Search

Peru's 2021 presidential election saw disaffected and discontented voters throwing their support behind antisystem outsider Pedro Castillo and Keiko Fujimori. The 2021 election reflects the persistence of trends that have long characterized Peru's political system, most notably the extreme weakness of the country's political parties. To these trends were added a compound crisis comprising political, economic, and public-health dimensions that further increased citizen disaffection, political fragmentation, and the salience of preexisting regional and socioeconomic divides. All this led voters to consider more radical options at the ballot box; a runoff between candidates with dubious democratic credentials that deeply polarized society followed. Amid polarization and unfounded allegations of fraud by Keiko Fujimori's Fuerza Popular, prospects for Peru's democracy look bleak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After Peru's democratic transition in 2000, analysts have described the country as a case of significant political continuity. Among other aspects, the economic model adopted in the 90's was left untouched, public policy was controlled by the Executive, a relatively weak Congress meant the predominance of the Executive, and there was no broad-scale social protests at the national level. During the 2016-2020 period, a significant change occurred in the Executive-Legislative power dynamics. This transformation could affect other dimensions of the 20-year long political continuity. Generally speaking, the Executive and its technocrats have lost strength in relation to Congress' greater protagonism. The latter has managed to obtain greater control over budget, and has started to use regularly some parliamentary prerogatives such as the vote of no confidence and presidential impeachment. These tendencies continued to consolidate with the new Congress elected in 2020 after the dissolution of the preceding one by President Vizcarra. The latter was in turn impeached by the new Congress. The year 2020 was marked by a greater propensity by Congress to promote populist measures and criticize the existing economic model, in the midst of a pandemic that strongly hit Peru and affected the country harshly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent analyses of development and extractivism in Latin America discuss how neoliberal and post-neoliberal strategies under the political economy of resource extraction define the developmental trajectory of national regimes. As most accounts privilege the analysis of structural and historical conditions over everyday practices of state actors, this paper contributes to the discussion by explaining how extractivism and neoliberalism are shaped, reproduced and defended in governmental spaces, defining in this way the development path. On the basis of ethnography of the Peruvian state, in-depth interviews and an analysis of economic, environmental and pro-indigenous policies during 2000–2017, this paper analyses how under the development model of extractivism, governing elites deploy neoliberal or post-neoliberal development strategies and development tools while advancing contradictory development discourses. In this context, states are cynical because, despite progressive regulations and political discourses, everyday actions of governing elites reinforce institutional and ideological constraints on the effectiveness of rights. The promises of pro-indigenous and environmental social reforms are limited from their very formulation because the practices and imaginaries of governing elites are embedded in extractive structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

La grave crisis política producida en el Perú, por los constantes enfrentamientos entre el Congreso y el Poder Ejecutivo, tuvo como desenlace la disolución del Congreso dispuesta por el Gobierno. Por tratarse de una situación política relativamente inédita, y por la falta de una regulación o solución constitucional explícita a diversos de los problemas suscitados, se generaron numerosas controversias y opiniones divergentes respecto a la interpretación de la Constitución sobre temas tales como: las materias que pueden ser objeto de una cuestión de confianza del presidente del Consejo de Ministros ante el Congreso; las implicancias del otorgamiento de la confianza respecto a la propuesta sometida a consideración del Congreso; la posibilidad de invocar una denegación de confianza «fáctica»; la verificación de los supuestos constitucionales en la reciente disolución del Congreso; las competencias de la Comisión Permanente del Congreso durante el interregno parlamentario. En el presente trabajo, el autor analiza estos problemas y expresa su posición sobre los mismos, en el marco del debate producido acerca de si ha existido una disolución constitucionalmente válida del Congreso o un golpe de Estado. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

La moción de censura en los Estados democráticos constituye una herramienta que, a pesar de los años, no ha perdido su carácter de mecanismo de control político. Es más, se podría decir que, por su empleo en las últimas crisis democráticas, ha demandado que se evalúen sus elementos racionalizadores, y con mayor razón en los sistemas no parlamentarios. Por ello, el presente trabajo plantea analizar el empleo que este instrumento ha tenido en nuestro país, sin perder de vista sus orígenes históricos, y analizando los factores para su ejercicio legítimo y no abusivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do participatory institutions facilitate gender empowerment? As these institutions spread around the world, we still know very little about the gendered nature of participatory democratic spaces. Through the case study of state-mandated participatory budgeting in Peru, this article employs original data on participation to explore gender and inclusion. The study suggests that participatory institutions are not promoting gender equality. Instead, state actors have created new political spaces that exclude women and women's organizations and reify traditional gender norms. Like representative democratic institutions, gender inequities are embedded in these very spaces that are meant to empower all citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses indigenous peoples of Peru, particularly focusing on the impact of political difficulties in Peru on indigenous populations, ethnic self-identification in the 2017 Peruvian census, and territorial difficulties dealing with Peru Legislative Decree 1333, popularly referred to as the Plunder Act.

In the context of a growing number of socio-environmental conflicts, different actors emphasise that territorial planning promises to strengthen democratic participation, reduce conflicts, and enable the coexistence of mining with other economic activities. As there are few studies on these processes, this article contributes by asking: To what extent do ecological and economic zoning and related territorial planning (ZEE-OT) open up a decentralised political space for influencing territorial development? Based on interviews and written documents, the article shows that without a basic agreement regarding the purpose and decision-making structures of ZEE-OT, these processes are unlikely to reinforce more democratic forms of territorial governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cambiando drásticamente de tendencia, se ha observado un proceso de formalización laboral en el Perú, en un contexto de crecimiento económico, durante el cual también se impulsó una reforma laboral que creó un régimen especial para micro y pequeñas empresas --lo que redujo los costos laborales-- y se introdujeron mejoras en la inspección del trabajo. Mediante un panel de regiones subnacionales se analiza el papel cumplido por estos factores en el proceso de formalización. En primer lugar, se confirma que la composición del crecimiento importa para la formalización. Al analizar de manera conjunta los factores económicos (crecimiento y crecimiento sectorial) y los cambios institucionales recientes, se encuentra que --en el período analizado-- dichos factores explican la mayor parte del proceso de formalización y que el crecimiento de los sectores intensivos en empleo agrega poder explicativo, mientras que los cambios institucionales no incidieron significativamente a pesar de su magnitud. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the period 2002–12, the Peruvian economy almost doubled in size. This growth was mainly the consequence of the commodity boom in these years. The importance of the mining sector for the Peruvian Treasury is politically translated in the immense difficulties Peruvian Governments have in closing the doors to transnational mining corporations. The government of Ollanta Humala actually inserted the fiscal contribution of extractive industries into the cornerstone of its social policies. In Peru, a growing body of literature is emerging regarding mining issues. However, it lacks an analysis of the development of the mining sector in relation to the general workings of capitalism. In this article we analyze the development of mining in Peru from a critical political economy perspective as this enables us to identify the forces that are advancing the capitalist development process as well as the forces of resistance to this development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the implementation of Peru's new water law and discusses how it produces new forms of water citizenship. Inspired by the global paradigm of "integrated water resources management," the law aims to include all citizens in the management of the country's water resources by embracing a "new water culture." We ask what forms of water citizenship emerge from the new water law and how they engage with local water practices and affect existing relations of inequality. We answer these questions ethnographically by comparing previous water legislation and how the new law currently is negotiated and contested in three localities in Peru's southern highlands. We argue that the law creates a new water culture that views water as a substance that is measurable, quantifiable, and taxable, but that it neglects other ways of valuing water. We conclude that water citizenship emerges from the particular ways water authorities and water users define rights to access and use water, on the one hand, and obligations to contribute to the construction and maintenance ofxvater infrastructure and pay for the use of water, on the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the first decade of the twenty-first century, Latin America experienced a so called left turn that sought either to reform or eliminate the neoliberal institutions established during the 1980s and 1990s. However, although Peru has electoral, economic, and social processes similar to those of its neighbors, the neoliberal institutions established in Peru by the 1993 Constitution remain firmly in place. This article aims to understand the mechanisms sustaining Peru's neoliberal regime since its creation. Why have these institutions survived and grown in strength in a regional environment that has been hostile to neoliberal legacies? The article answers that question, emphasizing the evolution of the balance of power between the precarious Peruvian political class and the empowered technocrats and bureaucrats within the state. The reformist politicians are too weak and amateurish to challenge the technobureaucrats within the state. Moreover, the article analyzes the different strategies deployed by technocrats and bureaucrats in order to ensure the continuity and stability of the neoliberal regime and its policies. Theoretically, the article suggests that institutional stability can arise from a daily process gradually shaped by actors and their strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El presente trabajo de dos años y medio ha permitido identificar un grupo de sentencias del Tribunal Constitucional del Perú en cuya fundamentación, bajo la forma de obiter dictum o dentro de la ratio decidendi, se hace uso de fuentes doctrinarias, nacionales y extranjeras, y jurisprudenciales de otros sistemas jurídicos (especialmente del Sistema Interamericano de Derechos Humanos). Esto demostraría por un lado, el reconocimiento de la doctrina comofuente de construcción de argumentos para justificar soluciones ante los diversos problemas constitucionales que el Tribunal Constitucional enfrenta en su quehacer diario. Asimismo, evidencia una suerte de diálogo entre el Supremo intérprete de la Constitución peruana y sus pares latinoamericanos (donde destacan la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos y la Corte Constitucional de Colombia) y europeos (siendo significativos el Tribunal Constitucional de España, el Tribunal Federal Alemán y la Corte Europea de Derechos Humanos) en materia de interpretación de los derechos fundamentales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El texto presenta un recorrido histórico sobre la discusión y formación del concepto «discriminación múltiple», aún novedoso en nuestro medio. Asimismo, explora el fundamento constitucional que sustentaría su incorporación en el Perú, a partir de una lectura concordada de los artículos 1 y 2 (inciso 2) de la Constitución. Son también relevantes el artículo 55 y la Cuarta Disposición Final y Transitoria del mismo texto normativo, atendiendo a los avances que en esta materia se han producido en el derecho internacional de los derechos humanos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El presente artículo presenta algunas razones para profundizar en el proceso de la «constitucionalización » del derecho presupuestario en el Perú, como una vía para garantizar mejor los derechos fundamentales frente a la potestad presupuestaria del Estado. En tal sentido,expone algunos criterios aportados desde la doctrina y la jurisprudencia constitucional- nacional y comparada-que pueden contribuir al desarrollo y consolidación de una línea de interpretación de la Constitución presupuestaria para la efectividad de la justicia del gasto público en nuestro país. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

En este artículo se intenta establecer el significado de la responsabilidad política institucional. Para ello, en primer término, se describe su surgimiento en el derecho inglés y los inicios de su empleo en el Perú. Luego se explica cómo han sido regulados, en las diversas constituciones peruanas, los dos instrumentos que, actualmente, sirven para hacer efectiva la responsabilidad política institucional de los ministros: la censura y la cuestión de confianza. Finalmente, se distingue la responsabilidad política de la responsabilidad jurídica, precisando que, en nuestro país, el Presidente de la República se encuentra exento de responsabilidad política, pero no de la responsabilidad jurídica que generen los actos que realice en el ejercicio de sus funciones. Esta responsabilidad jurídica se hace efectiva mediante el juicio político pero, cuando concierne a materias penales, su establecimiento judicial se viabiliza mediante el procedimiento parlamentario del antejuicio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International adoption relocates minors, and only minors, from one country to another. The centrality of age to adoptive migration may prevent us from seeing the significance of generation: the prospective parent's age is also examined and evaluated for its relationship to the child's age and what this relationship will mean for the creation of a family. Because international adoption results in children crossing borders to enter new kinship formations, the assumptions under which it operates require closer geographical analysis. Generation, or the age range that separates dependents and their caretakers, is a significant but unstated motivator of international adoption policies and practices. This article argues that a normative and biologized sense of intergenerational difference is embedded in international adoption. The presence of generational ideology in national laws and international norms regarding international adoption demonstrate a broader sense in which policies situate more privileged families as acceptable and others as inadequate. I draw material for this analysis from both legal documents and documents which aim to provide interpretation of those laws, with reference to international adoptions from Peru. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Journal of Politics in Latin America is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Pensamiento Americano is the property of Corporacion Universitaria Americana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

While decentralisation, properly understood, implies that sub-national government involves devolution of authority over revenues, recent experience from Peru suggests that the canon system tends to create perverse incentives in encouraging open and democratic government at the local level. This is particularly the case in regions such as Cusco, which benefit disproportionately from this system. Examination of experiences in four provinces of Cusco shows how - in the absence of a robust civil society - excessive funding tends to encourage clientelism and corruption rather than accountable and transparent administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article shows the organized mass movements and protests against the expansion of the mining activities of Newmont Mining Corp. at the Yanacocha area in Cajamarca, Peru with the opening of the Conga mine. It mentions the environmental and health impact of the open-pit gold mining project. Also noted is the decision of Peruvian President Ollanta Humala to halt the operation on the Conga site following a general strike in 2011.

This paper is a review of the main political events of 2013 in Peruvian politics. Peru is a democracy without parties sustained in a weak state, which limits the capacity of politicians to establish stable linkages with citizens, but has not had serious consequences for the stability of the political regime. On the one hand, this discredited, fragile and fragmented political elite coexists with an influential economic technocracy, strengthened by the good economy performance of recent years. On the other, this gap separating state and society makes the surprising (and precarious) Peruvian stability coexist with signs of discontent among urban sectors which reject the political system and are besieged by insecurity; while, the existence of fragmented episodes of mobilization in rural areas show the flipside of economic growth sustained in the boom of commodities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on Peru's politics and democratization attempts as of the beginning of the 21st century. Topics addressed include the government's decentralization during the mandate of president Ollanta Humala and the economic aspects of Peruvian natural resources. National protests against mining in the country are reviewed as well.

As institutions are created to engage citizens and civil society organizations more directly, who participates, and what effect does participation have? This article explores two of Peru's participatory institutions, the Regional Coordination Councils and the participatory budgets, created in 2002. Specifically it asks, once these institutions are set up, do organizations participate in them? and what effect does this participation have on the organizations? The data show that the participatory processes in Peru are including new voices in decisionmaking, but this inclusion has limits. Limited inclusion has, in turn, led to limited changes specifically in nongovernmental organizations. As a result, the democratizing potential of the participatory institutions is evident yet not fully realized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented on the social role of cultural policies in Latin America, focusing on the policies of Peru in the 21st century. It is the author's view that cultural policies should promote the transformation of social problems. Topics discussed include the promotion of democratic values, the symbolic aspects of culture from an anthropological point of view, and the relationship between politics and culture.