LIMA, Sept 14 (Askume) – A hero? A killer? A saviour? A douchebag?
Former President Alberto Fujimori will be buried in Peru on Saturday , as the Andean nation grapples with the complicated legacy of one of its most powerful and divisive political leaders in recent decades.
Many Peruvians still revere Fujimori for leading the country out of a severe economic crisis in the 1990s and defeating the Shining Path terrorist group. Others say his dictatorship was responsible for secret military killings. He spent nearly 16 years in prison for human rights violations.
“Thanks to them, terrorism is over,” said Felicita Ruiz, from the Ayacucho region of the Andes, the birthplace of the Maoist Shining Path.
According to the Truth Commission, 69,000 civilians and soldiers have been killed or are missing in the conflict with rebel groups. The shadow of that conflict still looms over Peru today.
But as thousands like Ruiz lined up across Peru carrying photos and statues of the former leader nicknamed “Chino” to bid a heroic farewell to the son of Japanese immigrants, others were dismayed and criticised his human-rights record.
Fujimori was hounded by allegations of murders by secret military groups and corruption while he was in power in the 1990s. He fled to Japan in 2000 after footage emerged of his advisers paying large sums of money to lawmakers, businessmen and judges to support his government.
In 2009, Fujimori was sentenced to 25 years in prison for human rights violations because he was “indirectly involved” in the murder of 25 people, including a child. He was released from prison in December after a controversial pardon.
“This tribute is a disgrace,” said Maria Carbajal, who said she was one of thousands of women who were sterilized by the Fujimori government as part of a poverty-reduction program in Peru’s poor rural areas.
About 300,000 women were sterilized during a national sterilization campaign. Human rights groups and thousands of women claim they were forced. Fujimori has always said the actions were consensual.
“I hope he will be re-elected president”
Peru observed three days of national mourning and accorded a state funeral to Fujimori following his death on Wednesday.
Like former Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet, Fujimori is credited with putting Peru on the path to a free-market economy and helping the copper-rich country become one of Latin America’s most stable economies.
But Peru’s reputation has come under pressure recently, with six presidents in seven years and political upheaval that has hurt investment in copper mining, the country’s main economic driver. To some extent, this has further refreshed Fujimori’s memory.
“I hope he can be re-elected president,” said a weeping Yusi Canchari, who traveled for hours from Peru’s interior to see his body. Fujimori’s politician daughter Keiko said in July that he might run for re-election.
“I want to thank President Fujimori for everything he did for our country. He brought peace. I remember he built my little school, built roads, gave us uniforms, shoes and food,” Kancheri said.
Keiko was herself an unsuccessful presidential candidate, and both she and unpopular incumbent leader Dina Borlt attended Thursday’s funeral.
“It’s a shame because they’re recognizing a man who the state itself convicted of a serious crime and passed a verdict,” Gisela Ortiz, the sister of a murdered Fujimori student, told local radio station Exitosa.
Coincidentally, Fujimori’s death came just three years after that of his archenemy, Path of Shining leader Abimael Guzmán, who also died in prison at the age of 86.
Lima resident Angel Taboada is divided about Fujimori and doesn’t know how to remember him.
“The former president did good things; he fought terrorism. But he also did bad things, like the massacres in La Contuta, Barrios Altos and Pattivilca,” he said, referring to three of the 20th century’s most notorious military massacres in the 1990s.
Fujimori supporter Maybelle Rojas has no such concerns.
“I am very sad,” he said. “I met him once and asked him, ‘What will you do to deal with this (current) crisis? What will you do?’ He had all the solutions because he had a very sharp mind.”
