President confesses

last updated 8 January 2015

Lima

After a decade of denials, Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo went on national TV this week and recognized his illegitimate, 14-year-old daughter. Toledo had been under mounting political pressure to admit that the girl, Zarai Toledo, was his daughter. Her mother, Lucrecia Orozco, filed a paternity suit 10 years ago, but Toledo refused to submit to DNA tests. Opinion polls showed most Peruvians believed Toledo was Zarai’s father, and political leaders said the denials were damaging his credibility. In private negotiations, the president agreed to come clean and pay $100,000 in compensation. After meeting Toledo for the first time, Zarai said she wouldn’t hold a grudge. “He’s my father, isn’t he?” she said.