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In Peruvian Election, A Stark Choice

JACKI LYDEN, Host:

Reporter Annie Murphy is in Peru and joins us to talk about today's election. Hello, Annie.

ANNIE MURPHY: Hi, there.

LYDEN: Annie, tell us a bit more about these candidates. They are radically different.

MURPHY: Then you have Ollanta Humala, who on the other hand, is a leftist who served in the military. Humala ran for president in 2006 and he had widespread support. Back then he also had ties to Hugo Chavez. Now he's much more moderate, more like Brazil's former president Inacio Lula da Silva.

LYDEN: Apart from their background, what are the main election issues for voters?

MURPHY: Today, Peruvians talk mainly about wanting the economy to stay strong. Growth is about 7 percent right now. Many Peruvians worry about basic citizen security, particularly in Lima; education, poverty reduction. And lastly the environment is becoming a growing concern for some sectors. Particularly for indigenous groups whose land rights have been trampled by biggest extraction projects.

LYDEN: How is it that two such potentially polarizing candidates, as you described, are the last one standing?

MURPHY: Improving democracy is still quite young in a lot of ways, given that the return to a democratic government happened just a decade ago. So, like most of Latin America, there are still a huge socioeconomic inequality here, which means an entrenched elite still calls the shots. That's kind of a big part of what's going on today.

LYDEN: The winner of this election succeeds Alan Garcia. What kind of leader was he?

MURPHY: This time, his approval ratings has rarely been over 30 percent, so he hasn't gained much popularity. On the other hand, though, Peru's seen an economic boom under Garcia, so that's important to note, and the poverty rate has fallen. So. he's overseen some growth improve, but a lot of the population is not behind him.

LYDEN: Annie Murphy joined us from Lima, Peru. Thank you very much, Annie.

MURPHY: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Annie Murphy