Looking relaxed and confident in front of the world press, Mr Alejandro Toledo, defeated candidate in last Sunday's controversial presidential poll, yesterday promised a "national crusade of peaceful resistance" to prevent President Alberto Fujimori from taking office in July.
"Our democratic institutions have been blackmailed and kidnapped," said Mr Toledo (52), an economist, whose tousled hair and informal air give him the appearance of a rebellious university professor from Paris in May 1968.
"I'm not afraid of the regime," said Mr Toledo, a diminutive figure, who said he received several death threats before his appearance at a rally in the San Martin Square last Sunday. "I would much prefer that the government imprison me than other citizens," he said, referring to four protesters who have allegedly disappeared since Sunday night in Chimbote, Mr Toledo's home town.
Mr Toledo has sent representatives of his Peru Posible alliance across the country, enlisting support from social and political movements, students and soup kitchen supervisors, in a campaign which will escalate between now and July 26th, when, said Mr Toledo, "four million Peruvians will gather in Lima and prevent Fujimori from being sworn into office."
Mr Toledo described several scenarios which could resolve the impasse over Mr Fujimori's determination to take up a third five-year mandate, ranging from peaceful civil insurgency to a transition government.
Mr Toledo said he "disliked the idea of sanctions" but would keep all options open in his efforts to unseat President Fujimori. He ruled out any possible intervention by the nation's armed forces, denouncing a "corrupt army elite" who have "kidnapped" that institution in return for increased influence and financial gain.
Mr Toledo said there could be no negotiation over the nullity of last Sunday's poll. "From here on there is no possible option which countenances Fujimori remaining in power," he said.
Mr Toledo thanked Chilean President Ricardo Lagos, who described the current crisis as "negative for the region". Mr Toledo appealed specifically to Japan to take the lead in condemning Mr Fujimori.
The current situation was compared to April 1992, when Mr Fujimori closed down congress and dissolved the Supreme Court, surviving diplomatic censure by the Organisation of American States. (OAS).
"The context was completely different back then," responded Mr Toledo who explained how Mr Fujimori enjoyed significant popularity for ending subversion and achieving economic stability.
"Since then Mr Fujimori has been unable to shift the country from stability to growth," said Mr Toledo, reflecting the growing jobs crisis, as 10 per cent of Peruvians are unemployed but 60 per cent are under-employed, meaning poorly-paid, part-time work.
Mr Toledo also announced his intention of calling an international audit on the whereabouts of $10 billion income from privatisation deals, revenue which has never been properly accounted for.
In comments to The Irish Times, Mr Toledo's vice-presidential running mate, Mr Carlos Carrero, yesterday expressed satisfaction at the "strength" of the declarations by British and French governments, but hoped for "a firmer statement" from the European Community as a whole.