Lima, Peru – Peruvian presidential candidates Alan Garcia and Ollanta Humala ended their campaigns with massive rallies in which both promised a transformation of the country.
Approaching Sunday’s runoff, Garcia was surrounded by thousands of followers on a major Lima thoroughfare, the Paseo de los Heroes Navales, a coveted site given that the capital city is home to a third of all the voters in Peru.
Meanwhile Humala managed to fill the Plaza de Armas in the Andean city of Cuzco, 1,100 kilometers (684 miles) to the southeast and a priceless part of Peru’s heritage.
Amid applause from the crowd and after watching a fireworks display, Garcia, who was president previously from 1985-90, promised to govern “for everyone.”
He promised “a profound transformation” and predicted his own victory which, he believed, would be the victory “of democracy over militarism, of freedom over the abuse of power,” a reference to the military background of Humala, a former army lieutenant colonel.
At the same time in Cuzco, Humala, who garnered more votes than any other candidate in the April 9 election, asked Peruvians to cast their votes “without fear and with hope” in order to take the country back from the “crossroads” of neoliberalism.
Humala said “a new Peru is possible,” repeating his proposals for governing the country, including a new constitution and a review of contracts that have been awarded to multinational corporations.
He also denounced ex-President Garcia for using the figure of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to discredit his candidacy and to win votes.
So concluded an electoral campaign marked by weeks of “fighting dirty” and intrusions by the Venezuelan leader, who publicly supported the Humala candidacy and went so far as to call Garcia a “corrupt thief.”
