Country Profile

Over the past four decades Peru’s political and social forces have been seeking a magic formula: an optimum combination of good governance, strong economic growth and poverty alleviation. Despite the occasional swings of the policy pendulum, the past decade has seen real signs of progress. In the post-Fujimori period a succession of presidents have maintained broadly market-friendly economic policies, benefitted from the commodities boom and achieved consistently strong growth rates, although they have struggled to satisfy rising social expectations. Partly due to its sometimes volatile history, social structure, and economic and cultural traditions, Peru has uneven living standards and some enduring pockets of poverty and social exclusion. With economic growth slowing in 2014, Peru’s fragmented political parties will be seeking to realign themselves ahead of the upcoming 2016 national elections.

This chapter includes interviews with President Ollanta Moisés Humala Tasso; Enrique García Rodríguez, Executive President, CAF development bank of Latin America; Gonzalo Gutiérrez Reinel, Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Jaime Reusche, Sovereign Risk Analyst for Latin America, Moody’s.