LIMA (Reuters) – Peru’s Alejandro Toledo was grilled in Congress yesterday over his family’s purchase of a luxury home in Lima, making him the second former president to face inquiries that could narrow the 2016 presidential field.
A preliminary investigation by the attorney general’s office into Toledo’s real estate dealings comes as two-time former President Alan Garcia faces official inquiries over thousands of presidential pardons he granted to convicted drug traffickers during his 2006-2011 term.
Both politicians have denied any wrongdoing. And though the inquiries are only getting started, they could lead to authorities blocking their expected 2016 presidential bids.
Toledo, like Garcia, has said unproven allegations against him amount to a political witch-hunt designed to derail his political future.
There are only two other probable contenders for the upcoming race with a chance of winning, according to polls.
They are first lady Nadine Heredia and Keiko Fujimori, a one-time lawmaker and the daughter of jailed former President Alberto Fujimori. Peru has never had a woman serve as president.
Heredia, the charismatic wife of President Ollanta Humala, is widely expected to run for the presidency in 2016 when her husband cannot because of a constitutional ban on consecutive terms. She has denied she plans to seek office. Lawmakers spent hours questioning Toledo yesterday for his 86-year-old mother-in-law’s purchase of a $3.8 million house in Lima through what appeared to be an offshore holding company in Costa Rica.
