Alberto Fujimori an authentic transformation to assure a legitimate and effective democracy." Fujimori believed that Peruvian democracy had been nothing more than "a deceptive formality – a facade". He claimed the coup was necessary in order to break with the deeply entrenched special interests that were hindering him from rescuing Peru from the chaotic state in which García had left it. Fujimori's coup was immediately met with near-unanimous condemnation from the international community. The Organization of American States denounced the coup and demanded a return to "representative democracy", despite Fujimori's claim that the coup represented a "popular uprising". Foreign ministers of OAS
Alberto Fujimori first term in office, APRA and Vargas Llosa's party, the FREDEMO, remained in control of both chambers of Congress, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, hampering the enactment of economic reform. Fujimori also had difficulty combatting the Maoist Shining Path () guerrilla organization due largely to what he perceived as intransigence and obstructionism in Congress. By March 1992, Congress met with the approval of only 17% of the electorate, according to one poll; the president's approval rate stood at 42%, in the same poll. In response to the political deadlock, Fujimori, with the support of the military, on 5