The resignation of Alberto Fujimori as president of Peru opens up opportunities for democratic reform in that country. In 1992, after almost two years at the helm, Mr Fujimori, with the support of the military, suspended the constitution and dissolved a parliament which had failed to support his policy of economic shock therapy. At the time he received backing and understanding from those anxious to see a measure of economic and political stability in a country in which moral and political bankruptcy had become endemic.
Those who look to quasi-dictatorship as an answer to these problems were initially heartened. Soon after Mr Fujimori's "presidential coup d'etat", the leader of the Maoist Shining Path revolutionary group, Abimael Guzman, was captured. A measure of stability seemed possible and cautious inward investment from North America and Western Europe began. As has been shown so often in the past, however, the long-term effects of authoritarianism undo the shortterm gains. In 1995 Mr Fujimori won a second term as President with a resounding 64 per cent of the vote and shortly afterwards he pushed through a law which allowed him to be the sole interpreter of the constitution. He did this in a way which allowed him to stand for a third term. Three judges of the Constitutional Court who opposed this interpretation were removed from office by a Congress that had fallen under Mr Fujimori's control.
The descent into corrupt governance bedevilled by cronyism and state-sponsored oppression had begun. The low point was reached in May of this year when Mr Fujimori was again victorious at the polls but on this occasion the elections were shown to have been rigged in his favour. Although he has confirmed his resignation in a faxed message to Lima many Peruvians are still not convinced that he intends to go. His ability to survive had, until recently at least, been comparable to that of the former Yugoslav president, Mr Slobodan Milosevic, and his suggestion yesterday that he might return to seek a lower political office carried clear echoes of Mr Milosevic's declared intentions to continue his political career in Belgrade after his defeat at the polls by Mr Vojislav Kostunica. The Japanese authorities have already agreed to extend Mr Fujimori's stay in the land from which his parents emigrated to Peru. He may yet be tempted to apply for permanent residence.
While we may be witnessing the beginning of the end of another squalid South American regime, there are no guarantees that opportunities for a return to democratic institutions of government will be taken. A power vacuum now exists and it could quickly be filled by the military unless all politicians interested in ensuring the victory of democracy unite to prevent a takeover. The opposition leader Mr Alejandro Toledo's suggestion that the country be run for an interim period by a group of dignitaries agreed upon by the leading political forces has some merit. Some time may be needed to ensure that forthcoming elections are honestly run but it is crucial they be held at the earliest feasible date.