Editing Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre (section)

==1931 presidential election==
[[File: Haya de la Torre - 1931.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Haya de la Torre speaking to the peasants of the Hacienda Laredo, [[La Libertad Region|La Libertad]], 1931.]]
After having lived in exile as a consequence of his fight against the Leguía administration, Haya de la Torre returned to [[Peru]], having been nominated as presidential candidate for the [[1931 Peruvian general election|1931 general election]] with the newly founded [[American Popular Revolutionary Alliance|Peruvian Aprista Party]]. He first arrived in Talara (July 12, 1931), and was received in his hometown (July 25), and finally entered Lima (August 15), where before a huge crowd gathered in Plaza de Acho, he exposed the party's program, in which he emphasized state intervention in the economy (August 23). The APRA campaign introduced means never before seen in the elections in Peru: street graffiti in all the cities of the country; candidates called by name – "Víctor Raúl", "Luis Alberto", etc.—; inclusion of non-voters —JAP (Aprista Youth), CHAP (Aprista Boys) -; own hymn, which superimposed the lyrics to the music of the French [[Marseillaise]] – the Aprista Marseillaise; a flag for the party identifying the supporters; supporters called "companions" holding up white scarves, and the famous "SEASAP" ("Only APRA will save Peru"). A kind of cult figure of Haya began in the party, who was at the same time ''Victor Raúl'', ''the boss'', ''the guide'' and ''the master''.

According to the Electoral Jury that directed this election, Haya placed second with 35% of the popular vote, behind [[Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro]] ([[Revolutionary Union (Peru)|Revolutionary Union]]); however, Haya and the APRA as a whole never recognized the official results or the new government.