Reform Movement
Heavy government spending and the depletion of the guano deposits put Peru deeply in debt by the 20th century. Social conditions were deplorable, and there was a growing demand for reform. The government was seized in 1919 by Augusto B. Leguía, who greatly improved facilities such as ports, railways, and highways. His rule lasted until 1930, when he was overthrown by a military junta.
In 1931, Luis Sánchez Cerro was elected president. Narrowly defeated was Victor Raúl Haya de la Torre, founder of a leftwing political party called the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA). APRA was outlawed after the election, and many of its leaders, including Haya de la Torre, were jailed or exiled, but it remained a powerful political force.
Boundary disputes were settled with Chile in 1929, Colombia in 1932, and Ecuador in 1942. In 1948 a military junta took power, but constitutional government was restored with free elections in 1956. Fernando Belaúnde Terry, running on a platform of social reform, defeated Haya de la Torre (the APRA-supported candidate) in the presidential election of 1963. In 1968 Belaúnde's government was overthrown in a military coup. Under the military regime there was high inflation, burgeoning foreign debt, and recession.
In 1977 the military promised a return to civilian government. A constituent assembly, led by Haya de la Torre, drew up a new constitution, which was adopted in 1979. The following year, Belaúnde was again elected president. At the same time, the Shining Path, a leftist guerrilla group, began a terrorist campaign to overthrow the government. Belaúnde's free-market approach to solving the country's economic problems only deepened them. The Shining Path intensified its campaign.
In 1985 Alan Garcia Perez was elected president. By the time of the 1990 presidential election, inflation had hit an all-time high and the Shining Path had gained still greater strength. Independent candidate Alberto Fujimori was elected. He implemented an austerity program that eventually improved the economy. A cholera epidemic began to plague Peru in early 1991. It left hundreds dead. Fear of contamination greatly reduced fruit and vegetable exports, further weakening Peru's troubled economy.
Fujimori suspended the nation's constitution and dissolved the Congress in 1992. A new constitution, which strengthened presidential powers, was ratified in a plebiscite in 1993. Fujimori was reelected in 1995. He was reelected again in 2000 amid accusations of corruption and voter fraud. Two months later, he resigned and fled to Japan. Alejandro Toledo was then elected president.
Meanwhile, in 1992, the founder and leader of the Shining Path was captured by the government. In 1999, the last of the original commanders of the group was arrested.
In elections in April 2001, Toledo and Alan Garcia Perez, the former president, received the most votes for president. However, neither man received a majority. In a runoff election in June, Toledo defeated Garcia.
In 2003, Peru's Truth and Reconciliation Commission estimated that over 69,000 people had been killed in the fighting between the government and the leftist rebels in the 1980's and 1990's. The commission was created by the government to investigate war crimes committed by both sides.
In 2005, Fujimori left Japan and flew to Chile, where he was arrested. In 2006, the Peruvian government formally requested that Fujimori be returned to Peru. The Chilean Supreme Court is reviewing the request.
In the 2006 presidential election, former president Garcia defeated Ollanta Humala Tasso. Garcia ran as a center-left candidate representing APRA. Humala ran as a radical nationalist representing the Union for Peru. Also in 2006, Shining Path leader Abimael Guzman was retried and convicted of terrorism in a civil court. He was sentenced to life in prison.
