LIMA, Peru – Former President Alan Garcia was inaugurated Friday for a second five-year term 16 years after leaving office, giving him an opportunity to make amends for having left Peru in economic chaos amid spiraling political violence.
Garcia's return to power after his disastrous 1985-1990 administration ended in hyperinflation and food shortages is a remarkable comeback for a president reviled for years by most Peruvians.
He swore his oath in Peru's Congress to the applause of lawmakers, ministers, judges and more than two dozen foreign dignitaries, including eight Latin American presidents, Spain's Prince Felipe of Asturias and U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez.
Garcia accepted the red-and-white sash relinquished by President Alejandro Toledo, a U.S.-trained economist and Peru's first democratically elected leader of Indian descent.
Toledo leaves behind a record of solid economic growth but is widely viewed as having failed to fulfill his promises to reduce poverty.
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