Concern for the People of Peru
I take exception to the view expressed in the Opinion page article "Fujimori's Failure in Peru," April 23.
I have great concern for the people of Peru and their elected president, who is courageously fighting the entrenched corrupt bureaucracy and the "Shining Path" insurgency at the same time. We should realize that the entrenched Peruvian oligarchy would like nothing better than to get the United States on their side against President Alberto Fujimori - as seen in the machine-gunning of the US plane off the coast of Peru. The oligarchy must have thought that would raise US hackles and help them oust the one
leader in Peru who is desperately attempting to rescue his country from the corrupt bureaucracy and the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path).
The best policy for the US is not to wring our hands as the author does concerning Peruvian democracy, but to keep hands off Peru and keep the promised aid flowing to President Fujimori and the people of Peru. Richard P. Voss, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. The language of Quechua
The United Press International article "Peru Vice President Rallies Critics of Coup," April 21, incorrectly mentions that Quechua is a dialect.
Quechua, spoken by more than 13 million people in Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador, is not a dialect but a language, a major South American language. Sacha Llorentti, Lincoln, R.I. Perot: no strings attached
The editorial "Perot: the Immaculate Politician," April 21, is totally mystifying. It postulates that a President Perot may be ineffectual because of lack of political identity and connections. Parties notwithstanding, the United States is obviously wanting to end the costly and dead-end political processes. Let a President Perot proceed, and the constituencies will darn well keep track of the voting records of their elected representatives. Clearly Perot is considered a candidate because of his lack of political entailments. Norman S. Benedict, Hawthorne, Calif.
In listing qualities a president should have, I assume the author believes that President Bush has these qualities. Where are they and where have they been?
What a relief it would be to have a "gifted amateur," one with no political background but a proven record in working out financial and other problems. Politicians are a dime a dozen, but not one has a solution to our debt. Nancy Rice, Bakersfield, Calif.
Regarding the Opinion page article "Ross Perot for US Boss," April 7: Mr. Perot is the first one who has given some concrete plan to correct the deep problems we are in.
Jerry Brown and Gov. Bill Clinton talk of waste and corruption but have not put their remedies on the table as forthrightly as Perot. Jane P. Martin, Traverse City, Mich.
