Peru Leader Ousts Congress and Suspends Constitution

LIMA, Peru — President Alberto Fujimori announced Sunday night that he is dissolving Congress and suspending the constitution. Troops in armored personnel carriers patrolled the capital’s main thoroughfares.

Peru is mired in a deep recession and beset by the hemisphere’s most violent guerrilla insurgency.

Fujimori disclosed the moves in an unannounced 22-minute television address, saying he was ordering them as commander and chief of the military in the name of guaranteeing order and preserving democracy.

Palace spokesman Miguel Gonzales, reached by telephone, refused to comment on the president’s reasons.

Fujimori said he will reorganize the government “for an honest and efficient administration of justice.”

Fujimori, who took office in July, 1990, has been trying to push a series of economic austerity measures through Congress but has encountered stiff opposition from leftist lawmakers.