Editing Alejandro Toledo (section)

=== Indigenous issues ===
Touting his heritage throughout his campaign, Toledo continued the efforts begun by Paniagua, who had brought together experts and indigenous leaders to discuss the needs of indigenous people throughout the country. Toledo's inauguration ceremony on [[Machu Picchu]] was attended by all the presidents of the neighboring Andean states who joined him in signing the "Declaration of Machu Picchu," promising to protect indigenous rights.<ref name="Making Indigenous Citizens">García, Maria Elena (2005) [https://books.google.com/books?id=YO9SggUBoT0C&dq=alejandro+toledo&pg=PA55 ''Making Indigenous Citizens''] Retrieved 29 May 2011. {{ISBN|978-0-8047-5015-8}}</ref>

Maria Elena García calls the years of Toledo's presidency a transition ripe with new opportunities for indigenous people, noting the "reframed state-indigenous interactions", "increase in NGO projects and social movements", and "proliferation of indigenous organizations."<ref name="Making Indigenous Citizens"/> Toledo created and first lady [[Eliane Karp]] headed a new agency for indigenous and Afro-Peruvian affairs, CONOPA (Commission for Amazonian, Andean, and Afro-Peruvian Peoples). The agency was meant to establish a development agenda for indigenous communities, provide representation of indigenous interests within the government, and lead the way for multicultural constitutional reforms. Some critics viewed these actions as a state co-optation of indigenous identity, mockingly dubbing the agency the "Karp Commission".<ref>A. Kim Clark and Marc Becker (2007)[https://books.google.com/books?id=YNNpBW8xPkwC&q=toledo&pg=PA241 ''Highland Indians and the State in Modern Ecuador''] Retrieved 27 July 2011. {{ISBN|978-0-8229-4336-5}}</ref> However, [[Oxfam]]'s Martin Scurrah points out the agency's good work, noting that in addition to promoting a chapter on indigenous rights in the new constitution, Eliane Karp has "intervened on numerous occasions in support of or in defense of indigenous initiatives."<ref name="Making Indigenous Citizens"/>

As president, Toledo made it a priority to try to recover ancient Incan artifacts from Yale University's [[Peabody Museum of Natural History]]. Some art historians claimed that such artifacts, found at Machu Picchu, could help the Peruvian people to gain knowledge of their ancestry.

He also brought serious attention to bilingual education in indigenous schools, creating a new and well-staffed division within the Ministry of Education devoted to the issue. This effort gives advocates greater autonomy and opportunity to influence policy and work toward institutionalizing bilingual education.<ref>Anne Marie-deMejia (2005) [https://books.google.com/books?id=aNAhecncTBwC&dq=alejandro+toledo&pg=PA15 ''Bilingual Education in South America''], Retrieved 1 June 2011. {{ISBN|9781853598197}}/</ref>

Toledo's efforts at decentralization sought to give indigenous groups greater influence upon policy-making on a regional level. The first regional and local elections, held in November 2002, required that 15% of the candidates in regions with an indigenous presence must have indigenous backgrounds. However, decentralization has been viewed critically by some, who claim that in dividing up regions, administrators have at times ignored the distinctive cultural and historical factors that define different areas.<ref name="The Indigenous World 2002–2003">Diana Vinding (2003)[https://books.google.com/books?id=RomJxg75MZMC&q=toledo&pg=PA142 ''The Indigenous World 2002–2003''], Retrieved 30 May 2011. {{ISBN|978-87-90730-74-1}}</ref>

In a speech to the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Latin America conference, Toledo expressed disappointment at the growing disparity between the incomes of indigenous people and other citizens. Despite the growth achieved by the Peruvian economy, the poverty gap has widened between the upper and lower classes. Toledo mentions the reintegration of the indigenous populations into the Peruvian social and political system as a key to sustainability and economic growth.<ref>{{cite web|last=Moore|first=Sarah|title=Former Peruvian President links ethnicity to poverty|url=http://cddrl.stanford.edu/news/former_peruvian_president_links_ethnicity_to_poverty_20120507/|work=article|publisher=Standord University|access-date=24 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140311225511/http://cddrl.stanford.edu/news/former_peruvian_president_links_ethnicity_to_poverty_20120507/|archive-date=11 March 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Advocates of indigenous rights have also criticized some of Toledo's efforts to jump-start the economy through investments, such as his support for the [[Camisea Gas Project|Camisea natural gas project]] and other projects that involved exploring or developing natural resources. These critics claim that companies buy land at unreasonable prices, force indigenous people off of land that is historically theirs, and exploit natural resources in ways that are harmful to communities and the environment. Peru is one of the largest producers of gold, silver, and zinc in Latin America, and some critics complain about the priority the Peruvian government gives to mining as opposed to industries like fishing and agriculture, with which indigenous peoples are more familiar. They note that mining companies may bring new jobs to rural areas, but that they are not jobs for which natives are well qualified.<ref name="The Indigenous World 2002–2003"/>