Failure of General Juan Velasco Alvarado's Peruvian Regime - Term Paper Example

Failure of General Juan Velasco Alvarados Peruvian Regime Introduction Latin American nations have been known to have rulers with controversial background. Peru is no different from its peers in terms of having precarious political regimes which have hindered the countrys economic, social and national progress. During the 20th century Peru had undergone tremendous changes. Between the periods from 1930 to 1968 the country strived with constitutional changes, differential regimes, and political upheaval. The period from 1963 to 1975, under the military ruler General Juan Velasco Alvarado, Peru experienced one of the most controversial times in its history, with the governments role having a deep impact on the countrys future. Thesis Statement Despite some successes, General Juan Velasco Alvarados military regime in Peru between 1963 and 1975 declined due to his misapprehension of the nations economic reforms, failure to redistribute income, lack of emphasis on international relations, and unfocused national agenda which resulted in lack of control in the economy, society and the political government. Analysis Perus political history is strived with regime failure, social upheaval, and economic turmoil. This is not surprising. However, what is surprising is the fact that during Juan Velasco Alvarados military rule, despite considerable reforms and policies implemented, and to a certain extent these have been successful, the period is considered to be a failure by some while a success by others. This controversial view can be analyzed as follows: Economic Nationalism Throughout the majority of the 20th century, Peru was dominated by oligarchs. For decades the people struggled against the entrenched domination of landed oligarchy. The subsequent Alvarado government which took over the civilian rule in 1963 proved to be one of the longest continuous rules during the 20th century and one of the most radical. The Alvarado government through its reforms managed to displace the oligarchs. Alvarados reforms addressed social justice, popular participation, national independence and economic development which appealed to the people. Within the first year of its government, Alvarados regime managed to establish reforms to restructure labor management relations, as well as on production and distribution of goods, and to improve foreign trade relations. Its focus was to establish a national economy with emphasis on Perus relations with the international community (Masterson 244). To improve social condition, the government established the National Social Mobilization Support System, SINAMOS to mobilize popular vote for the government, and to improve the peoples impression of the revolutionary military government. Alvarado also established the Social Property Enterprises to grant the labor population rights and share in the nations productive capacity. But before the military regime could implement its policies and reforms properly, the Peruvian public took matters in their own hands to resolve their problems. This aggressive approach to economic rights stemmed from Perus national history which was entrenched in the oligarch type of governance with concentration of wealth in the urban areas while the rural population suffered at the cost of the urban society. The Generals regime though helped displace the old oligarch, and established state-led industrialization, its benefits to the nation did not materialize immediately. As a result the peasant perceived his strategy as working against their interests (Masterson 244). Moreover, General Alvarado relied on civil advisers for visionary and social programs to lead to the manifestation of the national agenda. As a result when the government strove to restructure Perus economic system, it did not perceive a crisis was brewing in the process. Without proper planning and governance policies, these resulted in the demand for new socio-economic and political forces which favored free market policies. This and the lack of consistency in reforms contributed to Alvarados decline (Reyna 33). Failure to Redistribute Income During the 1960s, despite efforts to overcome social unrest, the oligarch continued to dominate the social classes. When the peasantry was offered the opportunity to own private land by the leading political party APRA, it appealed to the rural population. The government could not stop the peasants insurgence to purchase land from landholders which previously was available for rent. This movement of land reform stemmed from the issuance of the Pastoral Letter in 1963 by the Archdiocese of Cuzco. The land reform gave rise to high land control by the peasantry. This problem continued during the Alvarado regime, and became one of the reasons for his downfall. This was because as the urban population grew, the demand for education, housing, imports for consumption and so forth, put pressure on the government. Alvarados government could not compensate for the demand of the peasants as it was striving to meet the challenges of urban development. As a result uneven distribution of wealth resulted in discontentment (Klarén 328). Moreover, the local landlords, gamonales, continued to exert their influence, power and authority on the rural community. The paternal form of clientele continued as the hacienda peons were bound to their owners, for protection as well as survival. When they became land owners they were prepared for the levied land taxes imposed on individuals. Since the peasant and farmer populations comprised of approximately 60 percent of the countrys population, and earned 23 percent of GNP, incomes were distributed among the peasant and the hacendados which earned 100 times more than their employees. This income varied according to their produce, land size and nature of crop etc. As a result they were dependent on highly irregular income (Klaren 324; Handelman 6). Similarly, the middle class rose with new demands for education, residential location, job opportunities, consumption, and new level of income. They were mobilized up (or down) as the economy advanced but they were restricted by the scalability of the working class. New graduates became frustrated with idea of revolution, and started to espouse ideas of communism and revolution borrowed from revolutionary parties around Latin America such as Fidel Castro (Klaren 324). Lack of Foreign Investments The Alvarado regime followed a pluralist economic model. General Bermudez, a capable minister of Alvarados regime, was responsible for the economic development of Peru. He developed reforms and policies in collaboration with private sector partnership. The aim was to increase savings and investment, yet have a control over foreign capital. The goal was to develop a political climate that would support both capitalism and communism. By excluding the United States, and cooperating with the Soviet Union, China and Cuba the Alvarado government wanted to assume a middle position in the international arena to maintain national security (Diamond et al 309). This was a military strategic point of view but it greatly harmed the interest of trade. The agrarian law reform supported the security and national well-being but it significantly reduced foreign investments from nations who were US allies (Masterson 247). At a time when Perus population was increased to 9.9 million and the GNP rose to 180 percent, exports quadrupled and the national debt increased ten folds, foreign investments were critical to the save the nation from disaster yet, Alvarado focused on internal restructuring instead of financing opportunities (Klaren 323). Lack of control of State by any particular social class During General Alvarados regime witnessed the first phase of Peruvian social revolution. Although radical reforms were undertaken by the authority to redistribute income and encourage the working class to rise financially, the industrialists dominated the social milieu. Nevertheless, the government was able to develop agrarian reforms to improve the condition of the public enterprises, the working class, and property holders to eradicate the gap between the bourgeoisie and imperialism (Booth and Sorg 83). Yet these measures to stimulate industrial expansion and diversity in the economy had a negative impact on the public. The failure to attract domestic capital, the continued gap between the upper and lower classes, and the lack of a controlling group led to the development of a state with no focal group. As a result, any development initiatives taken by the government got rejected by Congress (Klaren 332). Failure of Propaganda One of the most defective aspects of Alvarados regime was its inability to develop propaganda with the nations cause in mind. The Generals government, expecting its civilian population to follow reforms and policies blindly (as was the habit of military regiment) lost popular support. Instead, the population - a majority of which was peasant - felt threatened by the expanding urban population and power. This gave rise to loss of control over the revolutionary process which was sensitive to the top government administrator and their policies. This gave rise to revolt against the government (Masterson 254). Conclusion From the above discussion one understands that the lack of a national agenda, focus on propaganda and insensitivity to the population of Peru led to the failure of General Alvarado’s regime. Instead, he could have been more flexible in his approach to leading a civilian population. Instead, he used his military approach to deal with civilian problems just as he would military ones. As a result, he lost popular confidence which led to his decline even though his government is considered to be one of the most progressive one in the political history of Peru. References Booth, David and Sorj, Bernado. Military Reformism and Social Classes: the Peruvian Experience, 1968-1980. MacMillan, London 1983. Diamond, Larry et al (eds). Democracy in Developing Countries: Latin America. Lynne Rienner: Boulder, CO. 1999: 309. Handelman, Howard. "Peasants, Landlords and Bureaucrats: The Politics of Agrarian Reform in Peru," American Universities Field Staff Reports, no. 1, 1981, p. 6. Klaren, Peter Flindell. Peru: Society and Nationhood in the Andes. Oxford University Press: New York. 2000. Reyna, Carlos. Peru: Oligarchs with New Faces. NACLA Report on the Americas. Volume: 30. Issue: 6. 1997: 33. Read More