Peru's Bolsonaro? The Opus Dei ultra-conservative who would kick out Odebrecht

Record ID: 1606921

  • Title: Peru's Bolsonaro? The Opus Dei ultra-conservative who would kick out Odebrecht
  • Date: 18th March 2021
  • Summary: LIMA, PERU (MARCH 12, 2021) (MARCH 12, 2021) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE RAFAEL LOPEZ ALIAGA SAYING: "I've been a member (of Opus Dei) since I was 19 years old. I'm very happy, extremely happy, but it's very clear to me as a businessman, and now as a politician, the difference with a secular state. I have to follow philosophical matters. I also have a university degree in philosophy and the difference between a secular state and religious belief is very clear to me. I cannot govern a country by my religious beliefs." LOPEZ ALIAGA SITTING IN BACKGROUND DURING INTERVIEW WITH CAMERA IN FOREGROUND (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE RAFAEL LOPEZ ALIAGA SAYING: "Our Party will not allow the State to meddle in children's innocence or implement schemes that families don't approve of or sometimes approve of. Not all values can be endorsed. That's exactly what gender dictatorship is and it is being implemented in Peru." PAN FROM JOURNALIST DURING INTERVIEW TO LOPEZ ALIAGA SITTING IN CHAIR (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE RAFAEL LOPEZ ALIAGA SAYING: "We will go to the international courts so that Odebrecht pay us what it owes us and we can impose an administrative fine to immediately seize goods. Odebrecht leaves Peru on July 28 at 2p.m. (day and time when new president is sworn in) over my dead body. They will have to kill me, brother." LOPEZ ALIAGA DURING INTERVIEW AS SEEN FROM CAMERA (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE RAFAEL LOPEZ ALIAGA SAYING: "The largest deposit of lithium in the world is in Peru. It has a mineral concentration 100 times higher than Bolivian or Chilean litium. In other words, Peru is the center of lithium. (CLOSE-UP OF LOPEZ ALIAGA'S FACE) This would allow for a 10 billion dollar investment by Tesla. We could invite Tesla to make batteries in Peru, to make electric cars in Peru and give them an inclusive free zone."
  • Embargoed: 1st April 2021 05:08
  • Keywords: 2021 presidential election Peru presidential candidate Peru presidential elections Popular Renewal Party Porky Rafael Lopez Aliaga
  • Location: HUANUCO AND LIMA, PERU
  • City: HUANUCO AND LIMA, PERU
  • Country: Peru
  • Topics: South America / Central America,Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
  • Reuters ID: LVA004E4M04EF
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Peru's Rafael López Aliaga, an ultra-conservative member of Opus Dei who practices celibacy and says he wears a sackcloth to keep his physical desires in check, has a serious shot at becoming the Andean country's next president.
    The 60-year-old, who uses the nickname 'Porky' after Porky Pig on the campaign trail, has jumped in recent opinion polls ahead of the April 11 first round vote, and is firmly within a cluster of contenders who could force a second round run-off with populist front-runner Yonhy Lescano.
    López Aliaga, a financier and rail magnate, is a member of conservative Catholic organization Opus Dei. He is against abortion and said even in cases where women became pregnant after being raped they should not be allowed to have abortions but should be taken into shelters and the baby found adoptive parents if needed.
    In a recent radio interview, López Aliaga said he represses his sexual desire by thinking of the Virgin Mary and flails himself with a cilice, a sackcloth garment with points that stick into the body, a practice from early Christianity.
    He also said he opposes gay marriage, though supports a "solidarity pact" to protect same-sex couples.
    His strident anti-elitist views have led to comparisons with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, which López Aliaga rejected.
    Lopez Aliaga said his first action as president would be to expel Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht, at the center of graft probes around the region that have dragged in a number of Peruvian ex-leaders.
    "Odebrecht leaves Peru on July 28," López Aliaga told Reuters at his party offices in Lima, referring to the day on which the next president is set to take office in the world's second largest copper producer. He added he would seek a fine from the company and look to seize all its remaining assets in Peru.
    Odebrecht has admitted to bribing officials throughout Latin America in the past but said recently it has transformed itself and will be strictly guided by ethics.
    If elected, López Aliaga said he hoped to use Peru's largely untapped lithium deposits to attract investment from big names like carmaker Tesla, including with a "high-tech free zone" in Puno, near the border with Bolivia.
    In line with front-runner Lescano, he said he would also look to bring down domestic gas prices by renegotiating a contract with Argentina's Pluspetrol and would promote talks with Bolivia over a gas pipeline to import cheaper gas.
    Almost half of Peru's energy consumption is from natural gas, including a major reserve in the Andean region of Camisea, operated by Pluspetrol.
    (Production: Carlos Valdez, Arlene Eiras)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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