Word: garcia
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...problems today are not quite what they used to be: then inflation was 2.1 million percent, thousands of people were killed in terrorist violence and corruption scandals tarnished Garcia and many of his closest advisors. But this time, they seem to be hitting all at once and have forced Garcia's Cabinet to resign and have the president groping for ways to refine his administration. And the country's murderous bugaboo, the guerrillas of the Shining Path, have chosen this moment to stage their biggest attack in years...
Meanwhile, rising prices have been at the root of Garcia's exceptionally low popularity, with his approval ratings in the capital Lima falling to 23% in mid-October, his lowest since taking office in July 2006. (As a point of comparison, George Bush has an approal rating of 24%.) The corruption and terrorism headlines may force Garcia's popularity down further. All in spite of Peru's booming economy. "I would not be surprised if Garcia dropped to 10%. Peru is certainly not in bad shape, it just seems that way to many people because we can't get Garcia...
...Garcia has been dealing with a far-reaching corruption scandal that began Oct. 5, with the release of a secretly taped audio of two men talking about how they could grease the wheels for a Norwegian company to get oil and gas concessions in country. Garcia and his Cabinet chief, Jorge del Castillo, hastily called a press conference as soon as the audio was played on a local news show, trying to put distance between themselves and the men on the tape, who are also members of ruling APRA party...
...help. On the tape, one of the voices is identified as Romulo Leon, who, as Garcia's agriculture minister in the 1980s, was accused of taking kickbacks. Nothing ever came of the investigation, but his apparent reappearance in shady dealings dredged up memories that Garcia and APRA believed had been buried. On the tape, Leon, who admits it is his voice but denies wrongdoing, talks about top party leaders, boasting about meetings and inside deals...
...wake of the controversy, Garcia was forced to do cabinet-cleansing. The first to go was the energy and mines minister, but his resignation was not enough for the opposition. Lawmakers wanted more and eventually compelled Del Castillo and the remaining 15 ministers to step down...