President’s Popularity Rises Sharply

An opinion poll released Thursday confirmed the chatter on the streets: President Alberto Fujimori’s popularity has soared following a successful hostage rescue mission.

In less than a week, support for Fujimori’s presidency rose from 38 percent to 67 percent of Lima residents, the Apoyo public opinion firm said. Many Peruvians voiced astonishment that so little blood was spilled when government troops stormed the diplomatic compound where 72 hostages were held by Tupac Amaru rebels. Two soldiers and one hostage - Supreme Court Justice Carlos Giusti - died in Tuesday’s action. All 14 rebels, most of them adolescents, were slain.

“It was really marvelous. I never thought they would kill so few people,” said Jose Vladimir Chamorro, a 27-year-old money-changer.

Fujimori’s popularity skidded in mid-1996, as galloping economic growth slowed and charges of corruption within his inner circle rose, a year after he easily won re-election.

But support for the government - at least in the short term - has spiked following Tuesday’s stunning rescue mission.

“This majority support is directly related with the public judgment of the good results obtained in the raid,” said Alfredo Torres, head of Apoyo’s polling arm. “Let’s remember that in earlier polls, the majority of people said they were in favor of a peaceful solution, in part in fear of the outcome (of a military operation).”

After the raid, praise has flowed for the military’s precision in securing the hostages. Some residents took pride in reports that the 140 soldiers who conducted the raid received little assistance from abroad.