 |
Peru's Toledo to Assume Presidency Among Expectations,Worries
Alejandro Toledo will assume on Saturday Peru's presidency after announcing the formation of a cabinet which has produced both expectations and worries in the Andean nation's political circles due to its controversial composition.
Toledo's cabinet in the next five years will be headed by lawyer and financier Roberto Danino, who has lived in the United States for 12 years.
The designation of Danino as prime minister has been considered by different political forces, even Toledo's own Possible Peru party, as a flaw in the next government, due to Danino's ignorance of Peru's reality, analysts said.
Spokesmen form different political organizations have also cast doubt on the prospect of pacific coexistence of different ideas in Toledo's future cabinet, which will be formed by economists, entrepreneurs, technocrats and politicians with ideological tendencies of different descriptions.
Enrique Cornejo, head of the economic team of the center-left American Revolutionary Popular Alliance (APRA), the second largest political force in Peru's Congress, said on Friday that the cabinet's sectorial policies "are not very in tune yet."
He added that the lack of coordination between ministers would make the new government's economic program aimed at creating jobs quickly meet "certain difficulties."
Meanwhile, Congressman Rafael Rey, spokesman for the United National Alliance, the third political force in the Peruvian legislature, said the government's programs are "undefined," as there is an ideological mixture.
Rey said the search for solutions to Peru's problems is " unforeseeable," as the creation of the new cabinet was not based on principles.
Congressman Antero Flores Araoz, president of the conservative Christian Popular Party, expressed the hope that members of Toledo 's controversial cabinet "would tune up" with one another to "give a homogeneous message."
Javier Diez Canseco of the Union for Peru (UPP) said he was worried about Danino's appointment as prime minister because he's been away from Peru for many years and "Peru has changed a lot."
He also noted that "confrontation levels" could come about if Economy and Finance Minister Pedro Pablo Kuczynski insists on privatization of waterworks, central hydroelectric stations and oil refineries.
The economic analyst of the Macroconsult group, Elmer Cuba, believed the new government will have to balance social expectations with economic realism.
Cuba said that in the cabinet's formation, an adequate political balance had been achieved.
Toledo, 55, has tried to assure investors that political and legal stability has returned to Peru since ex-president Alberto Fujimori's 10-year regime collapsed last November amid corruption scandals.
After an overseas tour last month seeking funds to finance an economic recovery program, Toledo said he had obtained pledges of 1.7 billion U.S. dollars in aid.
But analysts doubt how solid the commitments are and warn that Toledo will have to produce results quickly or he will face widespread protests that could undermine his authority.
In recent weeks, unions have begun marching through Lima's streets and farmers have blocked roads around the country to draw attention to their demands.
Toledo will assume the presidency at a ceremony that is scheduled to be held at Congress' headquarters.
In This Section
|