Critics of Peru’s market democracy, however, downplay the improvements, ignore the data, or misrepresent the record, creating a narrative to justify radically changing the country’s course. Leftist political leaders, including the leading candidate in Peru’s presidential elections scheduled for June 6, for example, have outlined an explicitly socialist agenda and are calling for a constitutional convention to achieve their goals. To be sure, Peruvians have much with which to be dissatisfied. Corruption scandals have proliferated, and the political system has become increasingly dysfunctional in recent years. Government incompetence, meanwhile, worsened the effects of the pandemic.
Those factors have undoubtedly influenced the national mood, increasing the appeal of “anti-system” messages. But it is manifestly untrue that democratic capitalism has made Peruvians worse off. Below, we put together 38 graphs that tell the story of the past few decades: in terms of human well-being, Peru has seen unprecedented progress. Plenty of problems remain, but it would be a monumental mistake to try to address them by throwing out the policies and institutions that have so notably improved living standards.
