Editing Luis Alva Castro (section)

==Political career==

=== Early political career ===
Alva started at a very young age in the [[American Popular Revolutionary Alliance|Peruvian Aprista Party]], being part of the youth wing since he was 15 years old. His first partisan office was Secretary of the Northern Regional Command in 1965. He graduated in 1964 with a Bachelor in Economics from the [[National University of Trujillo]], based on the merit of his thesis titled "Economic Integration of Latin America".

At 24, he was a member of the board of directors of the Development Corporation of La Libertad (CORLIB), whose experience in planning and management applied him as an executive of private and public companies. The military government of [[Juan Velasco Alvarado]] unjustly accused him of mishandling and was imprisoned in a [[Trujillo, Peru|Trujillo]] prison, from 1970 to 1972.

During the development of the [[Constituent Assembly of Peru|Constituent Assembly of 1978–1979]], he served as Private Secretary of [[Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre]], becoming one of his most conspicuous disciples.

===Congress ===
In the [[1980 Peruvian general election|1980 general election]], he was the Campaign Head of [[American Popular Revolutionary Alliance|Peruvian Aprista Party]] presidential nominee [[Armando Villanueva]]. He was elected to the [[Congress of the Republic of Peru|Chamber of Deputies]], representing [[La Libertad Region|La Libertad]] for the 1980–1985 term, serving as the Party Spokesperson.

=== In government ===
In 1985, he was selected as part of [[Alan García]] presidential ticket for the [[1985 Peruvian general election|1985 general election]] in which he was the second running mate of García. Jointly reelected to Congress, he was appointed [[Prime Minister of Peru|Prime Minister]] and [[Ministry of Economy and Finance (Peru)|Finance Minister]],<ref name="elregionalpiura">{{cite web|url=https://www.elregionalpiura.com.pe/index.php/especiales/164-informes/11143-presidentes-y-vicepresidentes-desde-1980-en-peru-crisis-y-realidades|title=Presidentes y vicepresidentes desde 1980 en Perú, crisis y realidades|date=26 July 2018}}</ref> serving between 1985 and 1987.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mef.gob.pe/es/component/content/article?id=493:..|title=Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas - Histórico - Relación de Ministros|website=www.mef.gob.pe}}</ref> Peru developed a steady economy during his tenure, promoting [[heterodoxy]] as a good start. The economic plan proposed by [[Alan García]] clashed with Alva, leaving his post as the economy would prove to be artificial, evolving into a catastrophic policy of [[Macroeconomic populism]].

One month later after his resignation as both Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Alva was elected as [[President of the Congress of Peru|President of the Chamber of Deputies]], serving for one year.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.congreso.gob.pe/participacion/museo/congreso/presidentes/luis_alva_a|title = Luis Juan Alva Castro}}</ref> His increasing party support would prove him as a potential rival in the party leadership to president [[Alan García]]. In 1989, he was elected as Secretary General of the [[American Popular Revolutionary Alliance|Peruvian Aprista Party]].

===1990 presidential campaign===
With the country in crisis and the constant attacks from the [[Shining Path]] and [[Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement|MRTA]], the population participated in the [[1990 Peruvian general election|1990 general election]]. Since 1987, acclaimed writer [[Mario Vargas Llosa]] had prepared a full-scale presidential campaign with the [[Democratic Front (Peru)|Democratic Front]] coalition, composed of [[Liberty Movement]], the [[Christian People's Party (Peru)|Christian People's Party]] and [[Popular Action (Peru)|Popular Action]], the last two being traditional parties. The [[American Popular Revolutionary Alliance|Peruvian Aprista Party]] nominated Alva<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://elpais.com/diario/1990/04/07/internacional/639439218_850215.html|title=El candidato del APRA asegura que "los peruanos pobres no votarán por los ricos"|newspaper=El País|date=6 April 1990|last1=Comas|first1=José}}</ref> to run for the Presidency against Vargas Llosa, although it was clear that the latter would win in the first round. Unexpectedly, third party nominee and virtually unknown [[Alberto Fujimori]] of [[Cambio 90]] rose in the polls with a clear anti-partisan speech, beating Alva to the second round as the APRA achieved 22.5% of the popular vote and placed third. The election outcome would give victory to [[Alberto Fujimori]], with most analysts discussing a possible agreement with president [[Alan García]], as Alva's votes would pass on to Fujimori.

===Return to Congress===
The [[American Popular Revolutionary Alliance|Peruvian Aprista Party]], led by Alva from outside Congress as Secretary General, achieved 53 deputies and 16 senators, representing a third of each chamber. The congressional term would end with the [[1992 Peruvian coup d'état|1992 self-coup]], which dissolved the entire legislative branch.

In the following years, under the Fujimori's government, Alva would not have greater political participation, except in his party when he was elected again as Secretary General in 1996, a position he held until 1999.

In the [[2000 Peruvian general election|2000 general election]], he was elected to Congress with a majority of 35,336 votes. The 2000–2005 term would be shortened with the convoking of [[2001 Peruvian general election|new general elections for 2001]], due to the corruption allegations against [[Alberto Fujimori]] and his resignation. In those elections, Alva was reelected to Congress with a majority of 95,050 votes. Based on his experience and high vote count, he was appointed Party Spokesperson, a position he exerted while serving in the abolished Chamber of Deputies. He also served as President of the [[Andean Community of Nations]] in 2001.

In August 2005, he was appointed as President of the [[Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre]] Private Institute. During this time, he published a renowned work titled "The Asylum Man" (El Señor Asilo), based Haya de la Torre's experience as political refugee in the Colombian Embassy in Peru, during the proceedings of the [[Asylum case]] determined by the [[International Court of Justice]].

For the [[2006 Peruvian general election|2006 general election]], Alva was appointed [[American Popular Revolutionary Alliance|Peruvian Aprista Party]] Campaign Head for the North, proving the victory for [[Alan García]] with the Aprista stronghold in the North of Peru. Conjointly, he was reelected for a third term in Congress, with a majority of 57,409 votes. During the 2006–2011 parliamentary term, he was elected [[President of the Congress of the Republic of Peru|President of the Congress]] for a year in 2009, for the 2009-2010, being his first time in charge of the same legislative body since 1987 when he was the President of the Chamber of Deputies.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.congreso.gob.pe/participacion/museo/congreso/presidentes-2001-2050|title = Presidentes del Congreso de 2001 al 2050}}</ref>

===Second García administration===
Alva was Minister of the Interior from 2007 to 2008, succeeding [[Pilar Mazzetti]]. His tenure lasted a little more than a year and a half. After the resignation of [[Jorge del Castillo]] as Prime Minister due to the [[2008 Peru oil scandal]], Alva Castro was not confirmed in his position by new Prime Minister [[Yehude Simon]], being succeeded by former Police General Remigio Hernani Meloni.

===Post-Congressional career===
Alva failed to achieve a fourth reelection to Congress in the [[2011 Peruvian general election|2011 general election]]. During the campaign, he was involved in a deadly car accident in the [[Agallpampa District]], Otuzco Province. He was the only survivor, as the other [[American Popular Revolutionary Alliance|Peruvian Aprista Party]] provincial leaders accompanying him perished in the accident.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archivo.elcomercio.pe/amp/sociedad/lima/luis-alva-castro-sufrio-accidente-carretera-libertad-noticia-737958|title=Luis Alva Castro sufrió un accidente de carretera en la Libertad|date=4 April 2011}}</ref>