Alberto Fujimori, the former President of Peru died on September 11, 2024 at the age of 86. As a result, there has been a lot of controversy around how the country has decided to honor him and his past. He was the President of Peru from 1990 to 2000 until he had allegations of corruption and was ousted out of office.
When he took office, Peru was in the middle of an economic crisis. According to CNN, as a result, he implemented extreme economic measures which were known as “the Fujishock” with the aim of combating inflation.
Another key action done by Fujimori when he was in office was shutting down the Shining Path Rebel Movement, which was responsible for thousands of deaths. His government captured the leader, Abimael Guzman, of this guerilla group, which was one of the oldest in Latin America.
The controversy around his character lies with his tendency to be an authoritarian leader due to his use of force to repress any opponents. His abuse of power came to the light and in doing so took away from his achievements. His then wife, Susana Higuchiat, even came out to expose his corruption and illegal actions in the early 90s.
He continued his presidency even after his wife and others had exposed him for being corrupt. He stayed in office for a 3rd term even though there were a lot of questions around if it was really constitutional for him to do so. In late 2000, his rule fell apart when videos of his intelligence chief, Vladimiro Montesinos, bribing a congressman in the opposition became public. Although he denied that he was a part of any corrupt scandal, public perception of him became quite negative. In November of 2000, he took a trip to Japan where he decided that he was going to resign from his presidency through a fax he sent. Congress then fired him as a result and declared him unfit to rule Peru.
He has faced a lot of legal trouble and has been convicted in four criminal trials. He was convicted of authorizing an operation that was responsible for killing civilians. He was also guilty of breaking into Montesinos home in an attempt to steal the evidence of incriminating videos of him taking money from the government treasury. He was then pardoned from his human rights abuses in 2017 due to his deteriorating health which sparked protests in Lima, so he was returned to prison in 2019.
Fujimori has always tried to use the defense that all of the negative consequences of his actions were done for the greater good of Peru given the state it was in during his rule. His actions have sparked a lot of controversy around his effects on Peru which is what has caused many people to oppose the actions the country has taken following his death, such as declaring 3 days of mourning following his death. The real question lies in whether or not his legacy should be honored now that he is gone or if he should be remembered for his wrongdoings in order to convey the truth.
Written by Sirisha Kunamneni
