As we discussed on Monday night's show, Peru elected leftist candidate and former military officer Ollanta Humala.
We are very concerned because Peru is doing rather well economically.
Peru does not need a president who subscribes to "Fidelismos" or has an ideological attachment to Chavez of Venezuela!
I hope that everyone in Peru, and throughout Latin America, checks out: Peru: Obama Should Insist President Humala Strengthen Free-Market Democracy by James M. Roberts and Ray Walser, Ph.D!
Mr. Roberts is a Research Fellow for Economic Freedom and Growth in the Center for International Trade and Economics. Dr. Walser, Ph.D., is a Senior Analyst for Latin America at The Heritage Foundation. (We've had Dr Walser on our show before!)
This is their message for Pres-elect Humala:
"Peru is one of Latin America’s rising stars, thanks in part to its strong economic growth in recent years that has substantially reduced the poverty rate.
Its score in the 2011 Index of Economic Freedom, published by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal, has merited a relatively high ranking (fifth out of 29) among the countries in the region.
Outgoing President Garcia streamlined procedures for business formation, made labor regulations more flexible, reined in government spending, and fashioned a more open trade regime.
The next president needs to keep Peru on the path toward sustained financial stability and growth through continued free-market reforms and to confront ongoing problems with rule of law.
These include inadequate protection of private property rights, narco-trafficking/terrorism, and corruption at all levels of government.
Although he promised a centrist approach and spoke in the campaign of supporting free trade, Humala also pledged to raise the minimum wage.
Much of Peru’s boom is based on its white-hot mining industry, which has benefited from billions of dollars in foreign investment, yet Humala has indicated he will seek to tax “windfall” mining profits and raise the overall tax level above the current rate of 15 percent of GDP.
Now that he is on the verge of victory, international observers are wondering if Humala’s Peru will resemble Brazil and Colombia, or Bolivia and Venezuela."
Time will tell.
We hope for the best, specially since Humala won a very narrow election.
Again, we hope for the best but it's hard to get excited about Peruvian political figures who embrace Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez.
Check out our conversation with Cecilia Torres about Peru:
Listen to internet radio with Silvio Canto Jr on Blog Talk Radio
Tags: President Humala and Peru To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!At the same time, I don't like betting on leftists converting to "free market economics", specially when there are strong economic relationships with Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.
