reports Chile's Supreme Court denied bail to former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori as Peru began the slow process of trying to extradite him to face human rights and corruption charges. Fujimori was arrested Monday after arriving in Santiago from Japan. He planned to use Chile as a base to return to Peru to run for president next year. WORLD Fujimori Lands in Chile, Is Soon Detained November 8, 2005 | Eva Vergara and Patrick J. McDonnell, Special to The Times Alberto Fujimori, who was Peru's president for a turbulent decade before fleeing the country amid human rights and corruption charges, was in custody here Monday after a stunning return to the continent from exile in Japan.

Fujimori, 67, was detained at the Marriott Hotel in the Chilean capital after courts here received an extradition request from Lima. He was taken to a police building and later moved to a more comfortable training facility, authorities said. WORLD Ex-President Fujimori Cleared in One Case October 19, 2005 Peru's Supreme Court cleared former President Alberto Fujimori of corruption in a defense contracts scandal, one of 21 criminal cases against him. A court spokesman said there was not enough evidence to show that Fujimori, who fled to Japan after his 1990-2000 government collapsed, had favored Panama-based company Mobetec with contracts for helicopters and jeeps in 1993. WORLD Fujimori Will Be Held if He Returns, Official Says October 7, 2005 | From Times Wire Reports Peru's ambassador to Japan, Luis Macchiavello, said ousted Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori would be arrested instantly if he returned to the South American country. He was responding to a report by Kyodo News in which Fujimori, who fled to Japan, repeated his vow to return to run for president in April.

WORLD Peru Issues Passport to Ex-Leader Fujimori September 15, 2005 | From Times Wire Reports Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, living in self-exile in Japan, has been granted a Peruvian passport. Fujimori's passport expired after he fled to Japan in 2000 as his government crumbled amid a corruption scandal. Peru's Congress has since banned him from public office until 2010, but Fujimori has pledged to return to run in the April election. Peruvian prosecutors have also petitioned Japan to extradite Fujimori to face 22 criminal charges. WORLD Getting Out the Message From Tokyo, by Radio July 3, 2004 | Hector Tobar, Times Staff Writer When Carlos Raffo Arce hears the ping coming from his bedroom closet in the middle of the night, he knows in an instant who is trying to reach him. So he rouses himself out of bed, drags himself to a computer tucked between clothes racks and types back: "Yes, Senor Presidente.

I am here." The man writing to Raffo from a laptop in Tokyo isn't the president anymore, but to Raffo, this is only a temporary state of affairs. Someday soon, he believes, Alberto Fujimori will return to lead Peru again. WORLD Officials Discuss Request on Fujimori February 19, 2004 | From Times Wire Reports Japanese and Peruvian officials began three days of talks in Tokyo to review Peru's request for the extradition of its former president, Alberto Fujimori -- the first such meeting between legal experts from both sides. Peru's delegation aims to clarify any technical or legal questions Japan may have about the 700-page extradition request, a Peruvian Embassy official said. Fujimori fled to Japan in November 2000 amid a corruption scandal. Articles about Alberto Fujimori - latimes Many ghosts haunt Peru's presidential election June 4, 2011 | By Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times Phantasms stalk Peru's presidential runoff election. There's the ghost of Hugo Chavez, the radical Venezuelan president who haunts Peruvians who are fearful that he is the model that candidate Ollanta Humala plans to follow.

There's the ghost of Alberto Fujimori, the jailed, disgraced former president whose daughter, Keiko, is the other candidate. Many fear she's just a proxy for him. There are ghosts from a war that killed 70,000 people and from a virtual dictatorship that eviscerated many of Peru's democratic institutions. Advertisement Japan and Peru: a Test of Ties That Bind January 24, 1997 | SEBASTIAN ROTELLA, TIMES STAFF WRITER In 1992, when an attempted military coup caused President Alberto Fujimori to flee the presidential palace, he reportedly took refuge at the Japanese ambassador's residence. The coup failed, but Fujimori's choice of sanctuary--reported back then by the respected magazine Caretas--reflected the special bond between Peru and Japan. OPINION In Peru, two weak choices April 15, 2011 Peru's political system has been ailing for decades. Corruption, violence and deep economic inequalities have left it weakened. Now, the first round of voting in the presidential race, which took place Sunday, threatens to leave the country in critical condition.

From a field of five candidates, two emerged as front-runners likely to move on to a runoff election June 5. Both appear wanting in experience, and concerns about their commitment to democracy prompted Peruvian writer and Nobel Prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa to say the decision will be like "choosing between AIDS and terminal cancer. NEWS Next Step : What the Winner Won: A Peru in Political, Economic Shambles : Alberto Fujimori just inherited South America's biggest headache. A splintered government, rebel fanatics, drought, debt and the scourge of drugs await the president-elect. June 19, 1990 | JAMES F. SMITH, TIMES STAFF WRITER Novelist Mario Vargas Llosa looked positively relieved as he conceded defeat in Peru's presidential election. His wife, Patricia, was radiant. Meanwhile, President-elect Alberto Fujimori, who defeated Vargas Llosa in a landslide on June 10, smiles only rarely now as he looks ahead to the gigantic task of governing what may be the least governable country in South America.

NEWS COLUMN ONE : New Pride for Nikkei in Peru : The success of President Alberto Fujimori has made Japanese Peruvians feel more accepted by a society that once persecuted them. April 28, 1995 | WILLIAM R. LONG, TIMES STAFF WRITER According to a theory popularized early this century, wayward Japanese fishermen landed on South America's Pacific shore in the 1400s and stayed to start a dynasty that ruled the Andes. Manco Capac, the legendary founding father of the great Inca Empire, was said to have been an immigrant from Japan posing as a god. WORLD Ex-Peru President Fujimori convicted of mass murder, kidnapping April 8, 2009 | Adriana Leon and Chris Kraul Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori was found guilty of mass murder and kidnapping Tuesday and was sentenced to 25 years in prison, a rare instance of a former head of state being found guilty in his own country on human rights charges. NEWS Peruvian to Visit U.S.

June 22, 1990 | United Press International President-elect Alberto Fujimori plans to visit the United States, Korea and Japan before taking office July 28, news reports said Thursday. WORLD Peru's Fujimori Denied Bail; Extradition Begins November 9, 2005 | From Times Wire Reports Chile's Supreme Court denied bail to former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori as Peru began the slow process of trying to extradite him to face human rights and corruption charges. Fujimori was arrested Monday after arriving in Santiago from Japan. He planned to use Chile as a base to return to Peru to run for president next year. WORLD Fujimori Will Be Held if He Returns, Official Says October 7, 2005 | From Times Wire Reports Peru's ambassador to Japan, Luis Macchiavello, said ousted Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori would be arrested instantly if he returned to the South American country. He was responding to a report by Kyodo News in which Fujimori, who fled to Japan, repeated his vow to return to run for president in April.

WORLD World Briefing October 1, 2009 | Times Wire Reports A court imposed a six-year prison sentence on disgraced ex-President Alberto Fujimori, who already faced the prospect of spending the rest of his life in a cell after three previous convictions. He also was fined $9 million for authorizing wiretaps and bribes. The sentencing concluded two years of televised trials that forced a country still divided over its bloody past to relive the darkest days of Fujimori's authoritarian, corruption-riddled 1990-2000 administration. Animated and unrepentant in early trials, the ailing 71-year-old former president appeared resigned in his later hearings. WORLD Ex-Peru President Fujimori convicted of mass murder, kidnapping April 8, 2009 | Adriana Leon and Chris Kraul Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori was found guilty of mass murder and kidnapping Tuesday and was sentenced to 25 years in prison, a rare instance of a former head of state being found guilty in his own country on human rights charges.

WORLD Peru's Alberto Fujimori assails prosecution's case as his trial closes April 4, 2009 | Chris Kraul Former President Alberto Fujimori of Peru made an impassioned plea of innocence at his human rights crimes trial in the Peruvian capital, portraying himself Friday as the leader who rescued his country from anarchy, not the man prosecutors have cast as a "Frankenstein" monster. "Rather than prove my guilt, the prosecution has merely shown the inconsistency of its accusations," Fujimori said, alleging that prosecutors fabricated evidence in their effort to make an "iceberg from a piece of ice." WORLD Former spy chief defends Peru's Fujimori at trial July 1, 2008 | From Reuters Disgraced former President Alberto Fujimori should not be held responsible for human rights crimes committed during his time in office, the man who ran his feared counterinsurgency network said in court Monday. WORLD Ex-president's return is a test for current one September 24, 2007 | patrick j. mcdonnell, Times Staff Writer He's back, and Peru is going to have to learn to deal with it.

The arrival of former President Alberto Fujimori on Saturday, seven years after he left in disgrace, poses a difficult challenge for the government of President Alan Garcia, which faces competing demands from supporters and critics. "The extradition is a test by fire" for the government, sociologist and historian Nelson Manrique told the newspaper El Comercio. WORLD Fujimori ordered returned to Peru September 22, 2007 | Eva Vergara and Patrick J. McDonnell, Special to The Times santiago, chile -- Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori was ordered returned to Peru on Friday after Chile's highest court ruled that he must face human rights and corruption charges in his homeland, ending the flamboyant ex-leader's long fight to avoid trial. Experts said it appeared unprecedented for an ex-head of state to be ordered extradited to face justice in the country that he or she once led. NEWS World IN BRIEF : PERU : Delegation Arrives for 'Action Mission' May 5, 1992 | From Times Staff and Wire Reports An Organization of American States delegation began "an action mission" to Peru as President Alberto Fujimori hardened his position on a proposed timetable for a return to constitutional rule.

The OAS delegation is making its second visit to Lima since Fujimori suspended constitutional rule April 5. NEWS Fujimori Selects New Prime Minister January 4, 1999 | From Times Wire Reports Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori named Victor Joy Way, the head of Congress, as his new prime minister at the start of a major Cabinet shake-up. Joy Way, a former industry minister in Fujimori's government and considered one of the president's most loyal supporters, will replace Alberto Pandolfi, who had headed the Cabinet since August. Fujimori is placed under house arrest June 9, 2007 | From Times Wire Reports Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori was put back under house arrest in Chile, a day after a prosecutor recommended his extradition to face charges of corruption and human rights abuses in his home country. Peru had warned that Fujimori posed a flight risk, according to the press office of Chile's Supreme Court. The house arrest took effect when court officers notified Fujimori of the ruling at his residence in the Santiago suburb of Chicureo, the court said.

Fujimori's rule ended in WORLD Peru inches closer to a trial for Fujimori June 8, 2007 | Eva Vergara and Patrick J. McDonnell, Special to The Times A Chilean prosecutor recommended Thursday that former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori be extradited to Peru, opening the way for him to face charges of corruption and human rights violations allegedly committed while he was chief of state. Fujimori, now 68, was an obscure rector at an agricultural college when he won a longshot bid for the presidency in 1990. He was a colorful and autocratic figure during the decade he served. South America Jeopardy Template 100 What is inflation? This is the term that describes a general increase in the price of goods and services, and has been a problem for the people of Brazil. 100 Where are most of Peru's cities, farms, and factories located? 100 This is the largest rainforest in the world. 100 Who is Simon Bolivar Who is credited with helping the northern part of South America become free from Spanish rule? 200 This is a major holiday in Brazil that celebrates cultural diversity.

200 Name the three major landforms found in Peru. 200 This is the Spanish word for rainforest. 200 Who is Jose de San Martin? Who helped much of the southern part of South America gain their independence from Spain? 300 What is the capital of Brazil? 300 Which group of people in Peru are descendants of the Inca? 300 How does the rainforest help regulate gas levels in the air? 300 What is "all of the Americas" What does the term Pan-American mean? 400 What is Rio de Janeiro This city is one of the largest in Brazil and is located on the Atlantic Coast. 400 Who is Alberto Fujimori? He was the president of Peru from 1990 to 2000 and was known for his corruption. 400 What area of the world are rainforests found? Think latitude! 400 What is Brazil Which country in South America brought over more slaves from Africa than any other South American country?

500 Peru′s jailed former President Alberto Fujimori seeks pardon due to ill health | News | DW.COM | 24.07.2016 News Peru's jailed former President Alberto Fujimori seeks pardon due to ill health Peru's jailed former president, Alberto Fujimori, has requested a pardon due to ill health. Fujimori's request comes less than a week before the country's new president takes office. "Alberto Fujimori has filed a pardon request with the Justice Ministry. It will be processed under due constitutional and legal terms," Prime Minister Pedro Cateriano said in a tweet on Saturday. Fujimori - who is serving a 25-year prison term for corruption and crimes against humanity - has been in and out of the hospital in recent months with gastric problems. The 77-year-old has also had cataract surgery and has had five operations for a cancerous growth on his tongue. Fujimori's latest hospitalization in June came shortly after his daughter, Keiko Fujimori, narrowly lost the presidential election to center-right candidate Pedro Pablo Kuczynski . Kuczynski takes office on Thursday.

Keiko Fujimori narrowly lost the presidential election to center-right candidate Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in June Outgoing President Ollanta Humala rejected a similar request in 2013, saying medical reports indicated Fujimori's condition was not sufficiently serious. Under Peruvian law, granting pardons is a presidential prerogative. Fujimori was president from 1990 to 2000 and was jailed in 2007 and convicted in 2009 for his role in killings by a death squad targeting members of the Shining Path guerrilla group in the 1990s. He was also convicted of embezzlement and bribery. jbh/cmk (AFP, AP)

Question: Of which South American country was Alberto Fujimori the President between 1990 and 2000?
Answer: Peru