The Peruvian political landscape is in flux. Weeks after Fujimori loyalists, or Fujimoristas, broke ranks with opposition forces within the National Congress to help Peruvian President Alan Garcia’s APRA party win the presidency of the Congress in a 66-46 vote, the cushy relationship between Garcia loyalists, or Apristas, and Fujimoristas is causing some to cry foul.
The devil is truly in the details.
What do Fujimoristas have to gain? And how far will they go to have the party in power on their side? Many want Garcia to pardon Fujimori at the end of his term. Since the momentous agreement, reporters covering Peruvian politics are probing their informants within the walls of the Garcia administration. Their informants are delivering.
Surprise firings, secret meetings, an alleged abuse of power – and Fujimori is at the center of it all.
A final look at some of the headlines making news this weekend in Lima within La Republica and Caretas, including the latest political scandal to grip the Andean state …
Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori’s original incarceration orders allowed him to receive visits only from direct family members for four hours, two days a week. Yet since Fujimori celebrated his 70th birthday on July 28 in the company of a host of musicians and close friends, press reports have uncovered that Fujimori has lived the high life in prison – including unlimited phone calls and visits from non-family members.
In February, reportedly under pressure from her superiors, Justice Minister Rosario Fernández made a special request of Leonardo Caparrós, the head of the national jail system, to modify Fujimori’s incarceration arrangements, arguing for a more “flexible” setup. Capparós refused. Three months later, Caparrós was called during a separate meeting between Fernández and a Fujimorista congressman.
A month later, Fujimori’s attorney, César Nakazaki, submitted a request to modify Fujimori’s setup to Caparrós. Within three days, his order was modified, allowing Fujimori to receive unrestricted visits for eight hours, three days a week.
On Saturday, the state prosecutor’s office said Caparrós and others may have committed crimes if an ongoing investigation confirms they facilitated the modification of Fujimori’s orders. A final report is expected in 20 days.
“San Román: I Warned Fujimori that Montesinos Was Linked to the [Barrios Altos] Massacre”
Former Peruvian Vice-President Máximo San Román testified under oath before the Fujimori tribunal Friday that Fujimori ignored an intelligence report given to him in March 1992 that stated that his loyal advisor Vladimiro Montesinos and a group of military soldiers were involved in the Barrios Altos massacre.
San Román, who said Fujimori said nothing after receiving the document, said the report explained the details of the Barrios Altos operation, the actions that took place, and the errors committed by those involved.
“Prosecutor Hands Over 37 Cadavers of the Victims of a Massacre in Huancavelica”
Seventeen years after the Shining Path killed 37 seniors, women, and children, the Public Ministry returned the bodies of those killed to their relatives in a special ceremony Friday in Ayacucho.
The relatives will take their loved ones to Santo Tomas de Pata, the site of the massacre, to bury them. According to reports, the Shining Path entered the community with 300 forces strong after they received news that the community was organizing itself as a self-defense community in opposition to the insurgent group.
Posted By Ash Kosiewicz
Posted Aug 10th, 2008