LIMA, Peru (AP) -- It was just over 100 days ago that Alejandro Toledo was
                 inaugurated as president of a country swelling with optimism.

                 Like most Peruvians, he was of Indian descent. He had been freely elected, and he
                 seemed the antithesis of the ousted and corruption-tainted Alberto Fujimori.

                 The optimism has quickly faded.

                 Personal image problems and public dissatisfaction are dogging the new president
                 early in his administration, often overshadowing his efforts to right Peru's path after
                 a decade of authoritarianism.

                 If it isn't his $18,000 monthly salary, then it's his lack of punctuality. If it isn't his
                 arriving at work at noon, then it's allegations of nepotism in his government.

                 Whatever the fixation of the Peruvian media and aid from foreign donors for
                 economic development programs. He has also staffed his Cabinet with
                 internationally respected businessmen and lawyers rather than with cronies.

                 Toledo has sent a budget to Congress proposing to increase health and education
                 spending by 6 percent while slashing defense expenditures by 15 percent. He has
                 also made headway in curbing the military's traditionally intrusive role in Peruvian
                 politics while signing on Chile and Ecuador, in principle, to a campaign to reduce
                 arms spending in Latin America.

                 "President Toledo has very good intentions. We're willing to support him," said
                 Ricardo Munoz, a 29-year-old department store clerk who says he didn't vote for
                 Toledo. "But he needs to straighten out his personal image."

                 Arguing that good pay helps insulate officials from corruption, Toledo set his
                 monthly salary at $18,000, then bowed to widespread criticism and said he would
                 give one-third of it to schools in poor areas. But $12,000 is still one of the highest
                 presidential salaries in Latin America, in a country with a minimum wage of $120 a
                 month. Fujimori made about $570 at today's exchange rate, and apparently didn't
                 always bother to collect it.

                 Toledo's work habits and punctuality are closely scrutinized. News magazine
                 Caretas staked him out for a week in October and found he didn't arrive at work
                 before 10:45 a.m., and sometimes not until noon.

                 Prime Minister Roberto Danino says it doesn't mean a thing. Toledo, he says,
                 sometimes calls him at home at 7 a.m. and often works late into the night.

                 Some Peruvians understand that Toledo can't be judged just 100 days into his term.

                 "If in six months nothing has happened, then we should start questioning," Gloria
                 Bermudez, 35, a bank manager, said while sipping coffee at a street-corner stand.

                 "But what we've been dragged through takes years to fix, not months."

                  Copyright 2001 The Associated Press.