US embassy cable - 05LIMA3261

UNCLAS LIMA 003261 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PINR, PE 
SUBJECT: GOVERNING PARTY CANDIDATE ELECTED AS PRESIDENT OF 
CONGRESS 
 
 
Sensitive But Unclassified, Please Handle Accordingly 
 
1. (U) On July 26, 2005, the Peruvian Congress elected 
Marcial Ayaipoma, the candidate of President Alejandro 
Toledo,s ruling Peru Posible (PP) Party, as its new 
President, succeeding Antero Flores Araoz. Although Ayaipoma 
ran unchallenged, his election proved difficult. The 
opposition APRA and Unidad Nacional (UN) parties, who both 
supported Flores Araoz last year, chose not to propose a 
candidate to replace him. Members from these parties 
threatened Ayaipoma,s election by abstaining in their votes. 
Ayaipoma needed a majority of the 108 votes cast, and in the 
end, he and the PP/FIM governing coalition scraped together 
the support needed with a vote of 59 in favor, 44 abstentions 
and 5 annulled ballots. 
 
2. (U) Ayaipoma,s first address to Congress as President 
reiterated themes he raised in public statements prior to his 
election. He called for fiscal responsibility, for support of 
the Congressional committees investigating corruption, and 
for the elaboration of a 20-point multi-partisan agenda. 
 
3. (SBU) COMMENT: Although this year,s election was not 
contested, it was still challenging for the President,s 
coalition. There has been speculation that APRA and UN 
declined to present a candidate in exchange for future 
political considerations. The opposition parties may also be 
positioning themselves for the upcoming April elections by 
turning the responsibility for the Congressional agenda (and 
for its performance) back over to the government. 
Nonetheless, Ayaipoma,s election is being seen as a success 
for Toledo. END COMMENT. 
 
4. (U) BIO NOTE: Ayaipoma describes himself as a member of 
PP,s "hard wing" and has made a name for himself as a party 
loyalist. He defended Toledo against charges in the PP 
falsification of signatures scandal and has proposed 
legislation that would punish party defectors, a problem for 
PP. A surgeon and former professor, Ayaipoma,s other 
legislative priorities focus on health and education. He has 
stated publicly that Peru Posible needs to clean house in 
order to reconsolidate and strengthen its political position. 
STRUBLE