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Problems in Peru

© Carey Goodman

It is an unprecedented act within Peru's newly re-emerging democracy, and it may or may not signify trouble for the future.

Mid-term cabinet reshuffles are nothing new. Within established democracies, ministers resign and are replaced quite frequently. In Peru the cycle of resignations and reshuffles usually occur at the end of the calendar year or after 1 July in advance of the annual Presidential National Day speech on 28 July to celebrate the country's independence from Spain. The significance of reshuffles in Peru lies in the fact that on 25 June President Toledo's entire cabinet submitted letters of resignation. The main act attributable to this presumed "political crisis" is Mr. Toledo's decision to appoint members of his Peru Possible Party to various positions.

Doesn't every other head of state and/or government try to appoint political allies to government positions? Of course - but not every democracy or emerging democracy has Peru's history of political problems - or so some Peruvian politicians might argue.

The most recent example of Peru's messy political problems occurred only two years ago with the exit of President Fujimori and the ongoing saga of his intelligence chief Vladimiro Montesino. Mr. Toledo promised much and had much to deliver to restore Peru's confidence in the post-Fujimori era. The fact that his ministers should exit at the same time might indicate that Mr. Toledo still has many promises to keep to restore the confidence of Peruvian voters.

Examined another way, this mass resignation may indicate a level of progress towards creating a more stable democracy. Much of the process to build an enduring and prospering democracy is unpleasant. It is the manner in which those challenges are addressed that seals the state's fate. It would present a very different message if Mr. Toledo had ordered the firing of his chief ministers. It would present a very different message if what is now underway in Lima were perceived as a blatant political purge. In reality what is underway in Lima is quite the reverse: Yes, some power consolidation is at work, but the participation of those parties who have withdrawn from the coalition cabinet has not been discouraged or constrained within the mechanism of the Parliamentary process. If anything, the resignations will prove the Peru Possible Party's ability or inability to govern.

Such would be the general perception except for one other attribute all too familiar to Peruvian politics: allegations of corruption.

Corruption and the assumption of dictatorial rule to protect that corruption were the ruin of the Fujimori government. Corruption was one thing Mr. Toledo campaigned against. Now he must defend himself against the charges of it.