Former President of Peru to speak at CIIM lecture

‘The Enterprising Presidency: Mobilizing Business for Economic Growth and Social Change’ is the theme of the latest in the Distinguished Lecture Series of the Cyprus International Institute of Management (CIIM), to be held at its premises on Thursday, June 28, at 7 pm. The speaker is Dr Alejandro Toledo, former President of Peru, internationally acclaimed economist and Distinguished Fellow at Stanford University in the US.

Dr Toledo, a charismatic personality born in absolute poverty, rose to fame and power to become the first democratically elected President of indigenous descent in Peru in 500 years. He won the elections in 2001, after leading his country’s revolt against the despotic Fujimori regime. He remained in office until 2006 and, in the space of five years, he managed to increase the Peruvian economy’s rate of growth to an unprecedented, for Latin America, six percent, while reducing inflation to 1.5% and fiscal deficit to 0.2%. With free trade agreement negotiations his government generated new investments and new jobs in Peru, cutting extreme poverty by 25%, while increasing employment by 6%.

The former shoe-shine boy, managed to rise above all obstacles to receive a top education and go on to work for the World Bank, the Interamerican Development Bank in Washington and the United Nations, before being elected to the Presidency of his homeland. His centrist economic policies, combined with his charismatic personality made him a darling of the press and a role-model for his people, who identified with his rags-to-riches story and his ‘cholo’ ancestry – part Indian and part Latino.

His unconventional political programme promised ‘capitalism with a human face’. He placed great emphasis on creating new jobs, rather than maintaining food aid and subsidy programmes, and he supported decentralisation, a key issue in provincial Peru, where the political and economic dominance of the capital, Lima, is deeply resented.

By awarding small business loans to farmers, by balancing the budget and luring foreign investment into Peru, Dr Toledo managed to combat unemployment and create new jobs. Social entrepreneurship was used as the means for sustainable growth with a humane face; sustainable enterprises, which contribute to the country’s development and help build its future, became a key agent of socioeconomic change in Peru.

Dr Toledo is striving today for free access to quality healthcare and education for all socially excluded people in Latin America and beyond, to enable them to rise to the top of their respective society, some, eventually, running their own country.

Entrance for the lecture is free but it is advisable to contact CIIM on 22462246 for reservations.