Opinion | Peru’s democracy proves resilient against a president’s coup
Washington PostDec 09, 2022
On Monday, the anti-corruption unit of Peru's attorney general's office detained six generals who are being investigated on claims that they took part in a pay-for-promotion scheme in 2021, allegedly with the consent of ousted former Pres. Pedro Castillo.
This comes a month after former army general José Vizcarra and former air force commander Jorge Chaparro claimed that Castillo's government had previously pressured them to promote officers who didn't qualify.
The fact that Peru has already had six presidents since 2016 speaks volumes about the country's political situation and underscores what a difficult legacy Boluarte is taking on. It's a positive sign that the coup attempt by the ultra-leftist and corrupt Castillo failed thanks to the resilience of Peruvians. If Boluarte now succeeds in forming a strong government and implementing structural reforms, there's good reason for optimism for Peruvian democracy.
The ongoing protests highlight that the justified ouster of the unpopular Castillo is by no means the end of the ongoing political crisis in Peru. Poor Peruvians have legitimate doubts that the dysfunctional democratic system will change anything about their desperate situation. That's why snap elections would likely benefit populist candidates. It's uncertain whether Boluarte will manage to keep Peru from becoming ungovernable.
There's a 50% chance that Peru's GDP per capita (PPP) will be at least $20.4K in 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.