The Montesinos Scandal: The Last Straw for the Fujimori Government

 
A political cartoon in the Honduran newspaper La Prensa shows President Alberto Fujimori of Peru committing harakiri with a sword inscribed with the name of Vladimiro Montesinos, the head of the state intelligence services. The irony, the cartoon points out, is that Fujimori himself brought on his own demise. The New York Times made the same point, attributing the fall of Fujimori's government to its own internal rot.

The legitimacy of the Fujimori administration has been undermined by serious irregularities. These include interpreting the constitution to allow for a third re-election, alleged instances of electoral fraud, attacks against press freedoms, and government intervention in the judicial process.

These problems were already under scrutiny by a special mission of the Organization of American States (OAS). But, Fujimori's fate took a rapid turn after two incidents that led directly back to Montesinos: the trafficking through Peru of Jordanian arms to Colombian guerrilla forces, and the release of a video showing Montesinos offering a bribe to opposition Congressman Alberto Kouri. These events combined were enough to finish off Fujimori's presidency.

As protesters gathered in front of the presidential palace in Lima, Fujimori had no choice but to call for new elections, shorten his presidential term and relinquish the power that he so wanted to retain.

The problem, as many critics point out, is that the Kouri case appears to be only one instance of a network of corruption that can be traced past Fujimori to the power behind the throne: Montesinos. Public opinion and the media have taken to calling him a modern-day Rasputin, whose relationship with the president was described as a "political marriage" by a leading member of the opposition in Congress. Thanks to international pressure, however, Montesinos has been offered political asylum in Panama, and it is unclear whether he will ever be brought to justice for his actions.

According to Coletta Youngers of the Washington Office on Latin America, the situation is "a Pandora's box that will bring forth more and more cases related to corruption at high levels of government." Some hints are already emerging of involvement by high-ranking military officials and members of the intelligence services in illegal arms and drug trafficking operations.

Despite this evidence, some analysts, including Colombian Antonio Caballero, believe that Fujimori has not yet relinquished power and still commands the support of many Peruvians. "He will keep governing until the last day, a date that he himself will set," Caballero says, "and you can be sure that his own chosen candidate will win the elections."

Enrique Zileri, editor of the Peruvian newsmagazine Caretas, disagrees. "In the past, Fujimori defied the physical laws of politics, but this time there is no way out," he says. "Everything that has happened is part of a process of disintegration."

Certainly, the recent events have brought a weakening of Fujimori's political position. Some of his supporters in Congress, including opposition figures who had given him their backing, are beginning to desert. The same thing is happening at media outlets that had been considered pro-government. The civil opposition and the press are closely monitoring events, including rumors of possible unrest among members of the military loyal to Montesinos.

These are uncertain times in Peru, and at best they will lead to a transition. Any solution will have to include a cleansing of Congress and the armed forces. As an editorial in the Peruvian newspaper El Comercio noted, "the transition from autocracy to democracy will require much more than simple legal modifications."

The outcome could be positive for Latin America as a whole: If Peruvian democracy is strengthened, it will serve as a lesson in the consequences of abuse of power. In the process, one can only hope that Peru's La República newspaper was right when it hailed Fujimori's call for new elections with the headline, "A New Peru Is Born."