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MONDAY, JULY 30, 2001

Fulfilling a promise he made on the campaign trail, Alejandro Toledo on Sunday traveled to the ancient Incan city of Machu Picchu, where he held a special inauguration ceremony as Peru's first freely-elected leader of Indian descent.

Two Quechua priests made an offering of coca leaves, llama fat, sugar, grain and flowers at the 8,400-foot high city which has served as a spiritual center for hundreds of years. Flanked by a number of South American and foreign dignitaries, Toledo was presented a golden ax and an Incan necklace as hundreds of Quechua and other onlookers heralded in his Presidency with a day filled with traditional dances and celebrations.

The event -- a nod to Toledo's heritage as it paid homage to Incan spirits known as "apus" and Pachamama, the Earth Mother -- was largely symbolic. A day before in the capital of Lima, he received his formal swearing-in before Congress, where he pledged to lead a democratic administration after months of political debacles which still threaten to unravel the country.

"Today we begin a new dawn of irreversible democracy," he said. "Together we must strengthen our fragile democratic institution. Understanding our recent past, we now return to the future and say with certainty and deep conviction that there is no place for disillusion and doubt, no place for lost hope as we enter the 21st century."

Toledo, a Stanford-educated economist who once ran the streets of Chimbote as a poor shoeshine boy, rose to power this year after a two-year battle with exiled President Alberto Fujimori. The two faced off last year in a corruption-plagued race from which Toledo subsequently withdrew, guaranteeing a continuation of Fujimori's ten-year grip on the nation.

But Fujimori fell prey to scandal as his intelligence minister, Vladimoro Montesinos, was implicated in a bribery scandal. Caught on videotape, Montesinos and Fujimori both fled the country.

Fujimori's resignation from Japan, his new home, was refused while Montesinos was captured last month after an eight-month manhunt which involved the FBI. Montesinos is being held on a number of charges ranging from gun-running to money-laundering.

For Toledo, 55, his task is more than just restoring the nation's confidence in the political system. The country's $54 billion economy has been shrinking in recent months and more than half of the 26 million residents live in poverty.

To them, Toledo is promising better wages, more work and cut taxes. To the 80 percent who are of Indian and mixed heritage, he is also promising more inclusion in a society where they are the majority but who have never elected an Indian leader.

Among the initiatives Toledo is offering is public education in Indian languages. "I have a firm goal of introducing Quechua and Aymara into the education system," he said yesterday. "The time has arrived to reconnect with our cultures."

Relevant Links:
Alejandro Toledo - http://www.alejandrotoledo.com
Profile of Peru, CIA World Factbook - http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/pe.html

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Peruvians elect Indian President (6/4)
Peru headed for run-off (4/9)