Alberto Fujimori’s Daughter Keiko Could Be Peru’s New President, While He Sits In Prison For Corruption And Human Rights Abuses
In November 2000, Alberto Fujimori terminated his term as Peru’s president by fleeing the country for Japan — resigning from his post by fax machine. Now, his daughter Keiko is the favorite to become the Latin American country’s newest head of state.
The younger Fujimori’s conflict of interests couldn’t be worse. Alberto is set to remain in prison for nearly another decade of his life for human rights violations and corruption during his presidency. Keiko, however, has staunchly stated that she will not be pardoning her father if she becomes the new Peruvian leader. That’s a change of heart from her previous, unsuccessful campaign in 2011, when she occasionally said that she would.
For Keiko, it’s almost impossible to shake off the legacy of her father’s presidency. In fact, she was a part of it. When Fujimori divorced her mother, she was made First Lady of Peru. Many say that she got her pricey American education at Harvard and Columbia through money stolen from the Peruvian people. She may not be Alberto herself, but the link is too close for some, protester Norma Azparrent told Japan Times.
“She lived amid corruption and never said a thing. She has deceived all the peasants, making them believe her father’s government built schools with public funds when they stole a lot more.”
Others feel the opposite, and quite strongly. Tens of thousands flooded the streets this weekend to protest the possibility of Alberto’s daughter becoming their next head of state. They fear Keiko’s rise could be the demise of Peru; a return to the Fujimori days that they detest for several key reasons, including an auto-coup d’état that dissolved Congress to give the executive branch more power. Here are some of the charges he went to trial for.
Alberto Allegedly Stole An Estimated $6 Billion From the Peruvian People
- Fujimori’s presidency was largely characterized by neoliberal policies. One of the sharpest of those maneuvers was privatization — the selling of state-owner companies and industries to the private sector. Alberto’s government was estimated to have racked up a massive $7 billion in profits from these sales, but when he left office the Peruvian treasury held only $500 million. Investigators believed that only $1 billion of this money went to public works, and it was unlikely that the majority of the funds will ever be recovered from Fujimori and his associates, reported Peruvian Times.
Alberto Sanctioned Death Squads
- After being extradited from Chile, Fujimori spent a lengthy period of time in court for various offenses. While his financial corruption was no doubt detrimental to Peru, human rights abuses that took place under his presidency were also under scrutiny during his trial. Alberto took many questionable measures in his fight against Maoist rebel group Shining Path, including creating a state-sanctioned death squad that directed several massacres and arresting journalists critical of his government. During his trial, Fujimori maintained that these actions were justified by the “hellish” conditions he was confronted with when trying to get Shining Path under control, reported Washington Post.
- Though Fujimori was cleared of guilt in court for this count, Peru’s health ministry was allegeldy responsible for carrying out the sterilizations of 272,000 women during his presidency. At least 2,000 of these women were either coerced, lied to or bribed about the process. The sterilizations were thought to have been part of an attempt to comply with International Monetary Fund goals about population growth. That link caused many Peruvians to blame the former president for the practice, though he was not convicted for this particular offense, reported El País.
Do you think Keiko will be able to upheave Alberto Fujimori’s legacy to become the next president of Peru?
[Photo by Newsmakers/Getty Images]
