Peruvian president vows to clean up politics

CALEMAR, Peru: Martin Vizcarra stepped down from a military helicopter into a small Peruvian jungle village where no president had ventured before.

Donning thick-soled boots, he journeyed across the banks of an Amazonian tributary to inaugurate a new bridge replacing a rope-andbasket system people had used for decades to cross the churning current below.

“If you’ve always been forgotten, that’s changed,” Vizcarra said to applause. “From now on, you have a president who cares.”

The president is on a crusade to clean up Peru’s corrupt politics and become a voice for the poor and forgotten after his surprising ascension earlier this year with the resignation of President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski over corruption allegations.

Initially dismissed by critics as a weak leader who would struggle to mend a divided nation, Vizcarra has instead won the praise of a jaded public.

He’s now pushing forward a referendum on Dec. 9 aimed at preventing abuse of power following a series of corruption scandals that ended the careers of some of

and politicians. The vote is expected to sail through as Vizcarra channels a growing wave of anger over misbehaving leaders.

Vizcarra’s sudden rise from little- known vice president to popular chief of state is in fact an ascent he spent years preparing for while serving as governor of one of Peru’s most sparsely populated regions.

“How do you make big decisions?

“he said in a recent interview with The Associated Press while touring the countryside.

The civil engineer-turned-politico took the reins of one of Latin America’s fastest growing economies in March after Kuczynski stepped down amid accusations by opposition lawmakers that ties to Odebrecht, the Brazilian

the region’s biggest graft scandal.

Few thought the bespectacled substitute president, who had no political party and faced a hostile opposition majority in Congress, would last very long or leave a mark. Indeed, in his first four months in office, polls showed Vizcarra’s approval rating dropping 25 points.

Then came the release of dozens of secretly recorded audio files capturing crooked judges, lawmakers and businessmen negotiating behind-the-scenes deals — one on the sentence of a man charged with raping an 11-year-old girl.

The recordings rocked an Andean nation already accustomed

still-living presidents have either been convicted or are under investigation for corruption. Thousands of Peruvians poured onto the streets and even burned case -

Seizing the moment, Vizcarra vowed he would do everything in his power to put an end to bribery, nepotism and fraud.

He compared the leaked audios to another secret recording that spurred political change: a

one of former strongman Alberto Fujimori’s aides trying to bribe a congressman. Fujimori resigned

amid mounting allegations of corruption and human rights abuses.

“I am with those who want to eradicate corruption,” Vizcarra said during the annual presidential address to the nation.

The push for a referendum appears to have marked a sea change for Vizcarra, whose approval rating quickly soared past those of his rivals in Congress and now stands at 61 percent — a major feat in a nation where most leaders leave