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Peru's Humala edges ahead in polls; markets nervous
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Peru's Humala edges ahead in polls; markets nervous
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Peru's presidential candidate Ollanta Humala greets supporters at the end his closing campaign rally in Lima, June 2, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Pilar Olivares
By Patricia Velez and Teresa Cespedes
LIMA |
Fri Jun 3, 2011 8:54pm EDT
LIMA (Reuters) - Ollanta Humala appeared within striking distance of victory on Friday in Peru's presidential election, roiling financial markets amid investor fears the left-wing candidate would expand state control of the economy.
Two polls obtained by Reuters showed Humala leading by between 1 and 3.6 percentage points going into Sunday's election run-off, while another gave his right-wing rival, lawmaker Keiko Fujimori, a 1.2 point lead.
Peru's stocks and currency have swung wildly as Humala narrowed in on, and even edged ahead of, market-favorite Fujimori in various polls -- all of which show technical ties after accounting for margin of error.
Investors worry a victorious Humala will implement interventionist policies, boost social spending and undermine fiscal stability in one of the world's fastest-growing economies. Peru has grown nearly as fast as China over the past few years but a third of Peruvians still live in poverty.
"If Humala wins there's going to be a sell-off," said Roberto Melzi of Barclays in New York. "It's a credibility problem around his persona."
Stocks were down 2.9 percent on Friday while the sol currency was almost flat at 2.759 to the dollar.
Votes by Peruvians living abroad could prove crucial, and markets are bracing for the prospect of a recount that could take days.
Fujimori's father Alberto opened Peru to free trade and tamed hyperinflation while he was president in the 1990s, but he was later sent to prison for corruption and using death squads to crack down on left-wing insurgents.
Humala, who as an army commander led a bloodless revolt in 2000 to demand the elder Fujimori step down, says financial markets and corporate executives have no reason to fear him and that he has shed his radical past.
Humala, who narrowly lost the 2006 election, has sought to win over moderate voters by toning down fiery anti-capitalist rhetoric and railing against the 36-year-old Fujimori for having worked in her father's discredited government.
Stocks fell 6 percent on Wednesday before bouncing back on Thursday as competing polls gave an edge first to Humala and then to Fujimori.
The volatility comes just as Peru's stock market has linked with peers in Chile and Colombia in a bid to compete with Brazil, Latin America's economic and investment powerhouse.
PROMISES OF STABILITY
Humala reiterated promises on Friday to run a balanced budget and appoint experienced technocrats to his cabinet, while blaming speculators for market turbulence.
"They obey dark interests and want to fish in troubled waters to try to generate fear and make more money," the 48-year-old told Lima's foreign press club.
He decried what he called Alberto Fujimori's dictatorship of the 1990s, but said on Friday if elected he would be prepared to pardon Fujimori if his health were to fail. Fujimori, 72, has undergone surgery in recent years to remove tumors, but they were benign.
"No-one deserves to die in prison. You have to treat people deprived of freedom humanely. They deserve punishment, not abuse," Humala told CNN. "For humanitarian issues, there is the pardon."
Keiko Fujimori has said she will not interfere in her father's judicial process, though members of her party are calling for his release.
Humala has sought to cast himself in the vein of Brazil's center-left former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and has distanced himself from his one-time political mentor, Venezuela's firebrand leftist leader Hugo Chavez.
He has vowed to respect foreign investors who plan to pour $40 billion into mining and oil projects over the next decade. He has also promised to raise the minimum wage, ensure free healthcare for all and guarantee pensions.
Like Fujimori, he wants a windfall tax on the vast mining sector. He also says the state must vigorously regulate the economy and exert more control over "strategic" natural resources. But he has ruled out taking over private firms.
Markets are wary and prefer Fujimori, who has warned that Humala could roll back free-market reforms that were first implemented by her father and contributed to stability after years of economic chaos and guerrilla wars.
Peru's five-year credit default swaps rose 6.3 basis points to 150 basis points on Friday, driving up the cost of insuring the country's global bonds against default.
While Humala and Fujimori are from opposite ends of the political spectrum, both have criticized the slow trickle-down of wealth in a major metals producer enjoying a global commodities rally.
"Keiko means economic continuity, while Ollanta is planning another model that will mean we lose investments and suffer economically," said 41-year-old security guard Eduard Venegas, as he listened to Fujimori's closing speech at a rally in Lima that was smaller than Humala's.
"For me it comes down to economics, not politics."
(With reporting by Caroline Stauffer and Alejandro Lifschitz in Lima and Manuela Badawy in New York; Writing by Simon Gardner and Terry Wade; Editing by Kieran Murray and Eric Walsh)
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