The late Peruvian strongman’s legacy offers another reminder that neoliberalism’s economic triumphs have often been accompanied by authoritarianism and state violence. Contrary to what its advocates claim, the ideology is not really about law or institutions, but about power.
CAMBRIDGE – The script of Latin American politics too often reads like a “dictator novel,” and on September 11, another chapter drew to a close with the death of Alberto Fujimori. As the president who most defined – and divided – modern Peru, Fujimori’s legacy remains a topic of heated debate. One version of Fujimori’s epitaph would commend his economics and condemn his politics, but the deeper lesson his life story offers may be that it is impossible to separate the two.
CAMBRIDGE – The script of Latin American politics too often reads like a “dictator novel,” and on September 11, another chapter drew to a close with the death of Alberto Fujimori. As the president who most defined – and divided – modern Peru, Fujimori’s legacy remains a topic of heated debate. One version of Fujimori’s epitaph would commend his economics and condemn his politics, but the deeper lesson his life story offers may be that it is impossible to separate the two.