The Legatum Institute presented in Cajamarca its report “Peru at 200: The need for national consensus“, prepared in collaboration with researchers from the universities of Cambridge and New York.

Cajamarca, October 2021. Peru, in its 200 years of Independence, urgently requires the implementation of political and judicial reforms, which would restore the confidence of citizens in its institutions, says the report “Peru at 200: The need for national consensus”, prepared by the Legatum Institute, of the United Kingdom, and presented today in Cajamarca.

The report – which is part of the “Peru: Pathways to Prosperity” programme, funded by the Templeton World Charity Foundation – explains that, despite the need for political and judicial reforms, this urgency has historically been ignored by a political system that is not in the interests of the majority of citizens. “Widespread corruption in the judiciary has become the engine of the political system,” the report explains.

In that sense, the Legatum Institute report indicates that this dysfunctional politics produces a Peruvian State that does not have the capacity to provide basic public services, offer citizen security or regulate the economy in an impartial manner. “It also supports an economy that privileges companies with links to politicians, who avoid compliance with environmental standards, the use of water, among others,” it warns.

The document prepared in collaboration with researchers from the universities of Cambridge and New York indicates that the country has reached its Bicentennial in the midst of extreme political and ethnic polarization, so the prosperity of the country requires a process of national consultation.

Indeed, the document notes that the election of President Pedro Castillo in June 2021 makes it difficult to ignore the political, ethnic and cultural polarization of the country, where the regions with the largest original/indigenous population voted overwhelmingly for Perú Libre.  “The great difference in the wealth of the original/indigenous population and the rural population, on the one hand, and the groups of the ‘elite’ and the city of Lima, on the other, have exacerbated the divisions in the country,” it notes.

Prosperity for all

Carlos Montes, of the Legatum Institute, pointed out that the report proposes a process of “Conciliation for Prosperity”, which – if it manages to strengthen the national consensus – could be the basis of a national agreement that would provide other benefits, such as an economy with inclusive growth; greater state capacity; an agreement on fair and efficient mining taxes; and the expansion of education programmes to improve public education for all.

“We trust that Peru can take advantage of this moment of crisis to initiate a process of dialogue and conciliation that results in a more consensual policy and that makes possible the prosperity of all Peruvians,” he concluded.

Download the report here or by clicking on the report below.