NotiSur - 11/09/01 - Peru, Venezuela Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit [reminder: This is a private reading copy for personal use only. It may not be redistributed under the terms of our subscription with LADB. -- NY Transfer] ------------------------------------------------------------ L A T I N A M E R I C A D A T A B A S E NotiSur - South American Political & Economic Affairs ISSN 1060-4189 Volume 11, Number 41 November 9, 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 2001, Latin America Data Base (LADB), Latin American Institute, University of New Mexico Director: Rebecca Reynolds Bannister Editor: Patricia Hynds Staff writers: Carlos Navarro, Robert Sandels LADB ARCHIVES: Back issues are referenced to provide historical background relevant to the articles in this newsletter. These can be accessed with a subscription to the LADB searchable on-line archives at http://ladb.unm.edu/ by clicking on Search Archive. For subscription information, e-mail info@ladb.unm.edu or call 1-800-472-0888. In This Issue: PERU: CRITICS CALL FOR ACTION AS PRESIDENT ALEJANDRO TOLEDO COMPLETES FIRST 100 DAYS IN OFFICE * Rivals criticize Toledo * Charges of nepotism * The plus side of the ledger * Help from friends abroad PERU: DRUG-SURVEILLANCE FLIGHTS ON HOLD * Committee calls for substantial changes to program VENEZUELA: U.S. RECALLS ITS AMBASSADOR FOR CONSULTATIONS IN RESPONSE TO COMMENTS BY PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ * Chavez laments civilian casualties of war on terrorism * Chavez moves to clarify position * US examining relations with Chavez ____________________________________________________________ ********************* PERU ********************* PERU: CRITICS CALL FOR ACTION AS PRESIDENT ALEJANDRO TOLEDO COMPLETES FIRST 100 DAYS IN OFFICE After 100 days in office, Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo is encountering increasing criticism and frustration from both supporters and the opposition. International support, however, has brought his government a billion-dollar boost in funds to fight poverty. Toledo took office July 28, and as he marked his first 100 days in office Nov. 4, many political analysts described his administration as lacking coherence. In addition, Peruvians have not seen any economic improvement, which has led to growing protests by unions and other groups that are demanding that the government respond to social problems. Large demonstrations in cities around Peru during the past few weeks have brought calls for the president to fulfill his campaign promises, especially regarding economic development and jobs. The opposition daily Expreso said that Toledo's first 100 days "have left us with a bitter taste in our mouths." It went on to say that the president has failed to live up to the expectations people had for him. A Nov. 4 editorial in the daily La Republica, which generally supports the government, said that Toledo's administration "lacked a definition of goals and direction." The editorial also said that "one factor in the erosion in the government's image is the excessive salaries received by the president, his ministers, and parliamentarians," which have caused a "state of national indignation." The inability to control the country's political and economic situation has weakened the image of Toledo, whose approval rating has fallen sharply since he took office. In a poll by the Universidad de Lima released Oct. 31, 45% of respondents disapproved of Toledo's job since taking office, while 43.4% approved. When he took office, Toledo had an 80% approval rating. In another survey released Oct. 15 by the private firm Apoyo, Toledo's approval rating was only 42%, compared with 59% support a month earlier. "There seems to be great impatience and dissatisfaction among the population as a result of the high expectations people had for this government, which have not been fulfilled," said Apoyo director Alfredo Torres on Radioprogramas de Peru (RPP). Torres said people feel let down by Toledo, whom they expected to show stronger leadership. Instead, he has run into a wall in trying to solve a series of social, economic, and political problems in the country. He said the government has a complex and extensive job ahead of it, which will include changing the negative perceptions of the people. Lima political analyst Santiago Pedraglio said Toledo put himself in a political box by making too many promises in his campaign to defeat his main opponent, former President Alan Garcia (1985-1990), and win the presidency. "He created great expectations that are proving difficult to fulfill," Pedraglio said. Rivals criticize Toledo Toledo's rivals in the election, Garcia and Lourdes Flores Nano, have both criticized the administration's lack of direction and its failure to create jobs. Garcia said that the Toledo presidency has so far had no successes, but has created "a feeling of a lack of leadership and direction." Flores called Toledo's US$15 a month raise for teachers "ridiculous," and said he has been unable to reduce the 18% sales tax (impuesto general a las ventas) as he promised in the campaign. "The only salary that has gone up significantly is that of the president, which rose to US$18,000 a month, and that presents an ethical problem," said Flores. "Sr. Toledo cannot earn more than the British prime minister or the president of the Spanish government." The president's salary has been a major target of public criticism. Opposition politicians complained that Toledo had the highest salary of any Latin American president, in a country where half the population lives in poverty and teachers earn an average of US$170 a month. The weekly Caretas magazine pointed out that Mexican President Vicente Fox earns US$11,700 a month, Colombia's Andres Pastrana US$6,665, Argentina's Fernando de la Rua US$3,500, and Ricardo Lagos of Chile US$2,600. On Nov. 5, the government announced that the president would reduce his salary from US$18,000 a month to US$12,000, which is still the highest in Latin America. It said the extra US$6,000 a month he has received since he took office would go to create a fund, called "A Estudiar," to educate poor children. Charges of nepotism Flores also questioned Toledo's hiring his nephew Jorge "Coqui" Toledo as a consultant at a monthly salary of US$5,000. She said that, in terms of public morality, "there has also been no change." Toledo announced that his nephew had accompanied him on his trip to Ecuador and China in early October as a presidential advisor. On Oct. 31, three political parties in Congress called for an investigation of the appointment. Deputy Heriberto Benitez introduced the motion sponsored by the Partido Aprista (PAP), the Unidad Nacional (UN) alliance, and the Frente Independiente Moralizador (FIM). Benitez said it is necessary for Congress to clarify whether Toledo violated the law that prohibits government officials from contracting close relatives. Toledo has blamed the "forces of corruption"--supporters of former President Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000)--for a campaign against his government. On October 5, Toledo told a crowd of supporters at the Plaza de San Martin that there are "dark interests that have not forgiven us for having brought down the dictatorship," and that they are "conspiring" to destabilize his administration. But Toledo has also admitted that, whatever the source of the complaints, protesters have many legitimate concerns. He said the principal enemies his administration was going to conquer were "poverty, unemployment, centralization, and corruption." The plus side of the ledger In the assessments of Toledo's 100 days, there were some pluses. Analysts praised Toledo for restoring the independence of the judiciary and the armed forces, two of the institutions most heavily manipulated by Fujimori and his security advisor Vladimiro Montesinos. On Oct. 13, Toledo opened a two-day workshop for ministers, congressional deputies, and other high government officials to refine the administration's plans. The representatives and advisors from the executive and legislative branches examined ways to carry out the administration's priorities, including economic reactivation and job creation, the fight against poverty and corruption, strengthening institutions, reforming the state, and reducing centralization. At the beginning of the meeting, Toledo assessed conditions in the country when he took over the presidency, which included an ailing economy, high unemployment, low salaries, an infrastructure that only operated at 50% capacity, and major institutional problems. On Oct. 24, the Economy and Finance Ministry said it planned to increase the budget to improve health, justice, education, housing, and security, especially for the 54% of Peruvians living in poverty. The ministry said the increase would be accompanied by a reduction in the budget for military spending. On Nov. 4, Prime Minister Roberto Danino said the government was meeting this week with union leaders, business people, and Catholic Church officials in the hope of joining forces to "forge a national agreement that will give stability, in the long term, to the country." Danino repeated that the government's number one priority is to create work, and he said that to do that, the government was counting on its "Mi Vivienda" program to create 400,000 jobs. The global economic slowdown, especially the downturn in the US accentuated by the effects of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington, DC, has not made Toledo's job any easier. JP Morgan, the US financial house, recently said it now believes Peru's economy would grow by only 3% in 2002, down from a pre-Sept. 11 estimate of 5%. The lower growth will mean less tax revenues to meet the pressing political and social demands. Help from friends abroad Support for Toledo is higher abroad than it is at home. At a meeting in Madrid on Oct. 22, the international community promised US$1 billion for social programs to combat poverty and create jobs in Peru. The meeting, organized by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and hosted by the Spanish government, was attended by representatives of 18 countries and eight international organizations, including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the European Union (EU). Peruvian Prime Minister Danino said at a press conference that the aid would include US$615 million in donations, US$226 in credits, and US$158 million in an exchange of debt for development programs. He said the amount of aid exceeded the initial expectations of the government. [Sources: The Miami Herald, 10/18/01; Notimex, 10/13/01, 10/15/01, 10/22/01, 10/24/01; Reuters, 10/08/01, 10/31/01; Spanish news service EFE, 10/04/01, 10/11/01, 10/28/01, 11/04/01, 11/05/01; Associated Press, 11/03/01, 11/05/01; La Opinion (Los Angeles), 11/05/01, 11/06/01] PERU: DRUG-SURVEILLANCE FLIGHTS ON HOLD The US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has recommended that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) no longer run US anti-drug interdiction flights over Peru, if they are eventually resumed. The recommendation, which will indefinitely halt the program run by the CIA and the Peruvian air force, is the outcome of an investigation into the downing of a plane in April that resulted in the deaths of a US missionary and her daughter. The committee report blamed Peru's antiquated air-traffic control system, the unwieldy communications system and chain of command for conducting interceptions, and the inadequate language skills of both Peruvians and US personnel contracted by the CIA. It cited errors by the Peruvian military and poor US management in the April 20 incident in which a Baptist missionary plane was misidentified as a drug-smuggling plane and shot down (see NotiSur, 2001-05-18). Veronica Bowers and her seven-month-old daughter, Charity, were killed when the plane carrying Bowers and other missionaries was fired on by the Peruvian air force. Pilot Kevin Donaldson, who was wounded, made an emergency landing on a river. Jim Bowers, Veronica's husband, and their son Cory, plus two others on board survived. The report found that Donaldson had done nothing that should have led trackers to conclude he was transporting drugs. He was flying at a level, constant speed in northern Peru and was not moving toward any international borders. "The flight and route characteristics did not resemble typical drug trafficking aircraft practices," the report said. The report also noted that the Peruvian officer on board the US tracker plane merely had to consult a list of tail numbers to confirm that the plane was registered to a missionary organization. Safety procedures designed to prevent such incidents were ignored and neither the Peruvian air force nor the CIA had done much training on the procedures to ensure they were followed, the report said. It also criticized the Peruvian military for a "precipitous rush to use lethal force." "Participants in this program seemed to have an operational assumption that an intercepted plane without a flight plan was a drug trafficker," the report concluded. "Clearly, the presumption of innocence should have been paramount." While the report noted that the CIA contract employees had voiced "strong reservations" when their Peruvian counterparts sought the use of deadly force, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), the ranking Republican on the committee, said that did not exonerate the CIA. "The primary culprit in this case was lax management. Established safety procedures were permitted to erode unchecked for a period of years," Shelby said in a statement. "CIA officials, from the program manager to the director, failed to properly manage this program with tragic results." The committee's findings were similar to those of the joint report released in August. The administration first reported that Peruvian authorities on the ground failed to run a check on the plane's tail number after pilots had radioed in the information, and that Peruvian pilots ignored or failed to understand the Americans' objections. Committee calls for substantial changes to program Following the incident, US officials suspended the interdiction program and a similar program in Colombia. The committee recommended major changes to the program and said US support should be withheld until safety procedures are radically improved. Committee chair Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL) said safeguards to protect against the loss of innocent life had eroded and the CIA had failed in its oversight responsibilities. "The lack of judgment displayed by key individuals involved was the primary factor leading to this disaster," said Graham, who released the committee report on the incident. "Safety procedures, however, had degraded over time to the point where this kind of tragedy was almost inevitable. This program needs a dramatic overhaul before we should consider restarting it." The committee said changes should include only using US crews fluent in Spanish, improving the system for filing and retrieving flight plans, streamlining the process for identifying unknown aircraft, and considering giving US personnel the ability to shut down a particular operation. The committee also plans to require that the president provide an annual certification on the gravity of the trafficking threat and the safeguards in place to protect innocent people before approving a renewal of the program. It urged the administration to consider placing the program under the control of US Customs or the military since it is now known to the public, and the CIA is "normally associated with secret programs." One Senate official conceded that the committee demands are so sweeping they could end the program. US involvement in intercepting drug flights began in 199l and was suspended briefly in 1994, then resumed. Military tracker planes flown by CIA contract pilots, working with US-operated airborne and ground-based radars, pinpointed planes suspected of smuggling coca paste from Peru to Colombia, which were intercepted and sometimes shot down by Peruvian fighters. Since 1995, the CIA took part in Peru's shooting down of 14 suspected drug flights and forcing down five more, the committee report said. Eleven more flight crews were captured on the ground. Peruvian officials say Peruvian pilots have shot down 30 drug-trafficking planes in that time. Since the program was suspended, foreign officials say drug flights over Peru and Colombia have increased. [Sources: Spanish news service EFE, 10/24/01, 10/31/01; Associated Press, Reuters, 10/31/01; The New York Times, 11/01/01] ********************* VENEZUELA ********************* VENEZUELA: U.S. RECALLS ITS AMBASSADOR FOR CONSULTATIONS IN RESPONSE TO COMMENTS BY PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ Relations between the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and the administration of US President George W. Bush were seriously strained when Chavez lamented civilian casualties caused by US bombing in Afghanistan. Although the Bush administration is re-evaluating its policy toward Venezuela, that country's role as a major supplier of oil to the US makes a break in relations unlikely. Since taking office in 1999, Chavez has shaped Venezuela's foreign policy on the concept that no single nation should dominate international politics. He has maintained close relations with Cuba and visited oil-producing countries and OPEC partners, including Libya and Iraq, that the US says harbor terrorists. Other issues on which Venezuela and the US have disagreed include the US-backed multibillion-dollar Plan Colombia and Venezuela's refusal to allow US military planes to overfly its territory on anti-drug missions. Venezuelan officials insist the president's foreign policy is not anti-American, but rather independent. However, President Bush's statement following the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington, DC, that countries are either "with us or against us" make independence more risky. Chavez laments civilian casualties of war on terrorism Chavez strongly condemned the Sept. 11 attacks, saying, "It was a tragedy not only for the United States, but for the whole world." He added, "We condemn in the most energetic manner these events that so moved us." Chavez also pledged to cooperate in the anti-terrorism effort by supplying the US with a steady flow of oil and sharing intelligence. On Oct. 29, in a television address following a three-week international trip, Chavez held up photographs of women and children purportedly killed or wounded in the US bombing campaign in Afghanistan. "We must find solutions for the problem of terrorism," said Chavez. "We must find the terrorists....But not like this....Look at these children. These children were alive yesterday. They were eating with their parents and a bomb fell on them." While repeating the condemnation of the attacks and the support for the international fight against terrorism, Chavez said the struggle should focus on poverty and social discontent that fuel terrorism. "This has no justification, just as the attacks in New York [had no justification] either." In Washington, State Department spokesman Philip Reeker called Chavez's remarks "totally inappropriate." On Oct. 30, the State Department summoned Venezuela's ambassador to the US, Ignacio Arcaya, for explanations, while the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry did the same with US Ambassador to Venezuela Donna Hrinak in Caracas. On Nov. 1, the State Department reported that the Bush administration had called Hrinak to Washington for consultations "to discuss the current state of our bilateral relationship with Venezuela." Administration officials said Chavez's remarks contradicted Venezuela's position in the UN and in the Organization of American States (OAS), which expressed support for the military campaign. Chavez said he supported "the fight against terrorism, and no one should doubt that." But, he added, "we have also said from the start that you cannot respond to terror with more terror." Chavez moves to clarify position Meanwhile, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Luis Alfonso Davila said Venezuela's "humanitarian" stance should not offend the US. Venezuela insists it can both endorse the fight against terrorism and criticize US conduct. "To call for an end to the war, to advocate causes, to call attention to the need in this case to see that innocents don't keep dying, I believe these are not reasons for irritating anyone," Davila said. "We reiterate our position of friendship and cooperation with the US," said Davila. But "we cannot nor should we remain silent about our deep and growing concern at the death and pain that the war is causing to innocent people." In his four-hour radio broadcast on Nov. 3, Chavez said he regretted that the Bush administration had interpreted his words differently from the way they were intended. He said that they were "an expression of pain and a call for reflection." "If the US interpreted what I said as comparing the deaths in New York and Washington with those in Afghanistan, that was never my intention," said Chavez. "I'm telling the US government...relations with the US are very important for Venezuela...and we don't have the slightest intention of damaging them." The damage had already been done, however. "The world has changed a lot since Sept. 11, and Chavez has less maneuverability to say what he wants," said Elsa Cardoso, head of international relations graduate studies at the Universidad Central in Venezuela. US examining relations with Chavez On Nov. 5, Davila said the "diplomatic friction" was resolved. He said Chavez's remarks in his radio program had made Venezuela's position "sufficiently clear," and he called for the quick return of Ambassador Hrinak. Hrinak returned to Caracas Nov. 7. So far, trade relations between the two countries remain smooth. Venezuela sends about 1.5 million barrels of oil to the US each day, about 58% of its exports. It is the third-largest supplier of crude to the US, after Saudi Arabia and Mexico, and US oil companies have major investments in the country. Meanwhile, senior State Department, Pentagon, and National Security Council officials held two days of discussions Nov. 4-5 aimed at redefining how the US relates to Chavez. The attacks on the US have reduced US tolerance for Chavez's rhetoric, said Michael Shifter of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington policy institute. "They want to send a message that what he says matters." Other observers of US-Venezuela relations, however, say the oil link between the two nations may limit the fallout from the latest incident to strong words. "Neither side has much room to maneuver. Chavez needs every dollar he gets from the United States. And we need all the crude we can get," said Mark Falcoff of the conservative American Enterprise Institute in Washington. [Source: Inter Press Service, 11/02/01; Reuters, The New York Times, 11/03/01; The Financial Times (London), 11/04/01; El Nuevo Herald, Notimex, 11/05/01; The Miami Herald, 11/06/01; Associated Press, 09/13/01, 10/29/01, 11/02/01, 11/03/01, 11/05/01, 11/08/01] ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= pvtsa-11.09.01-14:25:57-15696