Representing Debt: Peruvian Presidents Belaunde's and Garcia's Reading/Writing of Peruvian Debt Author(s): Cynthia Weber Source: International

Studies Quarterly, Vol. 34, No. 3, Special Issue: Speaking the Language of Exile: Dissidence in International Studies (Sep., 1990), pp. 353-365 Published by: Blackwell Publishing on behalf of The International Studies Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2600575 . Accessed: 30/09/2011 16:17
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International StudiesQuarterly (1990) 34, 353-365

RepresentingDebt: Peruvian Presidents Belaunde's and Garcia's Reading/Writing of Peruvian Debt

CYNTHIA WEBER

Purdue University

in to Conventionally, refers a situation whichone subjectis in indebtedness a positionof obligation anothersubject.Samuel Weber offers an vis-a-vis of of alternative understanding debt as the constitution an interpretative foundationwhichenables participants claim legitimate to speakingposiof of tions.By putting Weber'sconception debtto workin an examination Peruviandebtservicing movesawayfrom assessment an strategies, analysis of obligationsamong partiesto an explorationof how these partiesare in constituted and represented discourseso thattheymightserve as the groundsforfurthering claimsof obligation. Specifically, paper traces this two theologicalmetaphorsfoundin the debt servicing discourseof PresidentsFernandoBelauinde Terryand Alan GarciaPerez in the 1980s. Each identitiesfor "Peruvian theologicalmetaphor constructs very different man,""the International Monetary Fund," "thelogicof capital,"and "hismake contrasting tory."As a result,Belauinde'sand Garcia's narratives claimsabout debtservicing based on thecontrasting obligations interpretativefoundations theirstoriesconstruct.

Peru captured the attention of the international financial community on July 28, 1985, when then newly-elected President Alan Garcia Perez announced: We willbegina dialoguewithour creditors without usingthe International Fundas a middleman forthenext12 months while Monetary and and situations do notchange, willonlydevoteto theservice theforeign of we debtnotmore than 10% of the totalvalue of our exports and not the 60% thathas been demanded. (Garcia,1985a:25)1 In order to stimulate domestic economic growth, all foreign debt payments were suspended for a six-month period.
I Translationsof PresidentGarcia's speeches come fromthe booklet "Alan Garcia: Three Speeches for History" whichwas provided by the Peruvian Embassyin Washington, D.C. Myquotationsof these speeches incorporatemy correctionof minorspellingand grammatical errors.Furthermore, page numberingis myown. I numbered as the page one the first page of textof the first speech and proceeded to number everysubsequent page in the booklet including blank pages. Copies of the booklet are available through the Peruvian Embassy upon request.

Author's note:The author would like to thankRoxanne Doty,Susan Hoover, DeborahJohnston,Michael Shapiro, David Sylvan, R.B.J. Walker, the editors of ISQ, and two anonymous referees for their helpful comments.An earlierdraftof thispaper was presentedat the AmericanPoliticalScience AssociationMeetingheld in Washington, D.C., September 1-4, 1988. C) 1990 InternationalStudies Association

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of Garcia'sengagement the Peruviandebt servicing issue is of interest an illusas tration political of resistance. Garcia'sdiscoursetakesseriously and thenrefusesthe conventional characterization Peruviandebt found in both International of MonetaryFund (IMF) instructions the Peruvianeconomyand in the statements his for of predecessor, former President FernandoBelauinde Terry.Readingthisconventional characterization debt as obligating of Peru to serviceitsexternaldebt whatever the internal costs,Garcia turnsthe notionof obligation around, arguingthathis debts are to Peruviansociety first and to his creditors later. of Whilethe servicing Peruviandebt at the levelof the exchangeeconomyis the and the IMF's), his positionis subjectof Garcia's statements it is of Belauinde's (as foundedon anotherkind of debt-a discursive debt. Discursivedebts,ratherthan of to expressing conditions obligation some pre-existing entity, resultfromtheconof stitution the meaningsof subjectsand theirrelationships-subjects and relationof takesas alreadygiven. shipswhichtheconventional understanding indebtedness This alternative of thinking way aboutdebtis introduced Samuel Weber(1987). by of Weber conjoins Paul de Man's notion of blindness constitutive insightwith of discussions instituof Nietzsche's myth theoriginof thegods to enrichtheoretical "Institutions fundamentally are instruments reproducof tionsand instituting acts.2 tion. . . in thatthey ensurethatregulative processestakeplace so as to containwhat to otherwise could threaten turnintoanarchicproliferation" (Godzich, 1987:157).3 in deviantinterpretations conformto wellto They function part by disciplining worninstitutionalized practices. betweeninterpretation and But,as Weberpointsout,thisis nottheonlyinterplay that institutions. beholden as it is to the institutional framework "Interpretation, act both authorizesand empowersit, findsitselfindebted to the instituting that enablesit" (Godzich,1987:157). This is so because some originary interpretive posiacts-must have takenplace beforeinstitutions existedat all. tions-some instituting is or of a The indebtedness institutions an interpretive discursive debt,4 debtinstitucan tionsowe to their but de creation a debtthey neverrepay.Departingfrom Man's of notionthatblindness creative interpretive positions-or whatWebercallsinstitutWeber holds thatinstitutions ing acts-constitutesinstitutions, actively deny their debts(see Godzich, 1987:157).5 instituting thus incurring acts, At thisjuncture Weber turnsto Nietzsche.TranslatingNietzsche'smythof the debts to instituting originof the gods6into a storyabout institutional acts,Weber of to givesan accountof theempowerment institutions. According Nietzsche's story, to humans in society know themselves be powerfuland advantaged.They believe that theyowe a debt to those who empowered them,theirancestors.So long as of human powersare not great,repayment thisdebt is of limitedconcern.But as human powersincreasein relationto theirenvironment, humans increasingly beact. some founding Humans speak of thesefoundlievethattheir powerscome from and abouttheir knowtheirancestral debtscan ingactsthrough myths ancestors, they neverbe repaid because these debts are too great.At thispoint,the ancestorsare transformed gods. into
2 For a more extensivediscussion of these points,see Weber (1987) and Godzich (1987).
3 Many of the commentsI cite pertainingto Weber's theorizations on institutions and instituting acts appear in the afterwardto Weber's book, written Wlad Godzich (1987). by

4I
5

use the termsinstituting discursivedebt, and interpretive act, debt interchangeably throughoutthisarticle.

FollowingNietzsche,Weber sees guiltas a productof thisrelationshipbetweeninstitutions and instituting acts. This aspect of the relationshipis not dealt within my argument.
6

Nietzsche'smythof the origin of the gods in found is the second book of his Genealogy Morals (1956). of

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The importance thisdeification thatwithgods as the foundational of is figures of empoweredhumans-as the authorsof humanempowerment-boundaries conof ductare established. Humans,knowing themselves be powerful to because theyobey godlyrulesof conduct,knowfurther thatif theyare to remainpowerful theymust remainfaithful theseritualized to practices. These ritualized modes of conductare beyondquestionbecause their origins beyondquestion.And thosewho refuseto are accord by theserules of the gods are branded heretics. Weber argues that just as ancestraldebtsempowerhumans,so too do instituting actsor discursive debtsempowerinstitutions. Institutions expressmodes of conduct whichare believedto empowerthosewho followthem.Like humansin society who owe a debtto a mythical of empowerment, institutions debtsto instituting act so owe acts. For thismystical relationship betweeninstitutions instituting to emand acts powerinstitutions, discursive debtsmustbe locatedbeyondquestion.In Nietzsche's story about humanempowerment, mechanism thisis deification. Weber's the for In story, mechanism denial of instituting The activeforgetting instituting the is acts. of acts as discursive debtsbestowsinstitutions withlegitimacy secureswhatis but and one interpretation institutions, of theirprocesses,and theiroriginsfromcareful scrutiny an interpretation. as Having locatedoriginalpowersbeyondquestion,institutionalpractices appear as naturalmodes of conduct,as truth. The effect foundational of myths, recountedin both Nietzsche's as and Weber's stories, to naturalizepractices is takingplace in the presentby wayof reference to mystical beginnings thatcannotbe affirmed denied. Thus, "the instituting or moment,whichendows the entireinstitution withsignification meaning,is held and within institution both proper to it and yetalien: it is itsother,valued to be as the to concerns"(Godzich, 1987:156). Denying sure yetcuriously irrelevant immediate behaveas ifthey notcarry did thisdebt,as ifthe their discursive debts,"[i]nstitutions or meaningtheydispense was the resultof theirown activity that of recognized on the own butcollecttheinterest it,thereby the acknowledge debtas their fostering in formation themaintenance dominant and of class"(Godzich, position a privileged 1987:162). can be interpreted Garcia's positionon Peruvian debt servicing using Weber's one notionof debt (Peru's ecowhichresists notionof discursive debt as a strategy Garnomicobligations) whiledrawingupon another(an interpretive foundation). in takes advantageof the ambiguity the termsof cia's positionon debt servicing itself. Ratherthan in Peru's IMF relationship and, consequently, thatrelationship institutionalized of understandinvent new terms reference, Garciaengagesexisting terms.That is, his discourserewrites ings available to him and reinscribes existing of and works with relational the terms withnew meanings existing implications these reconstituted referents. on Garcia's positiondepartsfromthe IMF narrative debt servicing Specifically, in of whichlocatesthe IMF as the centralauthority matters debt.The presumption of of the IMF narrative thatprospects local development debtorstatesdepend is by emanatwiththerecommendations upon each state'sacceptanceof and compliance on refers an obligation thepartof debtor to ingfromthe IMF. Debt, in thiscontext, to of bothto acceptthe authority the IMF and, consequently, abide by promstates the isesto repaytheirdebtsto lenderbanksin accordancewith terms imposedbythe IMF. As thecentral the rules authority debtservicing, IMF is authorizedto interpret on of conductemanatingfroma more mystical source, the logic of capital. Located can within thisnetwork logic and interpreted of rules,statesseemingly followtwo knowable paths.Debtorstates mayaccordwithIMF dictates through self-monitoring or by inviting IMF monitoring theireconomicpractices.Compliance,the IMF of
meaning producers.
. .

. To pursue the financial metaphor, institutions do not

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narrative promises,leads to developmentand success.Alternatively, debtor states maydepartfrom suchcomplicitous practices. The result thiscourseof action,says of thisnarrative, economicstagnation is and self-destruction. and the storywhichsuggeststhem. Garcia's statements refusethese alternatives His discourseon debt servicing of interest onlybecause it refusesIMF preis not scriptions Peru but also because it exemplifies for one mode of politicalresistance. effective-mustsimultaneously Garcia's discourse-if it is to be practically diffuse the basis of authority drawnupon by the IMF whilereinventing thatfoundational in authority such a wayas to bringintoquestionthe verymeaningof indebtedness invokedin IMF discourse.This foundational authority "Peruvianman."7 is Garcia imaginesa Peruvianman on whose behalfhe can speak and, once constituted,Garcia distanceshimself fromthisinstituting Garcia'sactiveforgetting act. is Roman Catholictheologicalmetaphorsfound in accomplishedby takingseriously Belauinde's discourseand extending themto a new chapterof biblicalhistory. This to move is particularly effective because it attempts naturalizePeruviandebt servicing practices analogyto a sacred ground whichis beyondquestion.In so doing by of Garcia (like Belauinde)replicatesthe logic of Nietzsche'smyth the originof the gods. To invokeNietzsche's myth, each Presidentfirst imaginesthe pure, interpretive of ground which will enable him to be a legitimate interpreter the subjectsand institutions of spoken of in the Peruvian debt servicing story.As representatives citizen." Peruviandomesticsociety, theirground is Peruvianman, their"authentic Peruvianman servesas a presencewhichtheycan know,forwhomtheycan speak, and who in turnservesas theirlegitimate ground. Thus fortified, theyturntheir a gazes to global politics, contingent spherewhichstandsopposed to Peruvianman, whichhe fears,and whichhe endeavorsto control.So positioned, each statesman to his in honorshisimageof Peruvianman and attempts represent interests thedebt identiconversation. Each President, servicing drawingupon themesof nationalism, fiesthe problemsfacingPeruvianman. In thisinstance, problemis debt servicthe and ining. Yet each President, reflecting upon the Peruvianman he has written voked,regardsthisproblemdifferently. For Belauinde,the problemlies within Peru. The problemis Peruvianman. Beof lauinde'sconceptualization Peruvianman as the problemconjoinswell withthe IMF's storyof Peruvian debt servicing. The IMF, as the institutionalized central voiceand interpreter a "universal of man"-a man who is imaginedto recognizethe him all dangersconfronting men in thesame way-inspects Peruvianman and finds lacking.AlthoughBelauinde'sPeruvianman aspiresto emulatethe IMF's universal man, Peruvianman fallsshortof his goal. Universalman and Peruvianman share issues. However,they the same fearsand knowthe same dangerson debt servicing if agree thatPeruvianman mustbe rewritten he is to take his appropriateposition the within logic of capital. Garcia, beginningwith a differently imagined Peruvian man, sees a different problem.For Garcia,the problemlies beyondPeru and is embodied in the institution of the IMF. Contrasting Garcia's Peruvianman and the IMF's universalman,
7 Throughout thispaper, I referto a masculine subject,"Peruvian man." This referenceto "man" is intentional forat least two reasons. First,arguablystatesmenimagine and speak on behalfof a masculinesubject because it is "man" who acts in history.It is "man" who is the subject of linear time. Second, thisemphasis on "man," I hope, linear time. underscoresthe absence or the failureto imagine "woman" because of her marginallocation vis-a-vis (See, for example, Julia Kristeva's"Women's Time.") Terms such as "Peruvian man," "universalman," and "the logic of capital" are mine and are not to my knowledge terms used by the IMF, Belaunde, or Garcia. Their vagueness is intentional.My usage of these terms is to mark locations where meanings are contested without closing off those debates.

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Garcia too recognizestheirdifferences. However,Garcia declares thatbecause of thesedifferences, IMF's universal the man is an illegitimate spokesmanforPeruvian man, and universalman's recognizedfearsand dangersare not those of Peruvian man. Rather, is theIMF whichis dangerousand threatening it because itattempts to impose itsinappropriate image of universalman onto Peruvianman. The struggles betweenPeruvianman,theIMF and itsuniversal man,and thelogic of capitalappear in Belauinde'sand Garcia's discourseas theologizedfoundational myths. Godzich points out, castinginterpretations foundationalmythshas As as threeimportant effects. and First,interpretations the act of interpreting posiare tionedoutsideof society. Therefore,no one is in a positionto reflect upon society and itsorganization a whole.This promotes attitude as thatthings the shouldbe left as theyare. Second, such a moveplaces theoriginof meaningoutsideof society and renderssocio-historically entrappedhumancognitive powersincapableof fully comprehending thismeaning.Finally, society no capacity act upon itself.. . If "a has to in changeis to come,eitherit musthave been programmed thefoundational principles,or itis theresult an intervention of fromthisotherrealm"(Godzich,1987:159). mustbe changed. Belauindeand Garcia agree thatPeru's debt servicing practices Belauindelooks to the IMF, whichcan gaze upon Peruviansocietyas a whole,for divineintervention rewrite his to Peruvianman as capable of servicing external debt. Peruvianman from suchintervention. wayof Garcia,in contrast, hopes to protect By to rewriting Peruvianman and his foundationalprinciplesGarcia attempts resist IMF authority. exposes the IMF's interpretive debt by drawingupon his own He foundational debt. What follows an exploration Belauinde'sand Garcia'sdiscourseon Peruvian of is I debt servicing. Taking theirtheological metaphors seriously, read themas particiof patingin the fixing the meaningsof Peruvianman, the IMF, and the logic of the in are capital,as wellas providing setting whichtheirrelationships actedout. My in is involved naturalizing thesemeanings objective to analyzethe political strategies so thattheymaybe drawnupon as discursive resources. Writing/Reading Peruvian Man as the Problem: Belaunde and the IMF in Holy Alliance
Then are you livingan epoch that is yours,or are you a specter from another time?Surelythatflautist, thatmonk,and thatgirlstaringat you fromthe snowy streetask themselves same question: Have we been transported a different the to time invaded our own? time,or has a different Would you dare thinkthe unthinkableas you stand and hold back the drape withyouronlyhand? Are you lookingat a transposition the historic of past intoa futurethat will have no history? And obsessively, because you are who you are and are from where you are, you tell yourselfthat if this is true, the transposition must surelybe that of the least realized,the mostabortive,the mostlatentand desiringof all histories:that of Spain and Spanish America. Then you mock yourself witha grimaceof secret scorn. Would an Indonesian not say the same, a Burmese, a Mauritanian, a Palestinian,an Irishman,a Persian? Idiot: you have been thinkinglike a whitewigged Encyclopedist.How can one be a Persian? How, in truth,is it possible to be a Mexican, a Chilean, an Argentinean,or a Peruvian? (Carlos Fuentes, Terra Nostra,1976:771)

In the discourseof Belauinde,the livingspecterof Peru occupies the indefinite space and timedescribedby Carlos Fuentes,a place/time somewherebetweenthe ancientand the modern,the developed and the developing, genesisand the end of This place/time an unthinkable is history. positionmarkedby an ambiguousman who claimstwo pasts. Caught betweenhis Spanish and South Americanheritages

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whichannounce him as both conquerorand conquered,Belauinde'sPeruvianman asks: How, in truth, it possible to be a Peruvian?And, struggling claim his is to he identity, wonders:What is Peruvianman's place in history? Imagined in Belauinde'sdiscourse,the problemconfronting Peruvianman is to writehimself into history. do this,he mustreflect To upon the means availableto construct himself a pure subject, identity as an rescued fromcontingency clariand fied.So constituted, Peruvianman becomes an originary ground and an object of self-making upon whichit willbe possibleto establish uniquelyPeruviancommua from nity. Peruviandomestic society differentiated is otherdomestic societies repreas sentedbyothersovereign nation-states wellas from ambiguous the realmofglobal politics.Peruvian man can announce: "I know what it is to be Peruvian,and I recognizewhat it is to be other than Peruvian."This understanding plays on a decidable/undecidnumberof dichotomies: Peruvian/other, domestic/international, Peruvianman turns able,clarity/ambiguity, community/power. Recognizing himself, towardhistory a reader and declares:"I am readyto take myappointedplace in as man is armed history." Having conquered himself-hisessential identity-Peruvian In to conquerhistory. thisway,Peruvianman honorsthelegaciesof his Spanishand in of Belauinde's discourseparticipates thescripting Peruvianman and thereading of of history fromthe perspective Peruvianman. Belauindewrites"Peru as a docPeruvianman's potential take his assignedplace in history. to trine," celebrating
Peru, which is neithercompletelyindigenous nor completelySpanish, symbolized the mestizaje8which unquestionablycharacterizesthe realityof today. . . The Peru of today is an amalgam whichis neitherone nor the other,but a new and distinct reality symbolizedby mestizaje. . . This fruitful heritageteaches us the lessons of yesterdayand provides a salvation for tomorrow.These are the traditions thatwill provide a bridge for Peru to cross into a progressivemodern world withjustice for all. (Belaunde, 1965:86-87)

indigenous ancestries.

betweentheheritage thepastand the of reform through compromise: "compromise demandsof thepresent, betweenthesierraand thecoast,betweenindigenoussocialismand Western betweentherichand thepoor,betweenthemilitary capitalism, and the civilian"(Saba, 1987:45). CompromisedefinesPeruvian man and guides the of politicalphilosophy Belauindeand the Accion Popular partyhe founded.Comof promise,as written Belauinde,is the cornerstone Peruvian nationalism.It by of expressestheundeniableessenceof Peruvianman,thefoundation hisreason,and the promiseof his freedom.The Peruvianfirmly dedicated to compromiseis the visionBelauindebringsto his discourseon debt servicing. this Peruvianman,Belauindeturnshis attention toward Havingwritten particular and particularly towardthe debt servicing issue askhistory, towardglobal politics, for Peruvianman?" Belauinde ing: "Whereis the proper place in history thistruly intohistory. reads history and reads the pure subjecthe has written In so doing,Belauindeimplicitly at timesexplicitly and drawsupon a theological In conversation. it,God is the logic of capital,the metaphorforthe debt servicing churchis the IMF, Peruvianman is a devout follower churchly of interpretations, and history thatof the Old Testamentstorieswhichtell of man waitingfor the is messiah.It is possibleto imaginethisGod, the logicof capital,as a presencewhich
8 "Mestizaje" is a Spanish termwhichrefers those South Americans to who are descended fromboth the Spanish settlers South American and the indigenous Americans who populated the continentprior to its discoveryby in Europeans.

"bridge . . . into a progressive modern world" is a Peruvian man who embraces

the For Belauinde,the "lessonsof yesterday," "salvationfor tomorrow," and the

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aspiresto servein hope thatPeruvianman'sdevotionwillbe rewarded.As Belauinde God, the logicof capitalis a presencebeyondquestion.Yet Belauindecomprehends thatall is not well in the relationship betweenPeru and the logic of capital. He is mindfulof Peru's inability prosper economically this particularplace/time. to at Because it would be blasphemyto suggestthatthe logic of capital is in some way responsible Peru's condition, for thatthe probBelauindelooks inward,suspecting lem lies withinPeru. Seeking earthlyguidance, Belauindeturnsto the IMF, the interpreter thelogicof capital,thechurch.He entersintoa holyalliancewiththe of logic of capital by enteringinto a partnership withthe IMF. Just as the church mediatesbetweenGod and man,the IMF mediatesbetweenthe logicof capitaland Peruvianman. Withone eye on God through windowof thechurch,Belaunde inspects his Peruvian man and findshiminadequate.His is economically so ill thathe risksfalterill, ing in the face of cure. Participating a symposium in concernedwiththe Peruvian debt-servicing issue,Belauindecommented: "Evidently, diagnosercan assess the the ailmentand prescribea remedywithtotal certainty, the problemis that the but patientaspiresto be in a conditionto absorb and outlivethe period of treatment" (1983:18). For the IMF to "assess the ailment[of Peruvianman] and prescribea remedywithtotalcertainty," Belauindeoffers Peruvianman forclose inspection up by the IMF, forrepentancethoughconfession. Belauindesubmits Peruvianman to IMF authority a transparent, as readable identity. of This movesignalsa transfer authority over Peruviandebtservicing affairs from to of fromdomesticto Peruviandomesticsociety the IMF. It is a transfer authority of international, transposition timefromancientor the "historically a mixed" time an described Carlos Fuentesto moderntime, admissionthatthepure presenceof by rationalauthority beyond Peruvianman. Belauindeinvites lies the IMF to become theguardianof authentically Peruvianspace in orderto deliverPeruvianman to the withmoderntime,to development and economic promisedland, to a reconciliation salvation.The IMF becomes the rationalauthority and centraldecision-maker on Peruviandebt servicing issues. Peruvianman is banishedto the sphere of dangers thatmustbe controlled. is a dangerto himself, hisnation, thechurch, He to to and to his God. He is unfitto conducthis own affairs. a conditionof Peruvianman's As withtheIMF, Belauindepromises remakehimintoa worthy to relationship partner. summons Peruvianman-the man of Belauinde Soundingthethemeof nationalism, as compromisein the spiritof nationalism-to writehimself an ethicalsubjectof IMF authority.9 Withthe economicsoul of Peruvianman so frail,Belauindeas a Peruvianstatesmen realizesthatitis important maintain appearancethatPeruvianman is the to the authoritative centerof decision-making, pure rationalpresence celebratedin the the "Peru as a doctrine." threaten Thus, when IMF austerity programsthemselves musttake pains to insurethat economichealthof Peruvianman, Peruvianofficials IMF demands are interpreted Peruvianstatedecisions.Such was the case when as in to the Belaunde administration submitted IMF directives 1981.
as Once again,the IMF was called in becauseof whatthe cabinetdescribed to In external "unmanageable disequilibrium". a vainattempt head offthebarof that rageof criticism an approachto the IMF (and acceptance an austerity Richard "it bankPresident, wouldcause,central programme) Webb,argued, is not is that important thestabilisation programme seen as ours theirs! (Nickson, 1983:83)
9 Foucault speaks of the "ethical subject,"explaining,"Here the emphasis is on the formsof relationswiththe self,on the methodsand techniquesby whichhe worksthemout, on the exercisesbywhichhe makes of himself an objectto be known,and on the practicesthatenable him to transform own mode of being" (Foucault, 1985:30). his

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Interestingly, when Belaunde cabinetmembersreferto "unmanageableexternal the of disequilibrium," theyare describing condition Peruvianman because he is on theoutsideof Peruviandecision-making concerning debtservicing. is external He to IMF authority, authority the whichhas been called in to readjustand rewrite the Peruvianeconomy.Peruvianman has been exiled to therealmof contingency, fear, and danger thatrequiresthe controlling of influence the IMF. into the logic of The sacrifices requiredby Peruvianman in order to assimilate capitalism the treatments via outlinedby the IMF are severeand do not escape the attention Belauindehimself. But the God of the Old Testamentis a harshGod. of Sacrifices a necessary are ritual.Therefore,lamenting Peru's economicfrailty does not diminish Belauinde's faith.He commented:
All economic strategies have theirpros and cons. We believe thatwe have chosen the one withthe least problems,and itwas chosen some timeago. This economic strategycontinues with the aim that Peru maintain its internationalcredit regardless of any negative side effects."(La Prensa,July4, 1983)

Nor does Belauindeturnagainstthe church:

It [the IMF] has been of littleserviceto international banking,and whatis really grave is thatit [the Fund] has [adversely]affectedthe developing countries.On the other hand, the "satanization" of the Fund is a demagogical political recourse. The countriesthatwant to will followthe Fund's advice, and those that do not, disregard it. The Fund is not a super-state.It is an international financing and creditingagency that is certainlynot infallible.(Belaunde in Chirinos Soto, 1987:119)

Bowingbeforethe logicof capital,Belaunde endeavorsto remakePeruvianman into an "ethicalsubject"by submitting the guidance of the IMF. Even though to Peruvianman is unable to meet the exact debt readjustment standardsdecreed by the IMF,10and even thoughtheholypath to economicsalvation and development is of paved withdomestichardships, Belauindecarrieson his pilgrimage progresson behalfof Peruvianman. Because, as written Belaunde, Peruvianman is a man of by faith. the of Belauinde's discoursespeaksof a Peruvianman who has "forgotten" history It the riseof capitalism. The logicof capitalism beyondhistory. is God, and with is of God as its transcendental the point of reference, history Peruvianman makes withGod. It is a sense. It is the history striving a more perfect of for relationship of For as long as thisPeruvianman for story Peruvianman's struggle redemption. withGod and can remember, IMF as the churchhas mediatedhis relationship the has served as Peruvianman's vehicleto salvation.In the past, now, and forever, without Peruvian man was, is, and will be unworthy give meaning to history to withGod, in a source externalto Peru groundingthismeaningin his relationship whichcan inspectPeruviansociety a whole and offerdivinecorrectives. as in Peruvianman is politically effective thatit The gospel accordingto Belauinde's debt servicing for to closessome possibilities political resistance Belauinde's strategy. It identifies only the spiritually not fulfilling path for Peruvianman but the dark road to eternaldamnation.As thisPeruvianman knows,it is Satan who denies the logic of capital, speaks out against the IMF, and refusesto undertakethe holy sacrifices whichpromiseeternaleconomicsalvation. the wide circulationof this Peruvian man, Garcia's discourse Acknowledging to preachesresistance the old ways.It imaginesa Peruvianman who dares to stray
15 For example, in 1984 Peru used onlyabout 20% of itsexportsfordebt servicing even thoughaccordingto IMF directivesthisamount should have been closer to 60% (Thorp, 1987:371).

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from one truepathto God ofwhichtheOld Testament the speaksand to builda new of the road to God. It demandsthatPeruvianman overthrow authority thechurch. "Blasphemy!"cry the High Priests.But this Peruvian man ignores them,for his foundational myth a new covenantwithGod. is

Writing/Reading the IMF as the Problem: Garcia's Redemption of Peruvian Man through the Overthrow of the Church

Garciatellsa very different of story Peruviandebtservicing based on a very different Peruvian man. Casting off his ghost-like appearance in the literature Carlos of Fuentesand thediscourseof Belauinde, Peruvianmanemergesfrom unthinkable his place/time theknowledgeable as organizer theworld.No longerdeferential the of to in church,Peruvianman reversesOld Testamenthistory putting by himself God's place. Peruvianman does not ask forsalvationfromGod because Peruvianman is the savior.He does not requirerepentance because he has died forman's sins. He does not honor God the Fatherwho is once removedfromman. Rather,Peruvian man is the son of God-both God and man-who makesa directrelationship betweenGod and man possible.As God in humanform, Peruvianman decreesthathis limitations, limitations the flesh, the of hold the promiseof a moreperfect relationship withGod. of of the Rewriting founding principles Belauinde's myth Peruviandebtservicing, Garcia constructs and draws upon a different Peruvianman, a different kind of Not surprisingly, church,a different God, and a different history. then,Garcia's account of the struggles withBelauinde's betweenGood and Evil contrast starkly stories.While Belauinde'sPeruvian man is faithful and compromising, Garcia's is of willful assertive. and from Old Testament, the Readingtheholyscriptures history theGod of Belauinde's Peruvianman is thelogicof capitaland hischurchis theIMF. For Garcia,theperiodof waiting passed. The savioris living has amongus. The New Testament beingwritten. it,churchauthority sacrilegious, logicof capital is In is the as God desiresa more equitablerelationship withdevelopingnations, and Garciaactingon behalfof Peruvianman-is the messiah. In his inauguraladdress,Garcia spoke of theinspirational lessonsPeruvians have learned fromtheirCatholicfaith:
I remember St. the of on "The from Matthew, passage Christ walking thewaters. and Peter,he whomhad doubtedbefore, apostlesthensaid, 'It is a ghost,' have me comecloserto you.' doubtedonce moreand said,'If youare Christ, but the of And thenhe beganto walkon thewaters, hearing force thewindhe for wasfearful beganto sink.He crieddesperately helpand Christ and coming did nearhimsaid: 'Man of little faith, why youdoubt?"' in I claim all the of faith againfrom Peruvians force theimmovable inthat this we it our historic hourof destiny must write outwith faith. in of ofsolidarity, which ofus can all We willbegina process transformation, and a miracle faithfrom of share our wealthbut I ask above all an effort Peruvians. (1985:39)

Peruvianman in Justas Christasked forfaithfromPeter,Garcia-as exemplary his own right-asked forfaithin Peruvianman. Justas Christis the saviorof the sinful soulsof men,Garciais thesaviorof theeconomicsoul of Peruvianman. With Garcia embodiesthe willof God in human form. the Peruvianman he has written, is UnlikeBelauinde's Peruvianman,whoseblindfaith directedtowardthe IMF and thelogicof capitalwhichfillhis spiritual void,Garcia'sPeruvianman is callingupon othersfor faithin Peru. Peruvianman is declared the spiritualpresencewho refor Peruvianman willbe the inspiration others. quires no externalinspiration.

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Garcia introduced this Peruvian man before the UN General Assembly: I I speakon behalf a struggling of nation, a nation doesnotsurrender.do of that has we all notcometorepeat what beensaidoftheworld order and what will do doingand the in thefuture changeit. I come to saywhatwe are presently to message bring a message will.(1985c:57) I is of Garcia announces Peruvians as "poor but worthy people" (1985c:73) and rejoices that "the impoverished peoples" of Peru have "made democracy effective,asserting [their] will" (1985c:57-58). One almost hears Christ promising, "The meek shall inherit the earth." Building on his theme of the hardships encountered by Peruvian man, Garcia elsewhere proclaimed: becauseifon theone We mustassumethisresponsibility debtrepayment] [of of handwe must denounce unjust the we acceptalso that origins thedebt, must or as a people,we did nothavesufficient strength couragetochangein thepast themeaning our history. of (1985a:23) But for Garcia it is time for Peru's "lengthyhistoryof injustice" brought on by the relationship between Peruvian man and the forces of international capital to end: This crisis moreserious is It is laterin our history thanwe presume. thanwe for think and thisforcesupon all of us the audaciouspath of a revolution and independence, development forsocial for justice.(Garcia,1985a:3) This new location of Peruvian man in historysignifiesa new path to salvation which calls for Peruvian man to turn away from the "orthodox" teachings of those who still live by the decrees writtenin the Old Testament. It is time forJesus to march into the temple and disturb the tables of the money changers: to We saytheInternational Funddoes nothavethemoralauthority Monetary the whenit was necessary to in preachausterity our country during seventies it indebtedness. In in for place petrodollars credits poor countries, promoted investments, the [and] thoseyears, was an accessory waste, it to unproductive of growth publicadministration. (1985c:61) Unlike Belauinde, Garcia refuses to regard debt servicingas penance for the sinful economic practices of Peruvian man. Rather, in form which relationship the our to theforeign is nothing themodern but debt and which obtains it the world expressed through is industrialized wealthy and at and of wealth supports domination theexpenseofthemisery poverty its that our peoples.(1985b:43) IMF administrators,like the Jewish High Priests who ignored Christ's message of salvation, become obstacles separating man and God: cannot bewaittheirresolute. Our peoplecannot Supranational organizations will. I is block the comea stumbling against national And that why havecometo of demosetforth what are doingin Perufortheestablishment a nationalist, we and cratic, populargovernment. the existence our people, of We assert nationalism right theautonomous to as in that recent our from liberal the as a right work, defend industry to to opening of the it. as yearsoverwhelmed We affirm nationalism recovery our natural debt as major basic subjectstandsout: the foreign wealth. And here,a first hindrance and against development well-being. (1985c:59) Turning to his Latin American neighbors, the messiah suggests, "Follow me." will I believe that overshadows economies be born our thatfrom debtcrisis the Latin thatgreatand historic unionand thatthefoundations an integrated of

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America will be the grand scenario of the forthcoming centuryfor democracy and socialism. (Garcia, 1985a:23-24) We willfight the union of America,supportinginitiatives for such as the Consensus of Cartagena"I but we willnot only support them withwords,but by seeking at the same timethe example of action to open up the broad avenues of international dignityand equality. (1985a:24)

In Garcia's discourse Peruvian man is the center of decision-making authority. It is Peruvian man who sets the termsof debt servicingas a proportion of exports. It is Peruvian man who refuses to negotiate with his creditors through the IMF. It is Peruvian man who assesses the condition of his economic health:
I know thatthe response to thisdecision may be the impositionof sanctionsand amendments or, as has already been announced, that the Peruvian debt be declared value-impairedin the monthof October. As Presidentof Peru I come to say thatit is not necessaryto wait untilOctober forthis.The Peruvian debt is already value-impaired.We declare it to be so. What we should ask ourselves is how and by whom was our economy impaired and what historicalanswer must we give to thissituation.That is whyour second objectiveis the completedemocratization of society as an imperative to solve the crisis we are undergoing. (1985c:65)

And it is Peruvian man who initiates a self-imposed economic austerityprogram:

Therefore, in dealing with the subject of the foreign debt we will not accept impositionsin economic policy. President Alan Garcia has been elected and representstwenty millionPeruvian-s and not the officials an indifferent of international agency . . . I announce, because it is my duty, that we will initiatea tough economic governmentprogram and I affirm that from here everything can be negotiatedexcept for the economic sovereignty and the politicaldestiny of my people. (1985a:24-25)

Garcia proclaims: "I thus reclaim the economic sovereignty of my country"

(1985a: 25).

Indebted Speaking Positions

What indeed is the stake?This is the question thathaunts anyone who begins to reflect upon the social functionof religionand wishes to go beyond the purely reasons forthe maintenanceof religionas an institution inquire to psychological into itsinstituting. mustbegin by observingthatifthereis a social decisionWe whateverthe actual nature of that decision-makingmechanismis-to attribute the origin, the mode of organization,the self-understanding, and the cultural of be accomplishments a societyof whatevermagnlitude, ita small tribeor a large state, to gods conceived of as inhabitinga distinctontological realm, then this decision representsa desire and determinationto split the societyfromits first causes in such a way as to make the latterinaccessibleto human intervention or tampering,as the many tales of woe befallen to those humans who have tried attest.(Godzich, 1987:159)

Taking the metaphorical play in Belauinde's and Garcia's discourse seriously presents us with two competing interpretationsor foundational mythsof Peruvian debt servicing. What is instructiveabout these mythsis that they allow us to think in new ways about Peru as a debtor state, about political resistance, and about debt. to Turning first Belauinde's story,we find a reiterationof the conventional conception of indebtedness which appears in the IMF's interpretation of debt as well.
I Several Latin American debtor nations declared theirpositionson externaldebt at a in mieeting Cartagena, Columbia, in 1983. The document summarizingtheirviews is the "Consensus of Cartagena."

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Representing Debt

echoes the IMF's claim thatPeru is in debt. Accordingto this Belauinde'srhetoric accountof indebtedness, Peruvianman should preoccupyhimself withmeetinghis international obligations servicing debt. Therefore,it is appropriatefor Beby his lauindeto accord withIMF debt scheduling. What Belauinde'sdiscoursedoes not do is to put into question the IMF's own interpretation debt. It does not highlight of the IMF's adherence to a particular interpretation debt, because Belauinde'sdiscoursecashes in on this verysame of interpretation. Because IMF interpretive practices notthreatened Belauinde's are by discourse-the IMF's instituting are silenced-the IMF can hear Belauindeand acts claim Belauinde'sPeruvianman as an example of dedicationto the one true way knownto the IMF's universalman. Therefore,Belauinde'sdiscoursecontributes to the naturalization the IMF's interpretation debt,the IMF's authority impose of of to thisinterpretation, theIMF's universal and man as a legitimate standardforparticular domesticmen to measurethemselves against. In contrast, Garcia'sstory thatof politicalresistance IMF authority. is to Garcia's foundationmyth attempts put IMF rhetoric to (and Belauinde'sreworking this of rhetoric) intodoubt. He does thisfirst distinguishing Peruvianman fromthe by his IMF's universalman. Garcia's man of willis not the IMF's man of faith.When the IMF encounters on Garcia'sPeruvianman,it cannotclaimto function his behalfas an aspiring universal man (as itcould forBelauinde's Peruvianman) because Garcia's discoursecharacterizes universalman as alien or other. Universalman is alien to Peruvianman. Peruvianman knowsanotherhistory debt servicing of and Peru's his place in it.Therefore, Garcia'sPeruvianman is able to offer own accountof IMF practices. Justas the IMF, situated outsideof Peruviansociety, gazes upon Peruvian as society a whole and instructs Peruvianman in how to fitbetterinto history and becomecloserto God, Garcia'sPeruvianman,totally alien to the IMF and itsuniversal man,turns critical towardtheIMF. This Peruvianman knowsthattheIMF's a eye universalman does not share the same viewof history, same concerns, the and the same sympathies his account of debt servicing. in Universalman is not Peruvian man. Thus, universalman cannotspeak for Peruvianman. To the extentthatthe IMF attempts have Peruvianman bornagain intotheimage of universal to man,the IMF is to be regardedas dangerousand violent.It is universalman-not Peruvian man-who is tobe fearedand admonished.MeasuredagainstPeruvianman,universal man is denied legitimacy. of As can Garcia'ssuccessor failure be evaluatedagainstanynumber standards. an IMF claimsto legitimate that to attempt politicize groundby reconstituting ground to serveGarcia'spurposes,Garcia'sdiscourseachievesmixedsuccess.In lightof his The IMF's indebtedno discourse,IMF rhetoric longerappears to be self-evident. thannaturalized. The IMF must is nessto an arbitrary interpretation exposed rather in explainitself lightof Garcia'sPeruvianman ratherthanexpectGarcia'sPeruvian man to explain himselfin lightof the IMF's universalman. Having reversedthe fromoutside Peru to inside Peru, Garcia is and legitimacy positionsof authority one whichputsdebtorstates' anotherrole forPeru as a debtorstate, poised to write first relegates and debtsto international to obligations theirdomesticsocieties agencies to a secondarystatus. Yet bypoliticizing IMF's claimto authority-bycallingin the IMF's discursive the Garcia's positionmust debt-Garcia's debt is equally politicized.To be ,effective, of its This is no smalltaskin thatothermembers thedebt forget own indebtedness. debt such as the IMF, willtryto call in Garcia'sinterpretive servicing conversation, just as he has called in thatof the IMF. While Garcia's accountof debt servicing creditstandingwas not as was welcomed by Peruvians,its international initially has been collecting interest years. for favorable.IMF discourseon debt servicing IMF defaultseems unlikely. of the Even thoughGarciais no longerin office, effects his debtservicing practices

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have not necessarily run theircourse. While policyanalystscite theirshort-term ineffectiveness, Garcia's strategies cannot be quarantinedto one historical period, examinedin isolation, and guarded againstcreative reinterpretations redeployand mentby otherpartiesto the debt servicing conversation. Evaluatedsomewhat differently, however, Garcia'smovefacesa moredevastating critique.Namely, whileGarcia'sstrategy one of political is resistance, is implicated it in the same projectas thatof Belauindeand the IMF. The discourseof all parties analyzedon Peruviandebt servicing expresstheirclaimsthrougheitherexplicitor implicit reference a transcendental to subject, he Peruvianman or universal be man, so whoseoriginsmustbe forgotten thattheymaybe locatedbeyondhistory. Garcia's pronouncements debt servicing no exception.The difficulty thatforany on are is instituting act-any production a transcendental of subject-to work,closuremust be brought subjectivity. differently, to mustbe bornin theirtotality and Put subjects remainso iftheyare to serveas transcendental pointsof reference. Such a practical of to enactment subjectivity at best difficult effect is because, as some scholarssugfingest,it is a fragmented subject-a subjectalwaysin process and never finally in ished-which is interpreted and reinterpreted dailylife.'2 to so By thisaccount,attempts freezesubjectivity thatresulting subjectsmaytake at whennaturalresistant political standsalwaysbetray artificiality theverymoments ness is required.Thus, strategies thatlay claim to a transcendental subjectare selfIMF prescriptions for subverting. Garcia's projectfails,then,because in resisting Peruviandebt servicing, reconstructs it Peruvianman in wayswhichreaffirm the a whichmaynotbe workable logicof thetranscendental subject, mode of subjectivity today.
References
BELAUJNDE TERRY, F. (1965) Peru's Own Conquest. Lima: American Studies Press. BELAUJNDE TERRY, F. (1983) Discurso Inaugural. In Dependencza Desarrollo Debate: Diarzo de un y en CHIRINOS SOTO, E. (1987) Conversaciones Belaunde. Lima: Minerva. con FUENTES, C. (1976) Terra Nostra,translated by M. Sayers Peden. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. FOUCAULT, M. (1985) The Uses ofPleasure,translatedby R. Hurley. New York: Vintage Books. GARCiA, A. (1985a) To the Immense Majority:For a Nationalist,Democratic and Popular Govern-

simposio, 15-18. Lima: InstitutoLibertad y Democracia. pp.

ment. Speech delivered to Peruvian Congress,July 28. A. (1985b) Foreign Debt: Peruvian Doctrine AssertsItself.Speech delivered to the Major's National Converence, August 20. GARCiA, A. (1985c) Debt or Democracy: Latin America's Alternative.Speech delivered to the XL United Nations General Assembly,September 23. GODZICH, W. (1987) Afterword. Instztutzon Interpretatzon S. Weber, pp. 153-64. MinneapoIn and by lis: University Minnesota Press. of KRISTEVA,J. (1982) Women's Time. In Feminzst A Theory: Crztzque Ideology, of edited by N. 0. Keohane, M. Z. Rosaldo and B. C. Gelpi. Chicago: University Chicago Press. of KRISTEVA,J. (1986) The Systemand the Speaking Subject. In TheKrzsteva Reader,edited by T. Moi, Press. pp. 24-33. New York: Columbia University La Prensa (Lima), July4, 1983. NICKSON, A. (1983) Peru: The Bankers go it Alone. In ThePoverty Brokers: IMF and LatznAmerzca. The London: Latin America Bureau. NIETZSCHE, F. (1956) TheBzrth Tragedy of and theGenealogy Morals,translatedby F. Golffing. of New York: Doubleday. SABA, R. P. (1987) Polztzcal and Development Democracy Peru: ContznuztyChangeand Crzszs. zn zn Boulder, CO: WestviewPress. THORP, R. (1987) Trends and Cycles in the Peruvian Economy. Journalof Development Economzcs 27:335-74. WEBER, S. (1987) Institutzon Interpretatzon. and Minneapolis: University Minnesota Press. of
GARCiA,
12

Kristeva See, forexample, (1986).