The gangrene of corruption

Let's summarize it this way: for the last 30 years, whatever the profile of the elected president and the campaign promises, all of them have more or less applied the same policy: economic pragmatism, inefficiency of public policies and corruption scandals at the end of their mandate. In this little game they succeeded one another: Alberto Fujimori, Alejandro Toledo, Alan Garcia, Ollanta Humala, Pedro Pablo Kuzcinski and Martin Vizcarra. While the former were able to govern with a strong Congress, the elections of 2016 and 2021 resulted in a divided Congress that, depending on the game of alliances, is either in favor of the President or in opposition. Threats of impeachment of one or other of these bodies are constant, as are rumours of corruption, and this little game is poisoning Peruvian political life, preventing any new coherent decision. The demonstrations of November 2020, a real popular uprising carried by the youth and the social networks, were quickly stifled. The famous generation of the Bicentennial seems to have lost interest in a sclerotic political game

Pedro Castillo, a trade unionist and teacher from the province of Cajamarca, came to shake up the political landscape, while in Lima the media and ruling circles had not seen him coming. Very quickly, he was also caught by suspicions of corruption fed by partisan media. The party that brought him to power, Peru Libre, distanced itself from him because, according to Vladimir Cerrón, their leader, its policies were too timid. The new president finds himself cornered, in a precarious situation. He is multiplying his visits to the provinces and making appeals to the people who elected him, but many sectors of the population are deeply discouraged by the political game. The dollar, an economic marker, climbs every time the situation becomes fragile. The local currency, the sol, is devalued making daily life more expensive. On December 7, 2022, following an improvised coup d'état that looked like political suicide, Pedro Castillo was finally deposed and joined the list of corrupt presidents under judicial investigation. Dina Boluarte, his vice-president, takes over and becomes the first president of the Peruvian history.

The heavy price paid to Covid

In the midst of the political crisis, Peru had to face the global health crisis rather ill-prepared as its public structures are so fragile. Public health has been malfunctioning for years, managed by separate entities that do not work together: the Minsa (Ministry of Health), Essalud (Peru's social security system, but which only benefits legal workers, i.e. 11 million affiliates in a country of 33 million people) and, finally, various private networks that operate via mutual insurance companies that are subscribed to privately or are partially subsidized by the employer. President Vizcarra opted for radical measures of border closure and social isolation, which at first were widely welcomed but did not stop the spread of the virus and impoverished a precarious population living from day to day. The subsidies granted by the State took too long to be distributed, people had to go out again and the crisis hit the country hard, first in the heart of the poorest populations, but also in a broader sense. With 87 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, Peru was declared, at the end of the first wave, the country with the highest mortality linked to Covid. No more medical oxygen, no more respirators, no more places in intensive care (1,600 beds in total), the reality was very difficult and in almost every family an uncle, an aunt, a relative died. Some have left huge debts in private clinics, others have preferred to die at home so as not to generate them.

Another black figure underlines the importance of this crisis: 10 children out of 1,000 have lost their father, mother or grandparent, leaving 98,975 children in orphanages. The government pays them 200 soles (50 euros) a month. Add to this a total closure of schools in favour of virtual education over two full school years, 2020 and 2021, and the health crisis has only contributed to widening inequalities. How can you attend a virtual class when there is no electricity or internet at home? Children from rural and urban poor populations have paid a very heavy price, and many have been taken out of school.

Finally, one of the solutions facilitated by the government was the withdrawal of private pension funds for retirement, which allowed those who had them to reinject these sums into the immediate economy, but impoverished them in the long term for the care of their old age. This is why, despite the mourning, Peru appears once again as an active country with a booming economy where street vendors have reappeared, buses are full again and new small entrepreneurs (especially online) have sprung up. We had to reinvent ourselves and quickly. The vast majority of the population is disciplined about vaccinations and booster shots, and about wearing masks even outdoors, but fear and caution compete with the economic emergency.

A country to reinvent

The figures for 2020 are obviously those of a major recession. In 2020, Peru experienced a recession of 11% before experiencing a rebound effect in 2021, with a growth of 13.3%. Despite this, the poverty rate has increased by 10 points (25.9% in 2021), whereas it had been decreasing for the last 25 years. Although the country is in the top third of the world's economies in terms of GDP (48th place in 2021 according to the WB), it ranks only 87th in terms of GDP per capita, which is close to US$7,000. In the 3rd quarter of 2022, the population with full-time employment reached 2,919,700 people, an increase of 17.4% (433,400 people), compared to the same quarter of the year 2021, but compared to the year 2019, it decreased by 8.1% (- 257,300 people).

However, let's end with a touch of hope, because the crisis has also given rise to many small businesses, often virtual. The cities are crisscrossed with motorcycle deliverymen, easy payment methods via applications have exploded and Peru has shown once again its spectacular capacity for resilience and reinvention. The pandemic will have at least shown the energy of this population to be unfailing. While the institutions are sinking, it is the community spirit that has re-emerged to enable them to cope. In the Andes or in the Amazon, this situation has been accompanied by a legitimate withdrawal and mistrust, but this has allowed for a better protection of rural populations. The situation is now normalized, but some people feel grown up, legitimately proud of what the crisis has allowed them to demonstrate. In a burst of pride, the country is recovering economically. It is time for the institutions to reach out to these populations and to help them to frame and establish this momentum, which often goes hand in hand with social insecurity. We work hard and without counting the cost, we never stop inventing, but it is still difficult to build in the long term and this is the main challenge for this still young country with a territory rich in promises.