BBC (early Wednesday): Peru lawmakers condemn president

[Jack Rabbit]

From the BBC Online
Dated Wednesday May 4 03:16 GMT (Tuesday 8:16 pm PDT)

Peru lawmakers condemn president

A congressional commission in Peru has said President Alejandro Toledo is guilty of electoral fraud, without saying how he should be punished.

The commission is split between his opponents and supporters - with the latter refusing to sign the report.

The panel's recommendations now go to Congress - where the government has a narrow majority.

President Toledo denies helping to fake signatures to register his political party for elections in 2000.

Read more.

[bemildred]

1. Holy Toledo!

Prosecutors in Peru have alleged that Mr Toledo's Peru Possible party forged almost 80% of the 520,000 signatures it used to register for the poll, which it subsequently lost.

You have to read the whole thing. I gets surreal at the end.

[Jack Rabbit]

3. This is the guy who replaced Fujimori

Maybe Peruvians should have picked Mario Vargas Llosa when they had the chance. It would be neat to have the author of Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter for president.

[bemildred]

5. Maybe Llosa will get another chance soon. nt

[Jack Rabbit]

6. Probably not

EDITED for typing



Mario Vargas Llosa is now 69 and has been living in Spain for years. When he ran for President in 1990, he ran as a free marketeer. That's out of style in Latin American politics nowadays.

While I don't necessarily like Vargas Llosa's politics, he's a very good novelist. In addition to Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, I recommend Time of the Hero and Who Killed Palomeno Molero?

Photo from Wikipedia

[bemildred]

7. I've never read him.

I remember the "free market" poop now that you mention it.
You have to wonder who came up with the "free market" euphemism
for monopoly capitalism. It was a brilliant idea in it's way.

I'll add "Aunt Julia" to my list.

I would not mind living in Spain either, although I hear the
weather is a bit dry right now. You could spend some time tracing
around where Don Quixote used to hang out, visit the Basque cities
and Andorra, wander around in Catalonia.

[MisterP]

2. woohoo! another IMF freak going down!

he has, what, a 6% approval rating?

[Canadian Socialist]

4. I always hate hearing bad things about Peru

I absolutely love that country. The people are so great. Course, I do have a slightly biased opinion, being a gringa and all.