Fujimori Lays Out Exit Strategy

L I M A , Peru, Sept. 20, 2000 -- In a flamboyant return to the public eye, President Alberto Fujimori electrified a nighttime crowd of thousands by climbing the towering gate outside the presidentialpalace to show he still has a firm grasp on power.

Fujimori, forced to loosen his 10-year grip on power by abribery scandal engulfing his intelligence chief, announcedSaturday he would deactivate the National Intelligence Service andcall new elections in which he would not be a candidate.

But Fujimori made clear from his perch 15 feet above the thronglate Tuesday that he will be the one to dictate the terms forPeru’s transition to a new government.

“Chino, don’t go! The people are with you,” the supporterschanted, using a nickname that refers to Fujimori’s Asian features.

Gritty Climb to the Top

A son of poor Japanese immigrants, Fujimori stood in a dark suitand tie atop the gate beneath an old-fashioned lamplight, waving tothe crowd, his palms smudged black by his hand-over-hand climb upthe gritty wrought iron.

The dictatorial leader, credited with defeating bloody leftistinsurgencies and ending economic chaos, showed he still hasunusually strong support — despite an internationally criticizedreputation for flouting democratic checks and balances.

“I have a mandate to govern and I will continue governing. Atransition government? There is no way I will permit that,”Fujimori said at a news conference afterward, adding he would stayon until a new government is inaugurated July 28.

Opponent Alejandro Toledo, who pulled out of May’s presidentialrunoff after charging that Fujimori planned to rig the results,insisted the new vote be held within four months and an interimgovernment formed.

Aides said Fujimori’s government wants a general election forthe presidency and congress next March, which will requirelegislative approval. The opposition agreed Tuesday to return tostalled talks on the election process.

Fujimori, who won an unprecedented third five-year term, saidhis government may reform the constitution to rule out anypresidential re-election — a chief opposition demand. But askedwhat that would mean to him in the 2006 elections, he said withoutelaboration: “I’ve got a little surprise for you about what I’mgoing to do.”

Black and White

Tuesday’s rally showed the stark political polarization of thisAndean nation of 26 million people. Thousands of Fujimori’sopponents had rallied Monday against the regime.

Jose Luis Chamorro, 28, watched Tuesday’s pro-Fujimori rallyunfold, separated from the crowd by riot police with shields.“There will be peace when the dictator is out of that palace,” hesaid.

For those in the crowd, Fujimori’s re-emergence was abittersweet moment as they began to awake to what many could littleconceive: a Peru bereft of Fujimori’s iron-fisted leadership.

Delia Cisneros, a 60-year-old schoolteacher, said she had a hardtime imagining Peru without the leader who has defeated leftistguerrillas and eased the poverty of many through government aid andfood programs, especially in rural areas.

“We support him because we love him,” said Cisneros. “Wedon’t want him to leave. He pulled us out of the misery we wereliving in and terrorism was taking the lives of my relatives atevery turn.”

“We are all afraid that we are going to return to thosetimes,” said Nancy Falcon, 41, with her 6-year-old daughter intow.

A Political Crisis Peru’s crisis erupted when an opposition leader distributed avideotape last week showing Vladimiro Montesinos, Fujimori’sclosest adviser, apparently bribing an opposition congressman tojoin government ranks. After the uproar, Fujimori stunned Peruviansby calling new elections and saying he would deactivate theintelligence agency led by Montesinos, who testified Monday behindclosed doors before a prosecutor.

Despite his authoritarian ways, Fujimori wins consistently highmarks in public opinion polls for what many Peruvians see as hishard work and ability to get the job done.

In a survey Monday of 423 Lima residents by the independent firmApoyo, Fujimori had a 47 percent job approval — barely waveringfrom an Aug. 11 survey. The poll had a margin of error of fivepercentage points.

Ivan Wilson, a 19-year-old student, looked forlorn amid a sea ofred-and-white Peruvian flags at the Fujimori rally: “If he goes,who will replace him?”