Hopes Persist That Main Peru Parties Will Agree to Talks With Fujimori

The authoritarian government of President Alberto Fujimori and Peru’s main political parties have failed to meet for a new attempt to negotiate the restoration of democracy, but hopes persisted Wednesday that they will get together.

Fourteen parties, citing Fujimori’s delay of municipal elections, refused to attend a Tuesday “dialogue” with government ministers. Those parties had held an overwhelming majority in the Congress that Fujimori closed April 5 in a military-backed “self-coup.”

Under foreign pressure to restore democracy, Fujimori has announced that elections will be held Nov. 22 for an 80-member constituent congress that would rewrite the constitution and perform legislative functions. On July 28, the second anniversary of his inauguration, the president said those persons elected to this group would be barred from running for other elective offices for 10 years.

The president also has said that municipal elections previously scheduled for November will not be held until February.

In a statement published Wednesday, parties boycotting the talks demanded that municipal elections be held together with elections for the constituent congress. And they complained that Fujimori “has already defined the main characteristics of the constituent congress” before any negotiations have taken place.

In response, the government signaled flexibility in its negotiating position. Leaders of five small parties that did attend Tuesday’s meeting reported that Oscar de la Puente, Fujimori’s foreign minister and prime minister, told them the president’s conditions for restoring democracy are “negotiable.”

De la Puente scheduled another meeting for Friday, and officials of at least two major opposition parties hinted that they might attend. “We cannot isolate ourselves,” said a spokeswoman for the APRA party.

Sputtering attempts at dialogue have been taking place since June. Although it was not clear whether most parties would join the talks Friday, negotiations at some point seemed likely.

Public opinion surveys have indicated that a majority of Peruvians want a dialogue.