Oct. 1, 2002

Peru’s President Keynotes Conference, Praises Democratic Charter

Toledo Reflects on Charter at OAS

By Megan Doscher

Alejandro Toledo, president of the Republic of Peru, presented the keynote address before hundreds at a symposium, organized in part by GW’s Center for Latin American Issues (CLAI), marking the one-year anniversary of the Inter-American Democratic Charter Sept. 16 at the Organization of American States (OAS).

The Inter-American Democratic Charter aims to protect and promote democratic institutions, and to strengthen the capacity of the OAS to promote representative democracy. The charter strengthens the commitment of countries in the southern hemisphere promoting democracy. It was approved unanimously in September 2001 by 34 member states of the OAS.

Before presenting his address, “Reflections on the First Anniversary of the Inter-American Democratic Charter,” Toledo praised the charter: “Now we have a document that will guide democracy in the region,” he said. “We celebrate what we have done, but we still have a long way to go.”

Toledo has firsthand experience in the fight for democracy in Latin America. He ran for president of Peru in 2000 against then-president Alberto Fujimori, who had systematically taken over every area of Peru’s government, from congress to the judicial system. Term limits should have prevented Fujimori from running for president again, however, he used his power to engineer a run for an unprecedented third term.

The circumstances of the campaign and election were so questionable that Toledo withdrew from contention and urged supporters to write “No to Fraud” across their ballots. Fujimori began his third term but soon resigned amid a flurry of corruption charges, fleeing to Japan where he holds dual citizenship. Toledo was elected president in 2001.

Because Fujimori had initially been democratically elected, members of the OAS delayed becoming involved, arguing whether it was their place to interfere.

In a similar situation today, under the Inter-American Democratic Charter, the OAS would likely assist a struggling country much sooner. “We are convinced that Peru has an important lesson to share with the rest of the continent,” Toledo said. “We were fooled by the new way of dictatorship.”

The charter constitutes “an extraordinary confluence of political will of our nations,” he said, and has “a level of legitimacy that is seldom attained in the Americas.”

But the individual governments have their work cut out for them, Toledo said. “We need to hear the voices of the people in the street. We need to solve the dilemma between Wall Street and Main Street.”

Democracy faces major hurdles, he warned. “Poverty conspires against democracy,” Toledo said. “If the government can’t meet the basic needs of the population, the population cannot be free. We need to resolve the central issue that undermines democracy.”

And existing international double standards need to end. “Industrialized countries need to hold hands with developing nations — to construct a trade freeway that goes both ways,” he said. In other words, “Don’t ask us to do what you don’t do.”

Before this charter was approved, the OAS did not have the appropriate tools to ensure that democratic principles were protected, said Cesar Gaviria, the secretary general of the OAS and former president of Colombia, who served on a panel discussion after Toledo’s presentation. “It has been a long, hard road,” he said. The charter is specifically designed with prevention in mind, “a clear weapon” against those who seek to undermine democracy.

Gaviria noted that popular support for democracy in Latin America is diminishing, and he pointed to the economy as a major culprit. “Much of the hemisphere is presently mired in economic and political crisis,” he said, and when public institutions fail to fulfill basic needs for a country’s people, it’s perceived as a failure of democracy. “We need strong governments and effective public institutions,” Gaviria said.

This article originally appeared in SBPM News.

 

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