A border war with Ecuador in early 1995 (in which both sides claimed victory) boosted Fujimori’s popularity to a level that enabled him to win his unprecedented second-consecutive presidential election by a landslide, roundly defeating former UN secretary general Javier Perez de Cuellar. In May 1999, Fujimori and Ecuadorian President Jamil Mahuad formally ended the border dispute that dated from 1941. The accord gave Ecuador a small piece of Peruvian territory and navigation rights on some Peruvian rivers. In Ecuador, the peace treaty was considered a capitulation, turning the army against Mahuad.
Fujimori continued to rule by martial law, and took decisive steps to end terrorist opposition and violence in Peru. In 1996, the second-highest leader of Sendero, Elizabeth Cardenas Huayta, was arrested. The Tupac Amaru rebel movement was decimated in April 1997 when military commandos stormed the Japanese Embassy, where the rebels had been holding hostages since December 1996, and killed all 14 of the Tupac Amaru guerillas who had carried out the siege (only one hostage died in the raid, from a heart attack as a result of a gunshot wound).
Although the success of the embassy raid and the end of the hostage crisis at first raised Fujimori’s popularity, it soon began to decline as Peruvians wearied of Fujimori’s strong-arm tactics. Government attacks on the press and on certain members of the business community created a mounting dissatisfaction with the Fujimori regime. When Fujimori fired three Constitutional Tribunal judges for rejecting his claim to a third consecutive presidential term, Peruvians’ tolerance was pushed beyond its breaking point and protests erupted. Continuing widespread poverty (despite recent years of economic growth), coupled with governmental abuses of power and persistent guerilla violence eroded Fujimori’s popular support. As the April 2000 elections came near, Fujimori at first remained silent on whether he would seek a third term. Yet political maneuvering by his supporters had ensured that no viable candidate would rise to face him.
Opposition parties also were weak and divided. Former President Alain García, who fled the country in 1992, and faced corruption charges, became a possible candidate. Fujimori’s supporters in Congress quickly approved a law banning any former officeholder facing criminal charges from running for election. Yet, Fujimori remained vulnerable. A two-year recession and widespread unemployment had left one of two Peruvians living in poverty by mid-1999. Fujimori also was under a great deal of international pressure to rectify undemocratic conduct. In June 1999, members of the US House of Representatives said they were concerned at the “erosion of democracy and the rule of law” in Peru. A Senate subcommittee said it should be consulted before the White House gave any more American intelligence to Peru. Later that year, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights rejected Peru’s bid to withdraw from its jurisdiction, saying it would continue to summon Peruvian officials to declare in reported abuses.
Within weeks of the April 2000 elections, Fujimori seemed all but certain of winning the presidency for a third term. Yet, a virtual unknown had suddenly become a viable candidate, winning support from throughout the country. Alejandro Toledo, a 54-year-old business school professor, was soon ahead of other challengers trying to defeat Fujimori. The US-educated Toledo had a modest upbringing. His father was a bricklayer, and his mother sold fish at a street market. Of strong Indian features, Toledo quickly gained an important following in Peru’s Amerindian communities, where Fujimori had found support. The election was held on 9 April, with several international organizations monitoring polling stations.
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