2006 presidential campaign In October 2005 Humala created the
Partido Nacionalista Peruano (the Peruvian Nationalist Party) and ran for the presidency in 2006 with the support of
Union for Peru (UPP). Ambassador
Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, the former Peruvian
Secretary-General of the United Nations and founder of UPP, told the press on 5 December 2005, that he did not support the election of Humala as the party's presidential candidate. He said that after being the UPP presidential candidate in 1995, he had not had any further contact with UPP and therefore did not take part in choosing Humala as the party's presidential candidate for the 2006 elections. There were some accusations that he incurred in torture, under the
nom de guerre "Capitán Carlos" ("Captain Carlos"), while he was the commander of a military base in the jungle region of Madre Mia from 1992 to 1993. His brother
Antauro Humala stated in 2006 that Humala had used such a name during their activities. Humala, in an interview with
Jorge Ramos, acknowledged that he went under the pseudonym Captain Carlos but stated that other soldiers went under the same name and denied participation in any human rights abuses. On 17 March 2006, Humala's campaign came under some controversy as his father, Issac Humala, said "If I was President, I would grant amnesty to him (
Abimael Guzmán) and the other incarcerated members of the
Shining Path". He made similar statements about amnesty for
Víctor Polay, the leader of the
Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, and other leaders of the MRTA. But Ollanta Humala distanced himself from the more radical members of his family during his campaign. Humala's mother, meanwhile, made a statement on 21 March calling for homosexuals to be shot. Ollanta Humala's brother, Ulises Humala, ran against him in the election, but was considered an extremely minor candidate and came in 14th place in the election. On 9 April 2006, the first round of the Peruvian national election was held. Humala came in first place getting 30.62% of the valid votes, and immediately began preparing to face
Alan García, who obtained 24.32%, in a runoff election on 4 June. Humala campaigned in Trujillo, an eminently Aprista city, during the last week of April. Starting in May, he visited the department of Ayacucho and then the city of Puno. On 9 May, he met again with Bolivian President
Evo Morales, in the border town of Copacabana and received the support of the aforementioned president. Different Peruvian media opposed to Ollanta Humala, indicated at a certain point that the Canarian journalist Ramón Pérez Almodóvar would be advising the presidential candidate for the second electoral round, an accusation that was denied by the journalist, although he admitted that he was participating in the campaign. On 20 May 2006, the day before the first presidential debate between Alan García and Ollanta Humala, a tape of the former Peruvian intelligence chief
Vladimiro Montesinos was released by Montesinos' lawyer to the press with Montesinos claiming that Humala had started the 29 October 2000 military uprising against the Fujimori government to facilitate his escape from Peru amidst corruption scandals. Montesinos is quoted as saying it was a "farce, an operation of deception and manipulation". Humala immediately responded to the charges by accusing Montesinos of being in collaboration with García's Aprista Party with an intention to undermine his candidacy. Humala is quoted as stating "I want to declare my indignation at the statements" and went on to say "Who benefits from the declarations that stain the honor of Ollanta Humala? Evidently they benefit Alan García". In another message that Montesinos released to the media through his lawyer he claimed that Humala was a "political pawn" of Cuban President
Fidel Castro and Venezuelan President
Hugo Chávez in an "asymmetric war" against the United States. Montesinos went on to state that Humala "is not a new ideologist or political reformer, but he is an instrument". On 24 May 2006, Humala warned of possible voter fraud in the upcoming second round elections scheduled for 4 June. He urged UPP supporters to register as poll watchers "so votes are not stolen from us during the tabulation at the polling tables." Humala went on to cite similar claims of voting fraud in the first round made by right-wing National Unity candidate Lourdes Flores when she told reporters that she felt she had "lost at the tabulation tables, not at the ballot box". When asked if he had proof for his claims by
CPN Radio Humala stated "I do not have proof. If I had the proof, I would immediately denounce those responsible to the electoral system". Alan García responded by stating that Humala was "crying fraud" because the polls show him losing the second round. On 4 June 2006, the second round of the Peruvian elections were held. With 77% of votes counted and Humala behind García 45.5% to 55.5% respectively, Humala conceded defeat to Alan García and congratulated his opponent's campaign stating at a news conference "we recognise the results...and we salute the forces that competed against us, those of Mr Garcia".
Post-election On 12 June 2006,
Carlos Torres Caro, Humala's vice presidential running mate and elected Congressman for the
Union for Peru (UPP), stated that a faction of the UPP would split off from the party after disagreements with Humala to create what Torres calls a "constructive opposition". The split came after Humala called on leftist parties to form an alliance with the UPP to become the principal opposition party in Congress. Humala had met with representatives of the
Communist Party of Peru – Red Fatherland and the
New Left Movement. Humala stated that the opposition would work to "make sure Garcia complies with his electoral promises" and again stated that he would not boycott García's
inauguration on 28 July 2006. On 16 August 2006, prosecutors in Peru filed charges against Humala for alleged human rights abuses including
forced disappearance, torture, and murder against
Shining Path guerillas during his service in
San Martín. Humala responded by denying the charges and stating that he was "a victim of political persecution". He said the charges were "orchestrated by the Alan Garcia administration to neutralize any alternative to his power".
2011 election Humala ran again in the
Peruvian general election on 10 April 2011, with
Marisol Espinoza his candidate for First Vice President and
Omar Chehade as Second Vice President. For these elections, he formed the electoral alliance "
Gana Peru", around the already existing
Peruvian Nationalist Party. Later, he signed a political agreement with several left-wing parties such as the Peruvian Communist Party, the
Socialist Party, the Revolutionary Socialist Party, the Socialist Voice Political Movement, and an important sector of the Lima for All Political Movement. Humala was in first place in the first round held on 10 April, obtaining 31.72% of the total valid votes. Because he did not manage to exceed 50% of the valid votes, he went on to a second round with the candidate
Keiko Fujimori, which took place on 5 June. On 19 May, at
National University of San Marcos and with the support of many Peruvian intellectuals and artists (including
Mario Vargas Llosa with reservations), Ollanta Humala signed the "Compromiso en Defensa de la Democracia". He campaigned as a center-left leader with the desire to help to create a more equitable framework for distributing the wealth from the country's key natural resources, with the goal of maintaining foreign investment and economic growth in the country while working to improve the condition of an impoverished majority. Going into the 5 June runoff election, he was polling in a statistical tie with opponent
Keiko Fujimori. He was elected the 94th president of Peru with 51.5% of the vote. Three days after his election, Humala undertook a Latin American tour to meet with the heads of state of Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, the United States, Venezuela, Mexico and Cuba. ==Presidency (2011–2016)==