Alan Gabriel Ludwig Garc�a P�rez (Spanish pronunciation: ['ala? ga�'?jel lu�'wi?

ga?'si.a 'pe?es]; 23 May 1949 � 17 April 2019) was a Peruvian politician who served
as President of Peru for two non-consecutive terms from 1985 to 1990 and from 2006
to 2011.[3] He was the second leader of the Peruvian Aprista Party and to date the
only party member ever to have served as President.[4] Mentored by the founder of
the APRA, V�ctor Ra�l Haya de la Torre, he served in the Constituent Assembly of
1978�1979 presided over by his leader, which drafted the Constitution of 1979.
Elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1980. He was elected to the Presidency in the
1985 general election.

His first presidential term was marked by a severe economic crisis, social unrest
and violence. He ran unsuccessfully for the presidency in 2001, losing the run-off
to Alejandro Toledo.[5] In 2006, he was elected to the presidency for a second
term. Throughout Garcia's second term, Peru experienced a steady economy, becoming
the fastest growing country in Latin America in 2008, surpassing China in terms of
rising GDP. The economic success of his presidency would be acclaimed as a triumph
by world leaders, and poverty was reduced from 48% to 28% nationally.[6][7] In
addition, Peru signed free trade agreements with the United States and China during
his presidency, but Garcia was also accused of corruption. He was succeeded by his
former 2006 run-off rival Ollanta Humala in 2011. He withdrew from party politics
after failing to advance to the second round of the 2016 general election, placing
fifth in his bid for a record third term as president as the candidate of the
heavily-criticized Popular Alliance coalition between his party and the centre-
right Christian People's Party, which included former rival Lourdes Flores as his
first running mate.[8]

On 17 April 2019, Garc�a died from self-inflicted gunshot to the head as police
officers were preparing to arrest him over matters relating to the Odebrecht
scandal.[9][10] He was transferred in serious condition to the Casimiro Ulloa
hospital, where he remained for more than three hours in the operating room, during
which time he had three cardiorespiratory arrests before his death. Garc�a became
the second head of state of Peru to die of suicide after Gustavo Jim�nez, who did
so in 1933.

Garc�a is considered one of the most controversial yet talented politicians of

Peru's contemporary history.[11] He was known as an immensely charismatic orator.
[12]

Contents
1 Early life
2 First presidency
3 Exile
4 Return to politics
4.1 2001 Peruvian national election
4.2 2006 Peruvian national election
5 Second presidency
5.1 Foreign affairs
6 Post-presidency
6.1 Megacomission
6.2 Odebrecht scandal and suicide
7 Public image
8 Awards and recognitions
9 Published works
10 See also
11 References
12 External links
Early life
Born in the Maison de Sant� Clinic of the Barranco District into a middle-class
family, Garc�a met his father for the first time when he was five due to his
father's imprisonment for being a member of the Peruvian Aprista Party.[13] His
mother founded the party's base in the Caman� Province of the Arequipa Region. From
a very young age, he accompanied his father to party meetings and became acquainted
with future leaders of the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA),[14] such
as Luis Alva Castro and Mercedes Cabanillas. At 14, he was already an immensely
talented orator when he first gave a speech in honour of party founder V�ctor Ra�l
Haya de la Torre, whom he admired and followed until his death.[13]

Garc�a studied law, first at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru -although
the official records of his tenure in this university were never found- and later
earning a law degree from the National University of San Marcos in 1971.[15] A year
later, he left Peru for Spain, where he studied for a PhD in law. For years Garc�a
claimed to have earned a PhD; in 2014, however, documents from the university
proved he never finished the work for it.[16] In 1974, he travelled to France with
other members of the APRA to study at the prestigious University of Paris I.[13]
After earning a degree in sociology, he was called by V�ctor Ra�l Haya de la Torre
to come back to Peru in order to run for the Constituent Assembly election in 1978.
Garc�a was elected a Member of the Assembly, where he impressed his colleagues with
his oratory and skillful rhetoric.[13] As APRA's Secretary of Organization, he was
assigned to conduct the party's public affairs in the wake of Haya de la Torre's
death in 1979.[14]

From his first marriage, Garc�a had one daughter, Carla, who is also active in
Peruvian politics.[17] With his second wife Pilar Nores, from whom he separated in
2010,[18] Garc�a had four children.[17] He also had another child from an
extramarital affair with economist Roxanne Cheesman.[19]

Already recognized as a young leader with a bright future in the country, he was
elected to Congress in 1980.[14] Two years later, he was elected General Secretary
of the Peruvian Aprista Party. He was elected to serve as president of the Republic
in the 1985 general elections.[14]

First presidency
See also: First presidency of Alan Garc�a
Garc�a won the presidential election on 14 April 1985 with 45% of the votes. Since
he did not receive the 50% of the votes required for a first-round victory, a run-
off was scheduled between him and Alfonso Barrantes (the former mayor of Lima) of
the United Left party. Barrantes, however, withdrew and decided not to enter the
run-off, saying he did not want to prolong the country's political uncertainty.
Garc�a was thus declared President on 1 June and officially took power on 28 July
1985. For the first time in its sixty-year history, the APRA party came to power in
Peru. Aged 36, Garc�a was dubbed "Latin America's Kennedy", becoming the region's
youngest president at the time,[14] and the second youngest president in Peruvian
history (the youngest was Juan Crisostomo Torrico in 1842, aged 34).

Alan Garc�a and Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonz�lez at Moncloa Palace, January
1987.
His economic policy was based on APRA's initial anti-imperialist values with Garc�a
distancing Peru from international markets, resulting in lower investment in the
country.[4] Despite his initial popularity among voters, Garc�a's term in office
was marked by bouts of hyperinflation, which reached 7,649% in 1990[14] and had a
cumulative total of 2,200,200% over the five years, which destabilized the Peruvian
economy. Foreign debt under Garc�a's administration increased to $19 billion by
1989.[4] Owing to this chronic inflation, the Peruvian currency, the sol, was
replaced by the inti in February 1985 (before his presidency began), which itself
was replaced by the nuevo sol ("new sun") in July 1991, at which time the new sol
had a cumulative value of one billion (1,000,000,000) old soles.
According to studies by the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics and
the United Nations Development Programme,[20] around the start of his presidency,
41.6% of Peruvians lived in poverty. During his presidency, this percentage
increased by 13% (to 55%) in 1991. Garc�a also made an attempt to nationalise the
banking and insurance industries. The International Monetary Fund and the financial
community recoiled after Garc�a's administration unilaterally declared a limit on
debt repayment equal to 10% of the Gross National Product, thereby isolating Peru
from international financial markets.

His presidency was marked by world-record hyperinflation with the annual rate
exceeding 13,000 percent per year. The administration devastated the local economy
as well as all governmental institutions. Hunger, corruption, injustice, abuse of
power, partisan elitism, and social unrest raised to dramatic levels spreading
throughout the whole nation due to Garc�a's misdeeds and incompetence, spurring
terrorism. The economic turbulence exacerbated social tensions and contributed in
great part to the rise of the violent Maoist rebel movement known as the Shining
Path, which launched the internal conflict in Peru and began attacking electrical
towers, causing a number of blackouts in Lima. The period also saw the emergence of
the T�pac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA).[21] The Garc�a administration
unsuccessfully sought a military solution to the growing terrorism, allegedly
committing human rights violations, which are still under investigation. These
include the Accomarca massacre, where 47 campesinos were gunned down by armed
forces in August 1985;[22] the Cayara massacre (May 1988), in which some thirty
people were killed and dozens disappeared;[23] and the summary execution of more
than 200 inmates during prison riots in Lurigancho, San Juan Bautista (El Front�n)
and Santa B�rbara in 1986.[24][25] According to an official inquiry, an estimated
1,600 forced disappearances took place during Garc�a's presidency. His own personal
involvement in these events is not clear. Garc�a was allegedly[by whom?] tied to
the paramilitary Rodrigo Franco Command, which is accused of carrying out political
murders in Peru during Garc�a's presidency. A U.S. declassified report, written in
late 1987, said that Garc�a's party, APRA, and top government officials were
running a paramilitary group, responsible for the attempted bombing of the El
Diario newspaper, then linked to Shining Path, had sent people to train in North
Korea and may have been involved in executions.[26] According to investigative
journalist Lucy Komisar, the report made it clear that it believed Garc�a had given
the orders.[26]

Alan Garc�a's historical economic failures were used by economists Rudi Dornbusch
and Sebastian Edwards to coin the term macroeconomic populism.[27] At Garc�a's
farewell speech, he was booed by the entire opposition forces and prevented him
from speaking. The anecdotical event was televised. That same day the board of the
Chamber of Deputies requested the creation of a special committee to investigate
Garc�a's Presidency, accusing him of massive corruption and illicit enrichment. The
committee attacked Garc�a with numerous proven accusations involving embezzlement,
misappropriation and bribery, based -among other trustworthy sources- on a U.S.
congressional investigation that linked Garc�a with the BCCI scandal and had found
millions of dollars in this as well as other banks. In 1991, New York District
Attorney Robert Morgenthau charged Garc�a officially. Later in 1992, then U.S.
Senator John Kerry presided over the BCCI Scandal Report
(https://archive.org/details/TheBCCIAffair), which concluded Garc�a was not only
guilty of corruption, but directly involved in an international racketeering
network with activities that included drug and arm trafficking. Finally, the
Peruvian Supreme Court declared null all the probes and constitutional accusations
gathered against Garc�a, allowing him to return to Peru after a 9-year long self-
imposed exile.

Exile
On 5 April 1992, Alberto Fujimori conducted a self-coup, through which he dissolved
the Peruvian Congress unconstitutionally and intervened in the Judiciary and other
public institutions. Due to these actions, various politicians were persecuted and
prevented from leaving their homes. Garc�a had been serving as Senator for life
since 1990, although he was unable to perform his duty due to the accusations of
the Chamber of Deputies. On 18 October 1991, the Senate debated the proposal made
by the lower house to indict Garc�a for alleged crimes of illicit enrichment and
against the public faith, allegedly committed when he was performing public
functions. The full Senate decided to suspend former President Alan Garc�a from the
exercise of his functions as senator for life and put him on trial for alleged
illicit enrichment during his presidential term with 38 votes in favor and 17
against.[28] He was able to return to the Senate in March 1992, after the Supreme
Court dropped all constitutional charges against him. According to Jorge Del
Castillo in 2008, Alberto Fujimori ordered Vladimiro Montesinos to capture and
assassinate Garc�a on the day of the coup.[29][30] According to his own testimony,
Garc�a escaped his home while military tanks took over the bloc where he lived.
After weeks of hiding in a construction site, he was able to enter the residence of
the Colombian Ambassador at the end of May, where he requested political asylum.
[31] The request was granted on 1 June, by the government of President C�sar
Gaviria. The former president left Peru through a pass that allowed him to board a
Colombian Air Force jet that transferred him to Bogot�, along with then congressman
Jorge Del Castillo. Garc�a arrived at Catam military airport and in statements to
the press promised to fight against the dictatorship of Alberto Fujimori.[32] The
regime opened judicial processes to investigate illicit enrichment and for various
accusations of corruption; after that, the extradition of Garc�a was requested from
the Colombian government, which was denied.[33]

In 1994, the Human Rights Commission of the Organization of American States

denounced the Fujimori Government for violation of the rights to liberty, security
and due defense of Alan Garc�a and asked the Peruvian government to nullify the
processes initiated.[34]

In April 1995, Congress lifted Alan Garc�a's parliamentary immunity in response to

accusations of him having received bribes from the Italian consortium Tralima for
the construction of the Lima Metro. Based on this, the Civil Sector of the Supreme
Court once again made a request to the Government of Colombia for Garc�a's
extradition, which was denied because Garc�a went to live in Paris for the rest of
his exile.

During the years between 1993 and 2001, Alan Garc�a did not actively participate in
Peruvian politics, except in the publication of some works on his first presidency,
and a literary work entitled "The World of Maquiavelo". He continued denouncing the
human rights violations committed by the Fujimori administration. On rare
occasions, Alan Garc�a appeared on Peruvian television and radio from Bogot�,
Colombia.

In 2001, the Supreme Court declared the allegations that were imputed to him at the
end of his first term had been annulled.[35]

Return to politics
2001 Peruvian national election
Alan Garc�a returned to Lima on January 27 2001 at 5:35pm. His return caused so
much anticipation that a huge crowd of supporters was waiting for him at the
airport chanting his name and showing support with hundreds of signs with the words
"ALAN VUELVE". That same day at 8:30pm a rally was called in the Plaza San Martin
de Lima where Garcia gave a speech in front of a large crowd.[36] Some say[who?]
there were around 20,000 people that night. Garcia ran for president in the new
elections called by the interim president Valent�n Paniagua, and in a 60-day
election campaign he finished in second place in the first round behind Alejandro
Toledo, qualifying him for the second round. Toledo's popularity remained stable,
while Garcia's popularity was based on his innovative proposals on the issue of the
agrarian bank,[further explanation needed] not continuing with a neoliberal model,
etc. However, it was not enough to acquire more endorsements and support from
Peruvian voters and Alejandro Toledo won the general elections in the second round
with 53.1% of the vote against Garcia's 46.9%. After the 2001 election, Garcia, as
leader of the APRA party, became Leader of the Opposition.[14]

2006 Peruvian national election

Geographic distribution of second-round votes in the 2006 election, by winning

candidate.
Alan Garc�a, >2/3 of valid votes
Alan Garc�a, <2/3 of valid votes
Ollanta Humala, >2/3
Ollanta Humala, <2/3
Garc�a officially started his campaign for the April 2006 presidential election in
Lima on 20 April 2005. Ollanta Humala won the first round with 32.50% of the valid
votes, followed by Garc�a, who got 24.32% (against Lourdes Flores' 23.81%). As no
candidate won a majority, a run-off election was held on 4 June 2006 between Humala
and Garc�a. Preliminary official results gave Garc�a an advantage over his run-off
opponent, who conceded defeat.[14]

On 28 April 2006, prior to the run-off, Garc�a had become involved in a dispute
with Venezuelan President Hugo Ch�vez. For the second time in Peruvian presidential
election, Ch�vez declared his support for Ollanta Humala, Garc�a's opponent, and
referred to Garc�a as a "robber", a "bandit", and "the Carlos Andr�s P�rez of
Peru". In response, Garc�a stated that Ch�vez was "not acting as a statesman" and
challenged Ch�vez to a debate to be hosted by CNN. Garc�a called on the
Organization of American States to intervene in the matter.[37][38]

On 31 May 2006, a few days before the run-off election, Garc�a's economic adviser
Enrique Cornejo told the media that if Garc�a won in the second round, his
government would renew a US$422 million aid package with the International Monetary
Fund.[39] Anoop Singh, the IMF's Western Hemisphere Director, responded positively
by saying he was "impressed by the vision of the president-elected for Peru,
especially his commitment to applying prudent economic policy."[40]

Second presidency
See also: Second presidency of Alan Garc�a

Alan Garc�a in Brasilia right after winning his second presidency.

On 28 July 2006, Garc�a was sworn in as president, after winning approximately 53%
of the nationwide vote in the elections held on 4 June against Ollanta Humala.[14]
He would spend the majority of his second term attempting to improve his reputation
compared to his first term.[4]

He won in the capital city, Lima, and the northern coast, a geographical base of
the APRA party, but lost in the southern region (mostly impoverished but including
major cities such as Cuzco and Arequipa) and the rainforest areas, considered
Humala's strongholds. A third of the voters said that voting for him was "voting
for the lesser of two evils": although many Peruvians had a very negative
impression of Garc�a after his first term, they were frightened by rumours that
Humala would create a government based on Fidel Castro's Cuba and would turn Hugo
Ch�vez, President of Venezuela, into the virtual ruler of Peru, due to Chavez's
patronage of Humala's party. These fears were accompanied by declarations of
militarization, the re-introduction of the death penalty and criminalization and
disrespect for LGBT communities. Humala denied these rumours, but his conflicting
statements about his government's vision and Ch�vez's strong campaigning for him
created enough suspicions among voters to cost him the ballotage. With 36 seats,
APRA was the second largest bloc in the 120-seat unicameral Congress which was
sworn in a couple of days before the President. With 45 seats, Humala's Union for
Peru Party was the largest bloc, although it divided itself up into three factions.
[41]

On 28 June, one month before Garc�a was sworn in, his party gave 25 of the 79 votes
(almost one third of the votes) that ratified the Peru�United States Trade
Promotion Agreement in the Peruvian Congress, one month prior to the new
legislature that included the Union for Peru congressmen, who opposed the agreement
with the USA. The U.S. Congress ratified the agreement on 4 December 2007 and it
came into effect on 1 February 2009.[42]

In his first speech as president, Garc�a said he would appoint a Finance Minister
who was neither "an orthodox market liberal" nor a person "excessively in favour of
state intervention in the economy". The position of Prime Minister was given to
Jorge del Castillo. According to the BBC, in private interviews Garc�a had stated
his interest in a possible future trade agreement with Brazil and considered
himself "an admirer" of Brazilian President Lula da Silva.[43]

In press conferences with the foreign press, Garc�a acknowledged that the support
Humala received in the election "could not be ignored". Garc�a, in a recognition of
future domestic politics with a UPP controlled Congress, was quoted as saying "Mr.
Humala is an important political figure, and a President should consult with
different political factions".[43] However, Humala said he wouldn't salute the
winner personally, adding that "he and his party will constitute the principal
opposition bloc, not to fight Mr. Garc�a, but to defend the interests of the State
and watch the government".[44]

Alan Garc�a and George W. Bush at the White House in October 2006.
President Ch�vez of Venezuela responded to Garc�a's comments on his show Al�
Presidente by stating that it was Garc�a who owed him an apology, saying: "the only
way relations between the two countries can be restored is if Peru's elected
President [Garc�a] gives an explanation and offers an apology to the Venezuelan
people. He started throwing stones". Ch�vez questioned the legitimacy of the
election, citing 1.2 million invalid ballots and a margin of victory of 600,000
votes, although offering no evidence for his comments.[45] Garc�a, attending an
invitation to meet Brazilian president Lula da Silva, responded to Ch�vez: "Accept
your defeat in silence. Don't ask me to apologize for something arising from
interference and remarks that are unacceptable under international law."[46]
Differences with Ch�vez were left behind after the two ended their controversy at
the second South American Community of Nations Summit.[47][48]

On 20 July 2006, Garc�a named Luis Carranza as Finance Minister, a former executive
at Spain-based Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria and Central Bank director and deputy
finance chief from August 2004 to August 2005 in Alejandro Toledo's government. The
appointment was welcomed by some detractors of Garc�a's fiscal policies during his
first administration. However, Mario Huam�n Rivera, the President of the
Confederaci�n General de Trabajadores del Per� (General Workers Confederation of
Peru), the country's largest trade union, attacked the appointment, stating that
"it looks as though Alan Garc�a is not going to fulfill his promise to change
economic policy".[49][50]

On the day before his inauguration, Garc�a formally named his cabinet, including
former Secretary-General of the APRA party and re-elected Congressman Jorge del
Castillo as Prime Minister, Luis Carranza as Minister of Finance and Economy, and
Jos� Antonio Garc�a Bela�nde as Foreign Affairs Minister.[51] Garc�a was
inaugurated as President on 28 July 2006.[52]
During his campaign, Garc�a declared that he supported the death penalty for
rapists of minors;[53] he reiterated this stance while in office pushing a law on
the matter, which would modify the Criminal Code.[54] Although the issue seemed to
be stalled, Garc�a widened the range of his proposal for the death penalty, by
including terrorists in the list of those who could receive it.[55][56]

Garc�a faced his first major political defeat of his second term in office on 11
January 2007 when his proposal to introduce the death penalty as a punishment for
captured Shining Path rebels was rejected by Congress in a vote of 49 to 26. Garc�a
had promised to introduce the death penalty for Shining Path rebels during the 2006
Presidential election. Following the defeat of the proposal, Garc�a suggested a
national referendum on the issue but it was blocked by Congress. Legislators who
voted against the bill stated that it would be a breach of the American Convention
on Human Rights to which Peru is a signatory. Approximately 3000 supporters of the
proposal marched in Lima holding up photos of victims of attacks by the Shining
Path.[57]

The 189th anniversary of Peru's independence from Spain in July 2010

On 5 June 2009, Garc�a ordered police and military forces to stop Amazonian
Indigenous protesters from blocking roads in the Bagua region. They had been
demonstrating against the signing by Alan Garc�a of special decrees that allowed
foreign corporations to enter Indigenous lands for oil drilling, mining and
logging. As a result of the protests and armed military incursion, more than 100
native civilians[58] and 14 policemen were killed.[59] The government claimed, in a
redacted television commercial, that several policemen were killed after being
taken prisoner,[60] while protesters claimed the bodies of the murdered Native
Amazonians had been dumped into the river.[61][62]

With the passage of time, studies of human rights violations in Peru have
discovered a close relationship between Garc�a and the forces within Peru who
promote impunity for human rights violators, through his involvement in appointing
judges who would be sympathetic to perpetrators of human rights violations.
Additionally, Garc�a was supportive of efforts to punish judges who handed down
indictments of perpetrators. Garc�a himself was in the presidency during many gross
violations of human rights and was quite hostile to human rights organizations and
to judicial actors who seek justice for victims of human rights violations. During
his presidency Garc�a sought to tilt the legal playing field in favour of the
military and against victims. He also tried to make life difficult for NGOs seeking
to help victims. For example, he offered extensive resources to defendants and
military officers while creating new laws that would make it difficult for human
rights NGOs to do their jobs, receive necessary resources, and pursue the
advancement of judicial action that attempted to bring human rights violators to
justice.[63]

Foreign affairs

Garc�a with President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev in Lima on 24 November 2008

Leaders of the Trans-Pacific Partnership member states in 2010

After being elected, in the months prior to his inauguration, Garc�a sought to heal
Peru's relationship with Chile, which was stressed by the differences between the
governments of Alejandro Toledo and Ricardo Lagos and severely impaired by former
President Alberto Fujimori's extradition affair.[64] Garc�a's intentions were well
received by Michelle Bachelet, President of Chile, as she and Garc�a met and struck
some preliminary agreements.[65][66] These conversations eventually led to the
final draft of a landmark economic agreement with Chile a month after Garc�a was
sworn in.[67][68]
On 9 November 2006, three months after being inaugurated, Garc�a signed 12
commercial agreements with President Luiz In�cio Lula da Silva of Brazil,[69][70]
strengthening the relationship between the two countries. As part of the IIRSA
programme and continuing integration efforts � including the August 2006
negotiations between Petrobras and Petroper�[71] � these new agreements sought to
further bilateral cooperation.[72] Garc�a offered Peruvian hydropower to meet
Brazil's growing energy needs, although further details were not disclosed.[73]

Post-presidency
Garc�a, as he offered during the 2011 electoral campaign, made himself available to
the new Head of State to serve the interests of Peru in the manner required.[74]

In addition, he also dedicated himself to writing opinion articles, mainly on his

internal and external vision, primarily aimed at reducing poverty in Peru,
increasing foreign investment and issues related to the growth of the Peruvian
economy with social sensitivity.[75]

The salary increase for ministers carried out in February 2014 was harshly
criticized by the former president, who during his government cut the salary of his
Cabinet members by half, which, according to official spokesmen, caused a talent
drain of the state apparatus. Through his Twitter account, he described the measure
as "the great deal."

Garc�a ran for a third term as president in the 2016 Peruvian general election as
the candidate of the criticized Popular Alliance coalition which included APRA�s
old rival, the Christian People�s Party with Lourdes Flores as his first running
mate. The election's first round polls gave Garc�a 5.83% of the popular vote,
preventing him from participating in the runoff election.[76] Pedro Pablo Kuczynski
was ultimately elected.[77]

Megacomission
In 2013, a mega-commission was formed which lasted five years to investigate the
alleged irregularities of the second government of Alan Garc�a, with the
nationalist Sergio Tejada as head. Of the eight cases that the mega-commission
analyzed, in none of them was the commission able to continue the investigations
against the former president because he presented an amparo action against the
Commission alleging the violation of due process. As a consequence of this, the
Judicial Power annulled everything that had been done with regard to Garc�a, thus
preventing the investigation from continuing.

Odebrecht scandal and suicide

Main article: Operation Car Wash

Garc�a in 2010 with Brazilian president Luiz In�cio Lula da Silva

The Peruvian press reported that in May 2012, after leaving office, Garc�a was paid
US$100,000 to give a speech to Brazilian business leaders in S�o Paulo, money which
was later characterized in the media as, and suspected by Peruvian prosecutors to
be, a kickback from the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht. Because Garc�a
reported and paid taxes on each payment he received, and multiple organizations
were willing to pay him to have him as speaker, his defense and lawyers were
optimistic that they could show that the payments did not constitute bribery.[78]

In 2016 and 2017, five of Garc�a's former ministers were accused of corruption by
the Peruvian justice system: Yehude Simon (Prime Minister), Rosario Fern�ndez
(Minister of Justice), Mercedes Cabanillas (Minister of the Interior), �ntero
Flores Ar�oz (Minister of Defence), and Luis Nava Guibert (Minister of Production).
[79]

In November 2018, Garc�a was banned from leaving Peru by the courts due to the
Odebrecht scandal investigation. He entered the residence of the Uruguayan
ambassador on 17 November, requesting asylum. Thus, on 18 November, the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of Peru reported that the ambassador of the Eastern Republic of
Uruguay had communicated the entry of the former president to his residence and the
request for diplomatic asylum.[80] The Minister of Relations Uruguayan Foreign
Ministry, Rodolfo Nin Novoa, reported that Uruguay had decided to process the
asylum application. On 20 November, the Peruvian Foreign Ministry delivered a
diplomatic note to the Uruguayan ambassador, Carlos Barros, on the request for
diplomatic asylum presented by Alan Garc�a, expressing the position of the Peruvian
government and denying the existence of political persecution.[81] However, on 3
December his request was denied, and he subsequently left the ambassador's
residence.[82] On January 4 2019, Garc�a appeared before the prosecutor's office as
a witness to testify in the investigation carried out against Miguel Atala (former
vice president of PetroPer�), for having received a bribe from the Odebrecht
company.[83]

The scandal also led to arrests, where possible, of all of the other living former
presidents of Peru who had served since 2000: Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, Ollanta
Humala, and Alejandro Toledo.[84]

On 17 April 2019, Garc�a shot himself in the head while hiding in his bedroom as he
was being presented with a ten-day preliminary arrest warrant related to
investigations for corruption and bribes his presidential secretary allegedly
received from the Brazilian construction corporation.[85] Initial reports stated
that officers had violated protocol, allowing Garc�a to be alone with the excuse
that he was going to talk with his lawyer.[9][85] He was taken to the Casimiro
Ulloa hospital and underwent an emergency surgical procedure, during which he
experienced three cardiac arrests.[9] After four hours, his death was announced by
the heads of the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA) political party and
Nidia V�lchez, with the cause being a "massive" cerebral hemorrhage and
cardiorespiratory arrest.[85][86][9][87] According to police sources, Garc�a had
shot himself with his Colt Anaconda revolver, which had been given to him as a gift
by the Peruvian Navy during his second term, and was among nine other firearms that
the former president was licensed to own.[88]

A few hours after his death was announced, Garc�a's body was taken in a wooden
casket to the APRA headquarters in Lima, where a memorial service was held on the
same day.[89] President Mart�n Vizcarra declared a three-day mourning period.

Various Peruvian and foreign authorities and personalities expressed their

condolences to the family for the death of the former president.[90] On social
media, public opinion was more polarized.[91]

Public image
Garc�a was 2008 Latin Business Chronicle's "leader of the year" at a time when Peru
was ranked as Latin America's third-best country for business.[92][93]

Awards and recognitions

Doctor Honoris Causa - University of Delhi (1987)[94]
Published works
Garc�a was the author of several books on Peruvian and Latin American affairs. Most
of them may be found in the National Library of Peru. His published works include
the following:

1981 A la Inmensa Mayor�a: Discursos

1982 El Futuro Diferente
1987 El Desarme Financiero: Pueblo y Deuda en Am�rica Latina
1990 La Revoluci�n Regional
1991 La Defensa de Alan Garc�a
1992 El Nuevo Totalitarismo
1994 El Mundo de Maquiavelo
1997 La Falsa Modernidad
1997 Siete Tesis Err�neas del Neoliberalismo en Am�rica Latina
1999 Mi Gobierno Hizo la Regionalizaci�n
2000 La D�cada Infame: Deuda Externa 1990�1999
2003 Modernidad y Pol�tica en el Siglo XXI: Globalizaci�n con Justicia Social
2005 Sierra Exportadora: Empleo, Modernidad y Justicia en Los Andes
2011 Contra el Temor Econ�mico: Creer en el Per�
2012 Pida la Palabra: Por la Libertad, la Plenitud y el Exito
2012 Pizarro, el Rey de la Baraja: Pol�tica, confusi�n y dolor en la Conquista
2013 Noventa a�os de aprismo: Hay, hermanos, much�simo que hacer
2013 Confucio y la globalizaci�n: Comprender China y crecer con ella
2014 Sierra Exportadora: La creaci�n de la Alianza del Pac�fico
2015 Obras completas IX vol�menes
2019 Metamemor�as