Fujimori trial opens

The dark side of Peru's recent history will be excavated this week. And Lima's political elite, on all sides, has reason to fear revisiting the past.  

On Monday, the trial of former President Alberto Fujimori on myriad corruption and human rights charges begins. Fujimori still looms large over Peru, despite fleeing to Japan following a controversial re-election and corruption scandal, and resigning the presidency some seven years ago.

There has been some backlash against the excesses of his government, particularly those involving his former intelligence chief, Vladimiro Montesinos, which means a high level of approval of his standing trial among sections of the public, and the political establishment. Nonetheless, Fujimori is also credited with crushing the threat from Maoist Shining Path guerrillas, and restoring economic stability after hyperinflation and cavalier government policy during the first term of current President Alan Garcia.

His supporters have a presence in Congress -- his daughter (who was first lady for much of his government) represents Lima, where she received more votes than any other candidate in last year's election. Garcia, whose APRA party is the largest in the legislature, but lacks an overall majority, has been relying on them to pass legislation -- the trial could jeopardise this.

The trial could create a perception among Fujimori's supporters that the former president is being persecuted. His political allies could exploit this and bring out his followers -- particularly those in Lima's poor suburbs -- onto the streets, which would create potential for instability and violence.

The trial would lead to new revelations about the practices of Montesinos and his intelligence services during the 1990s, which will implicate political players from all sides.

Garcia's own human rights record during his first term is far from clean; Fujimori's trial risks drawing attention to this, and could even reveal embarrassing additional details about abuses during the late 1980s.

Proceedings could shed light on the relationship between Fujimori and APRA in the early 1990s, particularly APRA's role in supporting his 1990 presidential bid; these could damage Garcia and those around him.

There is little doubt that when, and if, Fujimori's trail concludes, it will produce a guilty verdict.  However, the Peruvian judiciary is notoriously slow and inefficient, and cases can take an extremely long time. While Garcia and his government have to be seen to be enthusiastic about bringing to justice the former president, a protracted process would suit their purposes.