Incoming Peruvian Leader to Seek U.S. Aid

In an upcoming U.S. visit, President-elect Alejandro Toledo will seek economic assistance to help quell simmering social unrest that could explode in the economically troubled Andean nation.

“We have huge social expectations . . . that, if ignored, could risk undoing all the work we’ve done in terms of freedom and democracy,” Toledo said Friday, warning of “strikes, emigration, discontent.”

The 55-year-old centrist economist of Andean Indian descent, who takes office July 28, will launch a U.S. tour June 24. He is scheduled to meet with President Bush, members of Congress, international financiers and business leaders.

He has said he will seek as much as $500 million in the United States, Latin America, Asia and Europe for his emergency plan.

Toledo, who gained recognition by leading protest marches last year against disgraced former President Alberto Fujimori, triumphed in this month’s runoff on promises that he would resuscitate a moribund economy, stamp out rampant unemployment and heal the wounds of a nation ravaged by widespread corruption.

Although international observers were cheered by Toledo’s victory over leftist former President Alan Garcia, remembered for an economically chaotic 1985-90 government, many analysts say he faces a herculean task.

In his U.S. visit, Toledo’s plan to jump-start the stalled $54-billion economy, which shrank for the fifth straight month in April, will be high on the agenda.

Toledo, whose campaign was based on ambitious promises, including a million new jobs and a doubling of teachers’ salaries, admits that it will be an uphill battle, especially since any economic recovery won’t be felt for at least a year.

A broad social emergency plan, which would create temporary jobs with internationally funded infrastructure initiatives, would avert a possible wave of social unrest, he said.

Staving off social frustration could be especially important considering the high rates of poverty, under-employment and sharp public skepticism about elected officials after a government corruption scandal exploded last year.