Peruvian president sworn in

Alejandro Toledo, Peru's first freely elected president of native Indian descent, has been sworn in.

The ceremony completes the nation's return to democracy after a decade of authoritarian rule by disgraced ex-President Alberto Fujimori.

Toledo swore the oath in Peru's Congress "in the name of the poor of Peru" to the cheers of politicians, judges, ministers and more than two dozen foreign dignitaries.

Toledo accepted the red and white sash relinquished by provisional President Valentin Paniagua, the former Congress head.

He assumed the presidency eight months ago in a crisis of ascension after MPs voted to fire Fujimori on constitutional grounds of moral unfitness.

Toledo, 55, was elected last month in a close run-off election against former President Alan Garcia.

An economist who overcame poverty to earn a doctorate from Stanford University, Toledo was sworn in a year after he endured smear campaigns, tear gas and death threats in a battle against Fujimori's autocratic regime.

Fujimori fled in November to Japan, his parents' homeland, where he was granted citizenship as corruption scandals involving his ex-intelligence chief, Vladimiro Montesinos, ended his 10-year rule.

Saturday's inauguration ceremony began with a solemn sermon by Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani in Lima's historic Cathedral.

In a festive atmosphere, cadets in bright red and blue uniforms lined the streets of downtown and rode on horseback, holding spears topped with small Peruvian flags.