| | On June 4, 2006, APRA candidate Alan García Pérez was elected to the presidency by 52.5% of the voters in his runoff with Ollanta Humala, who ran under the Union for Peru, with the support of his Peruvian Nationalist Party. With 36 seats, APRA has the second largest bloc--next to the Union for Peru Party's 45 seats--in the 120-seat unicameral Congress which was sworn in July 2006. After a disappointing presidential term from 1985 to 1990, García returned to the presidency with promises to improve Peru's social condition, balancing economic stability with increased social spending. His stated primary goal is to decrease poverty through job creation, especially in Peru's southern highlands where poverty is most acute. He has sought to improve relations with Peru's South American neighbors and with the United States, and to present Peru's democratic and pro-free trade path as a model for the region. | | On June 4, 2006, APRA candidate Alan García Pérez was elected to the presidency by 52.5% of the voters in his runoff with Ollanta Humala, who ran under the Union for Peru, with the support of his Peruvian Nationalist Party. With 36 seats, APRA has the second largest bloc--next to the Union for Peru Party's 45 seats--in the 120-seat unicameral Congress which was sworn in July 2006. After a disappointing presidential term from 1985 to 1990, García returned to the presidency with promises to improve Peru's social condition, balancing economic stability with increased social spending. His stated primary goal is to decrease poverty through job creation, especially in Peru's southern highlands where poverty is most acute. He has sought to improve relations with Peru's South American neighbors and with the United States, and to present Peru's democratic and pro-free trade path as a model for the region. |