PERU: President Alejandro Toledo

The rise of Alejandro Toledo from poor Indian child to President of Peru is remarkable, indeed almost incredible. He obtained his Ph.D. in Stanford School of Education, and one of his priorities as President of Peru is education for all. It must therefore have been a blow when teachers, 300,000 in all, declared a strike and rejected the offer which the government made. An official appealed to them, saying the government did not have a cent. They vowed to continue their strike as they staged a protest march in Lima. President Toledo was selected from several candidates to give the commencement address at Stanford this year. While the choice seemed excellent, the volatility of Peruvian politics introduced an element of risk. Toledo waited before accepting until he was sure that he could come to Stanford. Now the teachers' strike threatens the stability of Peru. We hope the strike will be settled soon, but that is not certain. We assume the Stanford Administration has a fallback plan, although who would want to be called a fallback speaker?

Ronald Hilton - 5/16/03