Peruvians' Choice: A Woman, or the Left

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MICHELE NORRIS, host:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Michele Norris.

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And I'm Melissa Block.

Politics in Latin America could take another step to the left this Sunday. Those polls show a populist headed for victory in Peru's presidential election.

NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro is in Peru's capital, Lima, and she introduces us to the controversial candidate, who's become the favorite of the poor and the indigenous.

LOURDES GARCIA-NAVARRO reporting:

Wearing a red T-shirt, his signature color, and a pair of jeans, Ollanta Humala comes bounding on the stage like a celebrity. He exudes the confidence of the frontrunner in the race to become Peru's next leader.

I'm standing in La Plaza de (unintelligible) Republica. All around me are people who have bussed in from some of the very far provinces of this country, and they're all holding up signs. Humala's slogan is (unintelligible), or Love of Peru, and indeed many of the people who've shown up here today say that he is the candidate of change.

(Soundbite of political rally)

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Norberto Villa Huaringa is a 60-year-old man from the countryside, where support for Humala is strong. He's traveled by bus for days to get here, he says.

Mr. NORBETA VILLA HUARINGA (Resident of Peru): (Through translator) I think this is the time for Latin America to speak its own language, have its own politicians. We Peruvians are tired of seeing poverty, misery, of being abandoned by (unintelligible).

GARCIA-NAVARRO: On stage, Humala promises all that and more, but the latest poll has shown his lead slipping after attacks from his opponents that seek to portray him as a potential demagogue, so he's also stressing his democratic values on this day.

Mr. OLLANTA HUMALA (Nationalist candidate, Peru): (Through translator) Our nationalism is the recovery of our sovereignty. Our nationalism is the protection of our natural resources. It's the nationalism that is modern. It is not authoritarian, as many political adversaries have said it is.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Humala is closely identified with the wave of leftist leaders, like Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, who have Washington nervous about the political direction of the region. A former military man who led a failed coup against the quasi-dictator, Alberto Fujimore (ph), who, by the way, was not viewed as a serious contender until his quest for the presidency took off. His rhetoric is a mix of populism and nationalism. On the stage, Andean flute music accompanies the gyrations of women in thongs and short skirts.

Working against Humala is certainly his controversial family. His father is a Marxist who openly praises Hitler. His mother said that killing homosexuals would reduce immorality. One brother is in jail, awaiting trial for a coup attempt against Peru's current president, Alejandro Toledo. The other brother is also running for president. His racist platform seeks second-class status for the light-skinned elite here. Humala has tried to distance himself from them over the course of the campaign, but those who won't vote for him say that they suspect he holds many of the beliefs of his family.

Other opponents mistrust his democratic credentials. He's been accused of human rights abuses against leftist rebels in the 1990s.

On a busy Lima street, Claudia Campos said she thinks Humala is an up-start politician, who will turn back the clock in Peru.

Ms. CLAUDIA CAMPOS (Resident, Peru): (Through translator) I don't consider Humala an option. He looks like he'll be a dictator. I don't like the similarity with Hugo Chavez, and he doesn't seem to have a plan of governance.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: But analyst, Santiago Pedraglio says Humala has tapped into a real economic discontent here that grew during Toledo's tenure.

Mr. SANTIAGO PEDRAGLIO (Peruvian political analyst): (Through translator) Many Peruvians feel that even though the economy has grown in the last five years, around 6 percent a year, it hasn't touched them. Peru, five years ago, had 54 percent of people living in poverty. Today, after five years of steady growth, it still has 51 percent.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Peregalio says that even though he's been on the stump for months now, for many, Humala remains a mystery.

Mr. PEREGALIO: (Through translator) There is a great uncertainty about what he will end up being. Because he's new to the political scene, we don't even know who he'll choose to govern with.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: To win outright, Humala needs to get over 50 percent of the vote. There is almost certainly expected to be a runoff election with either his main rivals, center-right leader Lourdes Flores, or former president Alan Garcia, challenging him.

Lourdes Garcia-Navarro, NPR News, Lima, Peru.

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