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DE RUEHPE #2197 1531944
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 021944Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY LIMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0823
INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 3497
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 6821
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 9565
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ JUN QUITO 0428
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 0610
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL 4272
RUMIAAA/CDR USCINCSO MIAMI FL

UNCLAS LIMA 002197 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINR PE
SUBJECT: NO SURPRISES AS PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES HOLD THEIR 
CAMPAIGN CLOSING RALLIES 
 
REF: A. LIMA 2165 
 
     ¶B. LIMA 2110 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY:  There were no surprises...

id: 66518
date: 6/2/2006 19:44
refid: 06LIMA2197
origin: Embassy Lima
classification: UNCLASSIFIED
destination: 06LIMA2165
header:
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PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHPE #2197 1531944
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 021944Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY LIMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0823
INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 3497
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 6821
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 9565
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ JUN QUITO 0428
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 0610
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL 4272
RUMIAAA/CDR USCINCSO MIAMI FL

----------------- header ends ----------------

UNCLAS LIMA 002197 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINR PE
SUBJECT: NO SURPRISES AS PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES HOLD THEIR 
CAMPAIGN CLOSING RALLIES 
 
REF: A. LIMA 2165 
 
     ¶B. LIMA 2110 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY:  There were no surprises as APRA's Alan Garcia 
and Union por el Peru's (UPP) Ollanta Humala held large 
rallies on 6/1, the final day for campaigning before the 6/4 
run-off election.  Garcia addressed an estimated 25,000 
supporters in central Lima, promising "responsible change" 
and an inclusive government, providing assurances that he 
learned from the mistakes of his 1985-90 presidency, and 
warning that Humala represented a return to "right-wing 
militarism."  Humala, who drew an estimated 10,000 followers 
to a 5/31 rally in a poor Lima suburb, held his final 
gathering on 6/1 before some 6,000 faithful in Cuzco.  He 
promised to implement a "great transformation" in politics, 
starting with a new Constitution, criticized Garcia's prior 
government, and accused the APRA candidate of being in league 
with ex-President Alberto Fujimori's former spymaster 
Vladimiro Montesinos.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. Garcia's rally attracted what the National Police 
estimated as 25,000 people to the Naval Heroes Plaza that 
fronts the Sheraton Hotel and Palace of Justice in downtown 
Lima.  Garcia continued his attacks on Humala painting him as 
a militarist option and a return to old, failed policies of 
the past in contrast to Garcia's promotion of "responsible 
change."  The APRA leader was careful to acknowledge the 
failures of his previous presidency, promising this time to 
provide a solid, stable economy without the waiting lines for 
basic necessities that many older voters associate with his 
administration.  He emphasized his six government themes: 
patriotism, democracy, an end to politics-as-usual, creation 
of jobs, labor rights, and social rights, and reiterated 
specific campaign promises: cutting GOP salaries in half; 
reducing fees for electricity, telephone, and natural gas; 
bringing water to 500,000 Lima residents, and reducing 
officials' travel and expenses.  Appealing to anti-Chilean 
sentiment, he pledged to take advantage of Peru's natural 
resources and convert Peru into a country more developed than 
its neighbor to the south. 
 
¶3.  Humala closed out his campaign in Cuzco's main plaza with 
a crowd estimated by the National Police at 6,000.  His final 
Lima rally, held the day before in the poor suburb of San 
Juan de Lurigancho, attracted some 10,000 supporters.  At 
both rallies Humala hammered on the failings of Garcia's 
previous presidency and accused Garcia of having a pact with 
former Fujimori spy chief Montesinos.  Humala continued his 
calls for a new Constitution and emphasized his plan for a 
"great transformation" that would abandon the "current 
neo-liberal economic model" and redistribute the country's 
wealth.  He also pledged a "national crusade against 
corruption" starting with an audit of the regional 
governments, as well as jail time for regional officials 
found to have robbed money.  (Note: A plurality of regional 
presidents are from Garcia's APRA party. End note.)  In his 
Cuzco speech Humala asked those gathered not to get caught-up 
in violence on election day. 
 
¶4.  Humala held a press conference on 6/1, where he read a 
letter to Interior Minister Romulo Pizarro complaining about 
violent actions against his party and the slow pace of the 
investigation into the Cuzco confrontation which left two UPP 
supporters and a bystander injured (Ref B).  In Cuzco, Humala 
visited one of the UPP local party leaders who was injured. 
Hundreds of National Police provided protection to Humala's 
motorcade as he traveled through Cuzco and there were no 
reports of violence associated with the motorcade or the 
rally. 
 
¶5.  Garcia, on 6/1, received endorsements from first-round 
losers Humberto Lay Sun and his evangelical National 
Restoration party, as well as from Martha Chavez of the 
pro-Fujimori Alliance for the Future.  Chavez, however, was 
careful to note that her endorsement was personal, and not on 
behalf of the Fujimorista movement as a whole. 
 
¶6.  COMMENT:  The presidential candidates offered no/no 
surprises in their closing rallies, with both Garcia and 
Humala repeating the main points of their respective 
campaigns and taking the usual swipes at each other.  The 
choice of the country's next leader now falls to the Peruvian 
public.  END COMMENT. 
STRUBLE 

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