US embassy cable - 05LIMA3415

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 LIMA 003415 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
G for Laura Lederer 
G/TIP for Linda Brown 
State for International Religious Freedom Office 
DRL for KBrokenshire, CNewling, KCumberland, JSchechter 
WHA/PD for Mary Dean Conners 
 
STATE FOR 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, PE 
SUBJECT: Peru's Evangelicals: Political Strategy 
 
REF: Religious Freedom Report 2004 (draft) 
 
1.  (U) This is the second in a three-part series on 
Peruvian Evangelicals.  It will delineate their political 
strategy for the upcoming presidential and congressional 
elections. 
 
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Summary: 
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2.  (U) Peruvian Evangelical Christians fervently believe 
that Peru needs thoroughgoing moral reform if the country is 
to succeed.  More immediately, they want the Peruvian 
Constitution changed to guarantee the equality of all 
religions before the law.  Peru's Evangelicals are motivated 
to practice active Christian citizen participation in 
politics, following the examples of allies in Colombia and 
the U.S.  They are pursuing a dual track strategy, preparing 
presidential campaigns, but also keeping an eye on the 
possible gains in Congress that even an unsuccessful 
presidential campaign could help bring about.  According to 
some calculations, a united Evangelical vote could create a 
bloc of 5-6 Congressmen, enough to wield influence in the 
next legislature.  End Summary. 
 
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Evangelical Christians' Issues 
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3.  (U) Peruvian Evangelical Christian leaders are motivated 
by two broad issues.  One is a conviction that in order to 
succeed as a country, Peru desperately needs moral 
regeneration from below.  Evangelicals share many Peruvians' 
disappointment with democracy, the sense that democracy has 
not delivered and that impunity and corruption remain 
endemic.  In their view, those recruited from their own 
ranks can give Peru the kind of moral regeneration it 
desperately needs. 
 
4.  (U) Peru's Christian Evangelicals also want to amend 
Article 50 of the Peruvian Constitution, which affords a 
special place to the Catholic Church.  This provision has 
become the basis for a series of institutional advantages 
that the Catholic Church enjoys in the form of GOP 
favoritism in tax policy as well as exclusive official 
representation in schools, police and the military. 
Peruvian Evangelicals want a constitutional amendment that 
would guarantee all faiths equality before the law.  For 
this reason (among many others) Peru's Evangelical 
Christians deeply admire the United States.  Human Rights 
Officer found that the U.S. position on religious freedom 
was a winner in a recent presentation to Union of Peruvian 
Evangelicals (UNICEP) (reftel). 
 
5.  (U) Among contemporary Peruvian Evangelical Christians, 
there is a debate as to how best to influence politics. 
"Road to Life" Church leader and President of UNICEP Robert 
Barriger represents those who argue that the Evangelicals 
should shoot for representation in all of Peru's political 
parties, converting them from the ground up.  Others 
maintain that only an evangelical political party that will 
field candidates who espouse Christian principles can bring 
needed change to Peru.  At the moment, the latter position 
is gaining ground, reinforced by outside allies. 
 
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Colombia/US Seen as Models 
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6.  (U) Peru's Evangelicals see both Colombia and the U.S. 
as models of Christian citizen activism, and connections 
between Peruvian Evangelical Christians and similar churches 
in both countries are strong, reinforced by regular visits 
and strategy and lesson-sharing. 
 
7.  (U) Pastor Cesar Castellanos of Colombia's Road to 
Destiny Church recently gave a "Promise Keepers"-style 
sermon for 20,000 men at the National Stadium in Lima as the 
invited guest of Peter Hornung's "Living Waters" Church. 
(Hornung is one of two announced Evangelical candidates for 
President.)  Castellano made clear his own support for 
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe in a meeting with Poloff. 
Castellano claimed that Evangelical prayers and political 
support had moved Uribe from number 3 in the polls to the 
Presidency during Uribe's 2002 campaign.  Castellano put a 
regional spin on his political observations, telling Poloff 
that Latin America's Christian Evangelicals were the only 
ones who could stave off the rise of the Left in the region. 
 
8.  (U) Castellanos is not the only figure providing 
inspiration and even instruction for Peru's Evangelical 
Christians.  In November 2004, Stephen Mansfield, a 
prominent Evangelical Christian lecturer and author (his 
works include "The Faith of George Bush" and "The Faith of 
the American Soldier," http://www.mansfieldgroup.com/) 
visited Peru and, in a sermon given to "Road of Life" church 
members and others, urged the Peruvian Evangelical 
Christians to blend faith with pro-active politics. 
 
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Presidential Possibilities 
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9.  (SBU) Peruvian Evangelical Christians have two 
presidential candidates: Humberto Lay Sun and Peter Hornung. 
Lay Sun has the backing of a political party called National 
Restoration (NR).  NR was founded in 2000 and is expected to 
make the required number of signatures by the October 2005 
deadline to register as an official political party for the 
2006 elections.  Lay Sun was a member of the Truth and 
Reconciliation Commission and is considered by many to have 
the best chance of uniting Peru's Evangelical Christians. 
In addition, some supporters say -- only half jokingly -- 
that Lay will benefit from the "Asian advantage," an 
association with the Presidency of Alberto Fujimori, who is 
still regarded highly by many poor Peruvians as a leader who 
could get things done. 
 
10.  (SBU) A second Evangelical pastor, Peter Hornung, has 
also announced his candidacy.  Hornung's campaign is less 
sure.  He recently ran into difficulties when press reports 
surfaced that the party with which he was considering 
running was founded by supporters of former President 
Fujimori. 
 
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Congressional Strategy 
---------------------- 
 
11.  (U) While presidential candidates inspire the most 
discussion in this pre-election year, Evangelical Christians 
could have a greater impact in Congress.  Walter Alejos is 
currently the only Evangelical member of the Peruvian 
Congress.  A former professor at the University of Huamanga 
in Ayacucho (where he taught with SL founder Abimail 
Guzman), and a former Director of the NGO World Vision in 
Peru, Alejos laid out the congressional strategy for the 
movement to Poloff. 
 
12.  (SBU) Alejos maintains that Peruvian Evangelicals could 
become "the third or fourth force" in Peruvian politics, 
based on the number of the movement's adherents.  Alejos 
maintains that Fujimori's use of Evangelicals as well as the 
poor performance of some Evangelicals who participated in 
his government depressed the movement's appeal.  (Alejos 
said that 17 Evangelicals entered the Congress with 
Fujimori, and that all failed as Congressmen.)  Since the 
90s, however, the number of Evangelicals in Peru has only 
grown, now reaching fifteen percent of the population, 
according to Alejos.  This percentage, Alejos maintained, 
translates into 2.8 million votes nationwide, seven to eight 
hundred thousand in Lima alone.  (Note: Alejos' figures for 
possible pro-Evangelical votes strike us as high, since not 
all Lima residents are of voting age.  Nonetheless, his 
logic remains of interest.  End Note.)  These numbers, 
combined with the Evangelicals' fund-raising and outreach 
capabilities, could translate into 5-6 Congressional seats, 
a bloc big enough to wield influence beyond its numbers 
should the next government not/not enjoy a legislative 
majority. 
 
13.  (SBU) For Alejos, the seemingly long-shot presidential 
campaigns of evangelical leaders like Humberto Lay or Peter 
Hornung are less quixotic than they seem.  If a presidential 
candidate motivates Peruvian Evangelicals to vote according 
to their religious beliefs, it can only benefit the 
Evangelicals' congressional chances. 
 
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Comment: 
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14.  (SBU) Peruvian Evangelical Christians appear to be 
"getting their act together" politically, inspired by 
examples and friends from Colombia and the U.S.  Even if 
their present plans do not pan out, the Evangelicals' long- 
term vision and determination should not be underestimated. 
The last cable in this series will discuss outreach to this 
emerging sector and possible points of convergence with the 
USG. 
 
Struble