Peruvians pay homage to former President Fernando Belaunde

June 5, 2002

LIMA, Peru - Thousands of people clogged the narrow streets of downtown Lima on Wednesday to pay homage to former President Fernando Belaunde — considered a patriarch of Peruvian democracy.

The two-time president died Tuesday of complications from a stroke. He was 89.

A horse-drawn carriage bore Belaunde's coffin, draped in the red-and-white Peruvian flag, through the capital city's colonial-era downtown as onlookers showered the procession with white flower petals.

The government declared Thursday a national holiday to honor Belaunde's burial.

A veteran of over half a century of Peruvian politics, Belaunde was first elected president in 1963. Five years later he was overthrown by a military coup and sent into exile.

But a landslide vote returned him to the presidency in 1980, ushering in Peru's return to democracy after 12 years of military rule.

Politicians of all stripes praised Belaunde after his death for his fervent dedication to democracy, his oratory and his visionary ideas on how Peru should be developed.

He was also widely hailed for a personal honesty that made him an exception to the rule in Peruvian politics.

"He was a president who fulfilled his word. He wasn't lazy, he wasn't a liar, nor was he a thief," said Mercedes Rodriguez, 75, one among the throngs that crowded the coffin's procession route.

"We bow before you, Mr. President, with profound admiration," President Alejandro Toledo said in a ceremony at Government Palace.

"We bow before a visionary, before the pioneer who populated the jungle with men and roads, before the man who loved the Peruvian countryside, before the builder of homes, highways and schools, before the orator, before the leader," he said.

Belaunde, an architect by profession, taught during his 10 years in exile at Harvard, Columbia, Johns Hopkins and George Washington universities. His time there left him a great of admirer of U.S. democracy and development.

Belaunde was to be buried Thursday in a cemetery outside Lima.

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