LIMA, Peru — Former President Alberto Fujimori sits in custody in neighboring Chile, his improbable political comeback apparently stalled for the foreseeable future.
But the looming presence of Peru's former leader has intensified a sense of national uncertainty here in his homeland as lame-duck President Alejandro Toledo stumbles to the finish line of a widely discredited five-year term and the campaign season opens for the upcoming election with no clear front-runner.
"The people have risen to ensure that the dictator does not destroy democracy anew," said Gustavo Gorriti, a respected journalist who marched near the front of a huge anti-Fujimori demonstration here recently. "But the great tragedy of Peru is that very sane and healthy forces emerge, yet we still somehow end up being represented by clowns."
Fujimori, 67, who arrived in Chile last month after five years of self-imposed exile in Japan, remains a prisoner pending an extradition request from Peru. He is wanted on corruption and human rights charges and faces a congressional ban on running for office. Peruvian authorities say that Fujimori, who has declared his candidacy for president, will not be on the ballot in the April election.
"The only way the coward Fujimori will be here on election day is as a prisoner awaiting trial on charges of betraying his country," Peruvian Vice President David Waisman said during an interview in the ornate government palace in Lima, the capital. "We intend to see to it that he pays the price for his criminality."
Fujimori and his representatives deny any wrongdoing.
Chilean officials have said they would deny Fujimori a political platform during the extradition process. A decision and final appeals could stretch beyond election day.
No one seems sure what is going to happen to Fujimori, whose political cunning is legendary. He is universally known here by the politically incorrect moniker of "El Chino," or "The Chinaman," though his parents were in fact immigrants from pre-World War II Japan.
Raucous demonstrations, nonstop media coverage, rampant speculation and rumors of just about every possible scenario have been near-daily fare here since Nov. 6, when a private plane carrying Fujimori and his entourage touched down in Santiago. His decade-long rule ended in 2000 amid a corruption scandal when Fujimori resigned by fax from Japan.
Authorities in Tokyo refused Peru's repeated requests to extradite Fujimori, who also holds Japanese citizenship.
