Monday, June 06, 2016

Kuczynski ahead of Fujimori in Peru, but it’s still too close to call

They are still counting votes in Peru, but early indications are that the economist is leading the former president’s daughter:
"A partial count released by the government on Sunday night put Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, 77, with about a 1 percent advantage over Keiko Fujimori, 41, whose father, Alberto, ran the country in the 1990s. Officials said the result amounted to a technical tie and said they would keep counting throughout the night."
It will probably take a few days to count all of those rural votes outside Lima, the capital.    
The BBC is reporting 50.52% for Kuczynski and 49.48% for Fujimori, with 88% of votes counted.    
We would say “too close to call,” although most people in Peru are saying Kuczynski won.
This is a fascinating election, because the two finalists are center-right.  They are both proposing free-market principles now that the left went down in the first round.    
At the same time, it is really a referendum on the Fujimori years, Fujimori being the former president who is in prison for corruption.  We would call it “Fujimori fatigue”!
Peru has been a good mark on the region’s economy, as reported by CNN:
Peru is having a moment in the sun while it’s raining just about everywhere else in Latin America.
Its economy grew more than any other in Latin America last year: 3.3%. And it could be the top performer again in 2016, according to IMF projections.
Peru’s growth stands in stark contrast to the historic recessions underway in Venezuela, an oil powerhouse, and Brazil, the biggest economy in the region. Both 
are suffering under political instability, rising inflation, populist policies and public outcry for new leadership.
“Their models didn’t work. [There’s] a shift away from populism,” in Latin America, Peru’s finance minister, Alonso Segura, told CNNMoney recently.
It will take a few days to settle this election.  The best part is that another Latin American state is rejecting “socialismo y populismo.”  This is the best we can say about Peru, no matter who wins!
P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
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No 'kissin' cousins' in a Mexican election Sunday

(My new American Thinker post)

 In my last post, I mentioned that hating Trump is the only thing that the left, center and right in Mexico agree on.

 Mexico is facing a huge political crisis. We read about the teachers' union blocking streets and access to the airport. The middle class feels a lot like those Tea Party marchers of 2009, or overwhelmed by a state that does not listen to them. Many Mexicans are also worried that their country is changing, such as the legalization of abortion and talk of same sex marriage.

 What happens when a country is polarized and divided over issues? Then the screaming starts -- even if the candidates are from the same family. See this article from on the New York Times:
Arguably, the most contentious race this year has been for governor in Veracruz, a state wracked by corruption and violence. The front-runners are two cousins who, despite their family ties, have lobbed accusations and insults at each other.
Héctor Yunes Landa, the candidate for the incumbent Institutional Revolutionary Party, has accused his opponent, Miguel Ángel Yunes Linares, the candidate of a coalition between the Democratic Revolution Party and the National Action Party, of being a pedophile, warning voters to “take care of the safety of your children,” according to local news media. Mr. Yunes Linares, who is trying to break the rival party’s 87-year hold on the state’s governorship, has denied the charges.
Officials in Mr. Yunes Linares’s campaign have accused his cousin of vote buying and of underreporting his wealth in a public declaration of his assets.
Mr. Yunes Linares’s chances may have improved in light of a recent investigation by the news site Animal Político, which found that the state’s current administration funneled about $35 million to ghost companies. The governor, Javier Duarte, has denied any wrongdoing.

 And that's just Veracruz, a place known to many of our AT readers for its marvelous "danzon", a very romantic dance that our parents and grandparents also danced in Cuba.  

 In Tamaulipas, on the Texas border, both sides are claiming that the other guy has links to drug cartels.

 It's exciting in Chihuahua, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, and Sinaloa, the home of "El Chapo" currently sitting in jail likely headed for the U.S.
Again, Mexicans are angry and very angry!

 Once upon a time, Mexican elections were boring and rather predictable. The PRI would always win and lots of people would stay home on election day. Can you blame some Mexicans who yearn for those days of yesteryear when election day was just another day to watch "futbol" or cook some "carnitas" in the backyard?

 P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.



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