By NNN-Prensa Latina
Lima : Peruvian president Alan Garcia has been criticized for his poor performance and bad work in handling the damage caused by an earthquake, amidst growing complaints from victims about poor distribution of aid.
Critics said the president was trying to use the tragedy, which has claimed more than 500 lives, to promote his political interests to distract public opinion from the real problems.
Local media, parliamentarians and observers have questioned Garcia’s constant public appearances and defying tone when asked about the government’s inefficiency to help the earthquake victims.
The newspaper La Primera pointed out that observers felt Garcia could be seeking to improve his low ranking in the surveys by staying in Ica, a region affected by the earthquake, where he travelled the day after the quake a week ago.
It added that the president intended to stay in the region despite criticisms of media overexposure and the requests by Ica Governor Romulo Triveño and Parliamentarian Edgar Nuñez, of the governing Aprista Party, for him to return to Lima.
La Primera Director Cesar Levano criticized Garcia for his “insulting clumsiness in front of foreign collaborators and his publicity walks with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, an unconditional friend of Bush’s and the head of a State that violates human rights systematically.”
For his part, Augusto Alvarez, the director of the newspaper Peru 21, quoted Garcia when he criticized the use of quake victims for political propaganda, and compared the president’s statements with his attitude, which appeared to be aimed at turning the catastrophe into a political show.
Political observers Eduardo Toche and César Valega agreed that Garcia must resume his presidential tasks and leave the affected region in the hands of the Civil Defense, instead of using the tragedy to distract public opinion from the country’s problems.
Ollanta Humala, leader of the opposition Nationalist Party, said he suspected that some government agency was behind the slander that his party and the Venezuelan government distributed canned food bearing propaganda on it.
The move would be aimed at attenuating the negative impact of criticisms on the bad distribution of aid, Humala said.