Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06LIMA2197
2006-06-02 19:44:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Lima
Cable title:  

NO SURPRISES AS PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES HOLD THEIR

Tags:  PGOV PINR PE 
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VZCZCXYZ0003
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHPE #2197 1531944
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 021944Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY LIMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0823
INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 3497
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 6821
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 9565
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ JUN QUITO 0428
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 0610
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL 4272
RUMIAAA/CDR USCINCSO MIAMI FL
UNCLAS LIMA 002197 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR PE
SUBJECT: NO SURPRISES AS PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES HOLD THEIR
CAMPAIGN CLOSING RALLIES

REF: A. LIMA 2165


B. LIMA 2110

UNCLAS LIMA 002197

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR PE
SUBJECT: NO SURPRISES AS PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES HOLD THEIR
CAMPAIGN CLOSING RALLIES

REF: A. LIMA 2165


B. LIMA 2110


1. SUMMARY: There were no surprises as APRA's Alan Garcia
and Union por el Peru's (UPP) Ollanta Humala held large
rallies on 6/1, the final day for campaigning before the 6/4
run-off election. Garcia addressed an estimated 25,000
supporters in central Lima, promising "responsible change"
and an inclusive government, providing assurances that he
learned from the mistakes of his 1985-90 presidency, and
warning that Humala represented a return to "right-wing
militarism." Humala, who drew an estimated 10,000 followers
to a 5/31 rally in a poor Lima suburb, held his final
gathering on 6/1 before some 6,000 faithful in Cuzco. He
promised to implement a "great transformation" in politics,
starting with a new Constitution, criticized Garcia's prior
government, and accused the APRA candidate of being in league
with ex-President Alberto Fujimori's former spymaster
Vladimiro Montesinos. END SUMMARY.


2. Garcia's rally attracted what the National Police
estimated as 25,000 people to the Naval Heroes Plaza that
fronts the Sheraton Hotel and Palace of Justice in downtown
Lima. Garcia continued his attacks on Humala painting him as
a militarist option and a return to old, failed policies of
the past in contrast to Garcia's promotion of "responsible
change." The APRA leader was careful to acknowledge the
failures of his previous presidency, promising this time to
provide a solid, stable economy without the waiting lines for
basic necessities that many older voters associate with his
administration. He emphasized his six government themes:
patriotism, democracy, an end to politics-as-usual, creation
of jobs, labor rights, and social rights, and reiterated
specific campaign promises: cutting GOP salaries in half;
reducing fees for electricity, telephone, and natural gas;
bringing water to 500,000 Lima residents, and reducing
officials' travel and expenses. Appealing to anti-Chilean
sentiment, he pledged to take advantage of Peru's natural
resources and convert Peru into a country more developed than
its neighbor to the south.


3. Humala closed out his campaign in Cuzco's main plaza with
a crowd estimated by the National Police at 6,000. His final
Lima rally, held the day before in the poor suburb of San
Juan de Lurigancho, attracted some 10,000 supporters. At
both rallies Humala hammered on the failings of Garcia's
previous presidency and accused Garcia of having a pact with
former Fujimori spy chief Montesinos. Humala continued his
calls for a new Constitution and emphasized his plan for a
"great transformation" that would abandon the "current
neo-liberal economic model" and redistribute the country's
wealth. He also pledged a "national crusade against
corruption" starting with an audit of the regional
governments, as well as jail time for regional officials
found to have robbed money. (Note: A plurality of regional
presidents are from Garcia's APRA party. End note.) In his
Cuzco speech Humala asked those gathered not to get caught-up
in violence on election day.


4. Humala held a press conference on 6/1, where he read a
letter to Interior Minister Romulo Pizarro complaining about
violent actions against his party and the slow pace of the
investigation into the Cuzco confrontation which left two UPP
supporters and a bystander injured (Ref B). In Cuzco, Humala
visited one of the UPP local party leaders who was injured.
Hundreds of National Police provided protection to Humala's
motorcade as he traveled through Cuzco and there were no
reports of violence associated with the motorcade or the
rally.


5. Garcia, on 6/1, received endorsements from first-round
losers Humberto Lay Sun and his evangelical National
Restoration party, as well as from Martha Chavez of the
pro-Fujimori Alliance for the Future. Chavez, however, was
careful to note that her endorsement was personal, and not on
behalf of the Fujimorista movement as a whole.


6. COMMENT: The presidential candidates offered no/no
surprises in their closing rallies, with both Garcia and
Humala repeating the main points of their respective
campaigns and taking the usual swipes at each other. The
choice of the country's next leader now falls to the Peruvian
public. END COMMENT.
STRUBLE