LIMA, April 9 (UPI) -- As President Alejandro Toledo's term ends, Peruvians say they have seen small gains in the global marketplace, the Washington Post reported.
Toledo, a former economist, is crisscrossing the country touting Peru's economic growth to ensure the next administration will build on his market-based policies.
Despite the numbers, however, Toledo will leave office one of the least popular Latin American leaders in recent history, the newspaper said.
Presidential candidates include Ollanta Humala, a friend of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who believes wealth must be distributed more broadly -- even if that means defying multinational corporations and foreign governments.
Toledo wants to sign a free-trade deal with the United States before leaving office, but Humala has vowed to scrap the plan if elected.
Humala has a slight lead in the polls over Lourdes Flores Nano, a former congresswoman who supports free markets.
Alfredo Torres, director of Apoyo, Peru's main polling firm, says discussions of right-vs.-left, free trade and the importance of democratic institutions means little to most Humala supporters.
Toledo had promised government spending on projects that would directly reach the people.
"He didn't realize why voters elected him," Torres said.
