Peru’s government on Thursday declared three days of national mourning over the death of former President Alberto Fujimori and granted him a state funeral despite his convictions for human rights abuses and corruption. Fujimori, who governed the South American country with an increasingly authoritarian hand between 1990 and 2000, died of cancer Wednesday at a home in the capital, Lima. He was freed from prison in December following a court ruling that granted him a pardon on humanitarian grounds. He took over a country ravaged by runaway inflation and guerrilla violence, mending the economy with bold actions, including mass privatizations of state industries. He also defeated fanatical Shining Path communist rebels, winning broad-based support. But his political career ended in disgrace. After briefly shutting down Congress and elbowing himself into a controversial third term, he fled the country in 2000, when leaked videotapes showed his spy chief bribing lawmakers. He went to Japan, the land of his parents, and famously faxed in his resignation. He was sentenced in 2009 to 25 years in prison for being the mastermind behind the slayings of 25 Peruvians while the government fought the Shining Path. The accusations against him led to years of legal wrangling, and he remained a polarizing figure throughout. After his family announced his death at age 86, dozens of his supporters stood outside the house where he died and sang a song praising his government. As Peru mourns and comes to grips with the legacy of the divisive former strongman, FRANCE 24's François Picard is joined by Denisse Rodriguez-Olivari, Visiting Fellow at the Florence School of Transnational Governance and CEO and Co-Founder of NGO Voceras.
