LIMA, Peru —
When Peruvians elect a new president Sunday, they won't just be deciding their own fate for the next five years. Their choice could have far-reaching consequences for Latin America and its leftward surge of recent years.
It will also test the prestige of a highly visible noncandidate _ Hugo Chavez.
The Venezuelan president's intervention has been a highlight of the race between former President Alan Garcia, a center-leftist who favors free markets, and Ollanta Humala, an antiestablishment nationalist tapping into discontent among the poor. Garcia's lead over Chavez-backed Humala, while shrinking in some polls, remains strong.
The runoff vote in South America's third largest country comes amid a contest for ideological pre-eminence on the continent _ between moderate-left, market-friendly governments such as those in Brazil and Chile, and anti-American, populist ones with authoritarian tendencies such as Venezuela's and Bolivia's.
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