Alejandro Toledo

Alejandro Toledo Manrique ( born March 28, 1946 in Ferrer, District Cabana, Peru ), economist and politician, was dated 28 July 2001 to 28 July 2006, Peruvian president.

Biographical information

Alejandro Toledo was in the village of Ferrer in the province Pallasca (Region Ancash ) in Peru was born as the fifth son of a family of poor indigenous peasants. At the age of five, he moved with his family to the city of Chimbote. During his childhood, he contributed as a shoeshine boy and street vendor to support his family. At the same time he attended a state primary school at his residence.

Education and professional experience

The secondary education got Toledo at the Gran Unidad Escolar San Pedro de Chimbote. He pointed in particular skills in literary and journalistic ways. This helped him in 1966 to obtain a scholarship, which enabled him to study at the University of San Francisco in the United States. He studied economics and earned a bachelor's degree in 1970. A part of his money he earned as a semi-professional football.

In the years 1971 and 1972, he obtained two Lizenziaturen the University of Stanford. In 1976 he passed his doctoral examination and in 1979 he married a native of Belgium anthropologist Eliane Karp, whose parents are of Jewish descent.

Toledo then worked at the Education Center for International Development at the University of Stanford, at the central headquarters of the UN, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID ), UNICEF and the OECD. He lived in New York, Washington DC, Geneva and Paris.

Back in Peru, he worked as a consultant and inspector for the Institute for International Development at Harvard University and Waseda University Tokyo, he took up a teaching position for finance and accounting at the Escuela de Administración de Negocios ( ESAN ) in Lima and where he headed the Institute for Economic Development ( Instituto de Desarrollo Económico IDE).

Entry into politics

In December 1994, Toledo announced his candidacy in the presidential election in 1995 at the head of the party alliance País Posible, which also entered into an alliance with the Coordinadora Democrática (code). Toledo was determined for top candidates of alliance. Although surveys it predicted 11% of the vote, he got according to the official count only 3.5% of the valid votes. The elections were won by the then incumbent President Alberto Fujimori with more than 62 % of the vote.

2000 presidential election and 2001

At the 2000 elections Toledo entered with massive financial support from U.S. sources again against Fujimori, this time at the head of which he founded himself grouping called Perú Posible. In an election that was marked by fraud allegations and criticism of national and international observers, Toledo took a controversial second place with 40.3% of the vote against 49.8 % for Fujimori. Since no candidate won an absolute majority, had to make the decision a second ballot.

Due to the evidence of an election fraud declared Toledo on 18 May 2000 that he would not be standing on the second round, if this is not postponed by two weeks and the observed defects were corrected. Since Fujimori did not address it, Toledo withdrew his candidacy and urged his supporters to submit blank or invalid ballots. Nevertheless, he received the second ballot officially 25.6% of the vote, while 31 % of the ballots were blank or invalid.

Could be detected already at this point that a cousin of Toledo, who was at that time the campaign manager of the campaign Toledo, unused campaign funds transferred to his private accounts abroad.

From now on, personalized Toledo peaceful resistance against the third term of the Fujimori government. On 28 July 2000, was a day of national protests (known as " La marcha de los Cuatro Suyos ").

Following the resignation and self-imposed exile Fujimori in Japan, the EP President Valentín Paniagua Corazao took over the official duties of the President and sat for the May 2001 elections to.

The reputation of Toledo began to decline at the same time because the public process was carried to his fatherhood in the media. This is especially true since Jaime Bayly, a well known and popular in Latin entertainer and former friend of Toledo, the fronts moved and supported Toledo's daughter. He invited Zarai Toledo's daughter into his show, where they could present their position in the conversation. Baylys offer to pay for the DNA paternity tests, was ultimately decisive for the recognition of paternity.

The acknowledgment of paternity after his election as President of Peru settled the dispute and avoided a DNA sample. It is considered secured if Toledo would have to admit his paternity before the election, was his election to the presidency seriously threatened, this too, as he had always referred to the paternity suit as " manipulation of the Fujimori government ," although the action to the throne before the Fujimori has been submitted.

In these elections, Toledo ran against the former President Alan García Pérez, and the lawyer Lourdes Flores. The first round he won with 36.5 % of the votes, followed by García 25.8 %. In the runoff, he prevailed with 52.5 % of the valid votes and took over as the first indigenous Peruvian president.

Presidency

The Presidency Alejandro Toledo is overshadowed by unrest and discontent among the population. This is mainly due to the economic situation of the country. During the campaign, Toledo had announced a " break with the past ", especially what was concerned corruption and nepotism under the Fujimori regime. But he did not always stuck to this promise. Many Peruvians were its movement with the hope acceded to more jobs, and to the dissatisfaction among his partisans to diminish, were members of Perú Posible preference in the filling of posts in the public service.

In June 2002, the südperuanische city of Arequipa was paralyzed for a week of strikes and street riots, which were directed against the privatization of two power stations in the region. It was the most serious disturbances of its kind in Peru for half a century. The government had not expected such a resistor on the spot and was forced to withdraw the privatization. Although the macroeconomic indicators since Toledo's inauguration show sustained growth (4.9% in 2002), Peru remains a very poor country where half the population lives below the poverty line and 15% in very great poverty.

Other controversies and scandals related to the president himself His salary was to start at around U.S. $ 18,000 per month, which caused an outcry in a country where teachers no more than 100-200 U.S. $ deserve. In 2002, he was forced after long denying the existence of an illegitimate daughter, Zarai, admitting that was then 13 years old. In July 2004, Toledo asked by allegations of corruption government inspectors to verify its bank accounts. For the biggest scandal ensured in March 2005 allegations of his motion Peru Posible had falsified thousands of signatures in 2000 to be allowed to vote. A police investigation revealed that about 70 % of the signatures were false. The sister of Toledo is under house arrest, as she is suspected to have operated a " counterfeiter's workshop ". Toledo itself cooperated only reluctantly with the scouts in the Peruvian Congress. For another scandal with the wife of Toledo. She used the resources of a World Bank loan, which was provided in support of the African- Indian population to supply closest political friends with far above average doped consultancy contracts. A judicial investigation was targeted abducted by the accused. Were never fully understood the relationships that exist between the wife of Toledo and Israeli money investment community. Have become known offshore companies in Panama that were initiated by the wife. Overall, the entire family of Toledo is accused of taking advantage of privileges and benefits office. For example, a cousin was arrested for rape, but came in for Peruvian relations, record time again.

At his swearing-in ceremony in 2001, Alejandro Toledo had the support of 59 % of the country's population. In March 2005, his approval ratings had dropped to a mere 8% - the lowest popularity among all state leaders in Latin America. At the end of his term, in July 2006, but he again reached an approval rating of 42%. Through a disposal of Toledo law change is a direct re-election on 9 April 2006 excluded.

Foreign policy

As President Toledo began to normalize diplomatic relations with the Government of Venezuela, because these deteriorated under the transitional government of his predecessor, Valentín Paniagua because of the fall Vladimiro Montesinos. But when Toledo declared his strong support for a failed coup in Venezuela, froze relations with that nation.