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08 秘鲁新总统--从贫困中崛起的经济学家
Peru's New Leader Rose From Poverty to Power
Bill Rodgers
Lima
4 Jun 2001 22:15 UTC
Alejandro Toledo, a former shoe-shine boy turned 1)economist, is now Peru's President-elect, following his victory Sunday in a 2)runoff election against a populist former President.
Mr. Toledo was born March 28, 1946 into a 3)poverty-stricken farm family of Amerindian 4)heritage. They lived in the tiny village of Cabana, in the department of Ancash, north of Lima. One of 16 children, he grew up in the port city of Chimbote - attending school, while working as a shoe-shine boy and soft-drink 5)vendor.
He was bright in school and won a 6)scholarship to study in the United States - arriving in 1965 when he was just 18 years old. Majoring in economics, he received an advanced degree from Stanford University.
He later went to work as a 7)consultant at the United Nations, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the World Bank. In 1995, he ran for President, but received just three percent of the vote.
In this year's successful 8)campaign leading up to Sunday's election, his expertise as an economist was one of his greatest 9)assets. During his victory speech Sunday night, Mr. Toledo said he would use his experience to help 10)revive Peru's 11)stagnant economy. "You have my profession as an economist at the service of the country," he declared to a cheering crowd of thousands gathered to hear him speak at a downtown Lima hotel.
It was the same hotel, the Sheraton, where Mr. Toledo more than a year ago 12)launched his protest against then-President Alberto Fujimori, who was re-elected to a third term in an electoral process tainted by irregularities. At the time, Mr. Toledo was the principal opposition Presidential candidate, but ended up 13)boycotting the election.
Mr. Toledo's protest campaign against the 14)autocratic Peruvian leader succeeded in mobilizing thousands of people to demonstrate at Mr. Fujimori's 15)inauguration last July. But it was the political uproar following the release last September of a videotape showing Mr. Fujimori's spy chief bribing an opposition lawmaker that led to the 16)ouster of the Peruvian President in November.
This role as protest leader and defender of democracy led many Peruvians to support Mr. Toledo's bid for the presidency. A former close aide at the time, journalist Alvaro Vargas Llosa, remembers being impressed by Mr. Toledo.
"He became a real civilian hero, he became somebody full of civic virtue who was able to rally an enormous amount of Peruvians who thought very differently about politics and economics - from all 17)ideological walks of life, even from the left to the right, and I thought there was enormous potential for a President there," Mr. Vargas Llosa recalled. "But I would say now, looking back, it's clear that as well as civic virtues within him, there was a fire to get power. He was 18)obsessed with getting power, of course 19)legitimately, the election had been stolen from him."
Mr. Vargas Llosa broke with Mr. Toledo in April, as 20)accusations swirled around the 21)candidate that he had 22)misappropriated funds destined for use in last year's protest movement. Mr. Toledo's personal life and judgement also were questioned, when allegations surfaced that he had used 23)cocaine and fathered, and then abandoned, an 24)illegitimate child.
Mr. Toledo denies these accusations, calling them part of a political 25)smear campaign against him. But opinion polls before Sunday's election showed many Peruvians considered him to be less than truthful.
University of Lima political scientist Joanna Drzewieniecki says the President-elect has a chance to 26)surmount these doubts about him. "The first thing Toledo has to do is to provide confidence in the fact that he's going to be a capable President, and the first important step will be who he names to his 27)cabinet," she said. "I think he's lucky in the fact that he has the choice of some of the best Peruvians and if he makes choices of people that generate a lot of confidence at home and abroad that'll be very important."
The election of a president of Amerindian 28)descent is a major event for many of Mr. Toledo's followers, who say it 29)overshadows some of these character issues. More than 80 percent of this Andean nation's 26 million people are poor or of mixed race.
In a recent interview, Mr. Toledo talked about his indigenous heritage and the need to heal Peru's divisions. "I want to be a President of all Peruvians," he said. "We are experiencing a country with deep divisions, 30)fragmented, deep wounds, polarized politically, economically, socially. If we really want to bring this country into 31)sustained rates of economic growth and social development we need to construct govern ability and that means we need to 32)integrate."
Mr. Toledo will get his chance to do this, after he is sworn-in as President on July 28.
(1) economist[I5kRnEmIst]n.经济学者, 经济家
(2) runoff n. 决赛, 决定性竞选
(3) poverty[5pRvEtI]n.贫穷, 贫困, 贫乏, 缺少
(4) heritage[5herItIdV]n.遗产, 继承权, 传统
(5) vendor[5vendE(r), -dC:(r)]n.卖主
(6) scholarship[5skRlEFIp]n.奖学金,学问,学识
(7) consultant[kEn5sQltEnt]n.顾问, 商议者, 咨询者
(8) campaign[kAm5peIn]n. (政治或商业性)活动, 竞选运动vi.参加活动, 作战
(9) assets n.资产
(10) revive[rI5vaIv]v.(使)苏醒, (使)复兴, (使)复活
(11) stagnant[5stA^nEnt]adj.停滞的, 迟钝的
(12) launch[lC:ntF]n.发射, 发行, 投放市场vt.发动, 发起vi. 投入, 开始
(13) boycott[5bCIkRt]n.vt.联合抵制, 联合排斥某国货物或与某国绝交
(14) autocratic[9R:tEJ`krAtIk]adj.独裁的, 专制的
(15) inauguration[InC:^jJ5reIF(E)n]n.就职典礼, 开幕式
(16) ouster[`aJstE(r)]n.驱逐, 夺取,[律]剥夺,驱逐
(17) ideological[9aIdIEJ`ICdVIkEl, 9IdI-]adj.意识形态的
(18) obsess[Eb5ses]vt.迷住, 使困扰
(19) legitimately adv.正当地, 合理地
(20) accusation[Akju:zeIF(E)n]n.谴责, [律]指控
(21) candidate[5kAndIdEt; (?@) 5kAndIdeIt]n.候选人, 投考者
(22) misappropriate[mIsE5prEJprIeIt]v.盗用
(23) cocaine[kEJ5keIn]n.古柯碱,可卡因
(24) illegitimate child 非婚生子(女)
(25) smear[smIE(r)]v.涂污, 诽谤n.油迹, 污点, 中伤
(26) surmount[sE5maJnt]vt.战胜, 超越, 克服, 在...顶上
(27) cabinet[5kAbInIt]n.(有抽屉或格子的)橱柜, 内阁adj.内阁的
(28) descent[dI5sent] n.世系, 血统, 侵袭
(29) overshadow[EJvE5FAdEJ]v.遮蔽, 使...失色
(30) fragmented[ frA^`mentId, `frA^mEntId ]adj.成碎片的, 片断的
(31) sustained[sE`steInd]adj.持续不变的, 相同的
(32) integrate[5IntI^reIt]vt.使成整体, 使一体化, 求...的积分v.结合
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