| Thousands of supporters of bourgeois opposition candidate Alejandro Toledo demonstrate against President Alberto Fujimori, whose initially popular image as an iron-handed guarantor of 'stability' soured over the years with his economic austerity measures and attacks on civil liberties. Mass protests forced him to concede a runoff ballot. After Toledo called for a boycott alleging electoral fraud, Fujimori won the second round on May 28 by a comfortable margin. In a typical display of imperial arrogance, the Clinton administration, posturing as a champion of "democracy," intervened to pressure Fujimori with threat of sanctions. U.S. rulers are worried not about democracy but about social volatility in a region they consider a haven for profitable investment. |