Welcome, Mr. Peruvian President: Why Alan García is no hero to his people

Peruvian president Alan García came to Washington yesterday to meet with President Obama. Though the leaders have briefly met previously at multilateral conferences, this visit marked García’s first solo audience with the U.S. president. García, elected in 2006, has positioned his country alongside Colombia as one of the United States’ few entirely reliable allies in Latin America. With Washington’s attention to the region currently consumed by the chaos in Jamaica, cross-border relations with Mexico, and Brazil’s involvement in Iran’s nuclear diplomacy, Peru is not a U.S. foreign policy priority. García promoted the two countries’ economic ties and shared interest in a comprehensive antinarcotics strategy. The two presidents also discussed immigration reform, the free trade agreement that was implemented last year, and the global economic crisis.

After his devastating 1985-1990 presidential term, García was narrowly elected in 2006 to succeed Alejandro Toledo. Since then, García has worked tirelessly with mixed results to redeem his own reputation and to create a legacy of economic prosperity in Peru. Unfortunately for the nation, economic growth under García has not often translated into social development as large portions of Peru’s population, particularly the indigenous, have not shared the country’s prosperity. García maintains a highly strained relationship with Peruvian indigenous groups, who have protested the exploitation of the country’s natural resources. Anti-poverty programs have required major overhaul and have not successfully addressed the bulk of the poor and lower middle class’ needs. García will leave office in 2011 having brought some economic stability, but always at the cost of socioeconomic harmony in Peru.

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This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associate Elizabeth Sahner