Ex-president Alejandro Toledo talks to “Atenea Americana” about his future plans and the beginning of the Peru presidential campaign for 2016

Just before he started his term in power, the country had to overcome great challenges. You may check the documentary at the bottom of this post.

During his five-year term, the central aim of Toledo’s presidency was the fight against poverty through investment in healthcare and education. He was very successful changing the economic map of the country and achieved many of his goals for education and healthcare.

Toledo is the first president in Peru of Indigenous descent, more specifically Quechua. Indigenous people from different tribes are actually the vast majority of Peruvian population, but historically the most marginalized.

He was born in a small and remote village in the Peruvian Andes, 12,000 feet above sea level.

He was born in a family with 16 kids from the same mother and father. Growing up he held many jobs, like a street shoe shiner, he also sold newspapers and even lottery tickets to supplement the family income. When he finished grade school he was expected to find a job, but he kept studying and working nights and evenings to graduate from high school, the first in his family. After school, he got a job at a newspaper called “La Prensa” in the near town of Chimbote as a correspondent.  He interviewed and got in contact with local politicians and personalities. There, he met with a couple of USA Corp volunteers who were very impressed with his intelligence, charm and education so far. They introduced him to a local program, and he was able to win a scholarship to study one year in the USA. While studio there, the same US Corps help him to apply to a program in San Francisco University for non-English speakers, and he again won a spot. He obtained a partial soccer scholarship and worked part-time pumping gas to pay for school, house, and board.  Toledo received a bachelor degree in Economics and  Business administration. At the University of San Francisco. He later attended Stanford University, earning a  Master Degree in economics and the economics of human Resources.  He subsequently obtained a Ph.D. degree in the economics of human resources in 1993 at the Stanford Graduate School of Education.

He is a great example of what education and hard work can do, and that all people from any race and background can achieve great levels of success and education with the goal to be a proponent of change in their community.

In the last years, he had been part of many international organizations for democracy and development. He has also been working at Stanford University, writing two books about his vision for Latin America. His wife, anthropologist, and researcher has also being teaching and writing at Stanford and now is ready to pass the page to new challenges with Dr. Toledo. She has also been at Atenea Americana and you can find her interesting insights about the indigenous people of Los Andes in our website.

Listen to today’s show with our distinguish guest, ex-president of Peru Alejandro Toledo who brings us a little of his wisdom, and some NEWS about his future plans.