Your typical Latin American dictatorship would normally come to power through a coup and install a group of military officers at the head of a repressive regime with opposition banned and political opponents persecuted. The case of Peru’s Alberto Fujimori almost fits the bill – except that ‘El Chino,’ Peru’s ruler during the 1990s, was democratically elected. His authoritarian takeover came after.
Mr. Fujimori’s era of terror saw extrajudicial exterminations, an attempt at ethnic cleansing, widespread corruption, and the dissolution of the country’s legislature in a so-called ‘self-coup.’
But, despite a 25-year sentence for crimes against humanity and corruption charges,...
