A chameleon president, master of metaphor
Ollanta Humala has a well-honed answer, always at the ready, in case someone should ask about his political ideology, as people tend to do.
“When they ask me if I’m from the left or from the right,” says the 51-yearold president of the South American republic of Peru, “I tell them, ‘I’m from below.’ ”
He means “below” in the economic sense — in a word, poverty.
It’s a pretty good line, partly because it’s more or less true and largely because Humala is something of an ideological chameleon — a tub-thumping socialist one moment and a champion of free enterprise the next.
A bit of both sides were on display last week as the Peruvian paid an official visit to Canada, an occasion that turned out to be a somewhat starcrossed affair.
Humala’s first full day in Canada coincided with the unexpected death of former finance minister Jim Flaherty, which resulted in the abrupt cancellation of many of the Peruvian’s planned activities in Ottawa.
That evening, the Peruvian Air Force Boeing 737 that bore Humala and his party toward Toronto was initially turned away from Pearson International Airport because its transponder was not working properly.
By the time Humala arrived at Toronto’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel, he was several hours late for a dinner in his honour hosted by the Canadian Council for the Americas.
It was well past 11 p.m. before Humala sat down with me for an after-dinner conversation.
Much of the discussion focused on the difficulties of ruling a developing country that depends heavily on a single, ecologically challenged industry — mining — to support a population of 30 million people, sharply divided between rich and poor, not to mention left and right.
In such a pressure-cooker land, it would be difficult not to make enemies, and Humala faces opposition — including his family.
His octogenarian father, Isaac, is angry because of Humala’s support for the mining industry. His mother, Elena, is disappointed because he has shown little mercy for his brother, Antauro, who is serving a 19-year sentence for an attack on a police station in which four officers were killed.
Meanwhile, many Peruvians think the president’s wife, Nadine Heredia, has an inflated opinion of herself. Peru: not an easy country to run. “There is no magic formula with which we can make an omelette without breaking some eggs,” the former army officer told me. “After my three years in government, I am still trying to get along with some people, as well as with others. . . . And so I say that one of my great responsibilities is to defend Peru, even if I have to confront some groups of Peruvians.”
During the late-night chat, Humala discussed:
The challenge of narrowing the prosperity gap.
“There are two ways: by bringing the top ones down or by creating conditions so that those below can get higher. We have opted to create opportunities for more people who find themselves outside the productive system.”
The need for both sides to compromise in nearby Venezuela, where some 40 people have been killed during two months of anti-government protests and where many supporters of President Nicolas Maduro insist his leftist government should not make concessions in the search for peace.
“The government of Venezuela and the opposition have to find a consensual path to solve the problems. . . . It has to be consensual.”
The need to diversify Peru’s economy, long based primarily on mining. “We are aware we cannot depend fundamentally on mining. We can’t be slaves to an extractive activity.”
The spectre of corruption, particularly among police. “I wouldn’t say the police are corrupt. Lamentably, as in all such situations, you do find bad elements. . . . It’s a permanent struggle to punish the corrupt.”
Relations between Peru and Canada. “I am very enthused by the bilateral relationship. . . . We are widening the agenda with Canada, not only in mining but in education, co-operation on defence, social security . . . but we can advance more.”
A recent decline in U.S. influence in a region once regarded as Washington’s backyard. “I think this is good. There are other opportunities for investment and business, not just the United States. I don’t think it is good for Latin America to put all its eggs in one basket.” Soaring economy Given the country’s red-hot economy in recent years, you might think that all Peruvians would be shouting Humala’s praises. Economic output grew at an average annual rate of 6.4 per cent from 2002 to 2012 and has slowed only a little since then. The poverty rate has been reduced dramatically, from 59 per cent of the population in 2004 to 26 per cent in 2012.
“One of my great responsibilities is to defend Peru, even if I have to confront some groups of Peruvians.” OLLANTA HUMALA PERUVIAN PRESIDENT
But Humala’s approval rate has suffered, owing to distrust on the right and impatience on the left. In a way, that is no surprise, considering the president has a tendency to migrate from one spot to another on the ideological map. In 2006, he campaigned for the presidency as a leftist maverick, similar to socialist gadfly Hugo Chavez, who ruled Venezuela for 14 years until his death from cancer a year ago. That did not go well, and Humala lost. Five years later, he ran for the presidency once again, now portraying himself as a progressive centrist. This time, he won, and he has governed as he said he would, respecting free enterprise and private ownership. This month, he won grudging praise even from the right-wing Heritage Institute in the United States. “I have an anecdote,” Humala said, describing his approach to his job. “I am like the driver of a combi — a vehicle of public transport, a van — and I have 30 million Peruvians as my passengers. And this isn’t a new van. It’s got problems with the brakes, it doesn’t have windows, the accelerator doesn’t work properly. I start at one station, and my responsibility is to get to the next stop. I have to choose the best route. I have to avoid very tight turns because the people could fall out the windows. I can’t be accelerating and braking because it would make the people ill. I can’t be turning to the left, turning to the right. I have one objective, to get to the next station, to get my people there.” Post-script: the technical problem with Humala’s airplane persisted in Toronto, and the Peruvian and his entourage were obliged to fly home on commercial flights.