QUECHA ALEJANDRO TOLEDO BECOMES 1ST PERUVIAN INDIGENOUS PRESIDENT
Born March 28, 1946, in Cabana, Peru, Toledo, son of Quechuan farmers, grew up in Chimbote. He earned a Bachelor’s degree at Univ. of San Francisco (1970), and 2 Master’s degrees (1971 & 1972) and later a Doctorate (1993) in economics from Stanford. He worked at the U.N. (1976–78, 1989) & World Bank (1979–81) and as a visiting scholar at Harvard (1993). In 1998, Toledo became Director of International Affairs, Graduate School of Business Administration (ESAN) in Lima. He lost bids to be President of Peru in 1995 & 2000, but won after a bribery scandal toppled President Alberto Fujimori. Peru’s economy grew and inflation nearly disappeared during his 5-year term. Limited to 1 term, Toledo taught at ESAN (2006) and founded a think tank. In 2013, his family wealth was investigated and, in 2017, he fled to California to avoid arrest for allegedly accepting $20 million in bribes from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht. He currently is fighting extradition.
Source: “Alejandro Toledo,” Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 6/3/2020, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alejandro-Toledo Photo: Marcello Casal Jr., Agência Brasil, 8/25/2003. Permissive Use.
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