The top finisher in this week’s presidential election in Peru is Ollanta Humala, a former Army officer. He got less than 50% so he’s have to go through a runoff election – whether against former president Alan Garcia or pro-business congresswoman Lourdes Flores remains to be seen; they’re still fighting it out for second place. http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1751565,00.html
What kind of politician is Humala? Some news reports describe him as a “leftist” who identifies with Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, but more often he is called an “ultranationalist.” I’m not clear on whether that means he’s hostile to the IMF, FTAA and economic globalization, or whether he’s hostile to cooperation with other Latin American countries. Would he be for or against the full EU-style integration of the new South American Community of Nations? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_American_Community
The important thing to understand about Humala is that he’s indigenous.
White Latin Americans will give you a funny look, and if you press the issue, will start to get indignant if you point out that the area is a racist stew. But it is.
In the Caribbean, it’s kind of soft, but it hits you when you realize that everywhere you go, the lightest skinned people have the most wealth and power.
On the mainland, from Mexico on south, it’s harder, especially if you’re Indian. North Americans don’t realize this, but Mexico is majority indigenous or mixed. Peru as well. Bolivia, likewise.
They are despised by the whites, looked down upon in a merciless way that’s really hard to describe. Humala is their man, best as I can tell from all the way up here. The only surprising thing about him is that it took this long for an indigenous nationalist to win an election.
As to what kind of leader he will be, I have no idea. But I distrust military men to be anything other than dictators. As I’ve pointed out elsewhere, the difference between Chavez in Venezuela and Lula in Brazil is that Chavez is military, and therefore reflexively dictatorial, whereas Lula is a trade unionist, and therefore reflexively democratic and open to negotiation, even when he’s being confrontational.
I prefer a Lula to a Chavez. On the surface, Humala appears to be a Chavez. We shall see.
Your link doesn’t work anymore, but here’s a good blog post on the results from a blog called Bonobo Land, maintained by Edward Hugh, a frequent contributor to A Fistful of Euros. It nicely backs up my supposition on the man’s popularity: