Peru’s Politics Are a Disaster, but Does It Matter?
Key takeaways
- Whoever is sworn in this July will be the ninth President in a decade, and only the third to actually win an election.
- The LedeReporting and commentary on what you need to know today.
- It’s no wonder that more than ninety per cent of Peruvians distrust their own government.
Members of Peru’s special electoral jury check votes in the first round of this year’s Presidential election, in Lima, on April 23rd.Photograph by Connie France / AFP / Getty Save this story Save this story Save this story Save this story There was a meme going around among Peruvians a few months ago: a picture of the underside of a bottle cap, the kind that announces you’ve won a prize. “Congratulations,” the cap reads. “You’re the new President of Peru.”
There’s a sting of truth to this, of course. The turnover among Peruvian Presidents is such that, when one is forced out of office, it doesn’t even rate a mention on the various group chats I have with my family back in Peru; some heads of state have had such short tenures they had barely enough time to seat a Cabinet before they were shown the door. Whoever is sworn in this July will be the ninth President in a decade, and only the third to actually win an election. The other six ascended to the highest office in the land as a result of the dysfunction that has made Peru a punch line in political-science circles, a sad story of ungovernability played on a loop. In the past ten years, four Presidents have been impeached by Congress, and two have resigned. There have been three heads of state since October of last year, each uniquely unqualified to lead a nation.
The LedeReporting and commentary on what you need to know today.