Peru

—Peruvian /peuh rooh"vee euhn/, adj., n.

/peuh rooh"/, n.

1. Spanish, Perú /pe rddooh"/. a republic in W South America. 24,949,512; 496,222 sq. mi. (1,285,215 sq. km). Cap.: Lima.

2. a city in N central Indiana. 13,764.

3. a city in N Illinois. 10,886.

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Peru

Introduction Peru -
Background: Ancient Peru was the seat of several prominent Andean civilizations, most notably that of the Incas whose empire was captured by the Spanish conquistadores in 1533. Peruvian independence was declared in 1821, and remaining Spanish forces defeated in 1824. After a dozen years of military rule, Peru returned to democratic leadership in 1980, but experienced economic problems and the growth of a violent insurgency. President Alberto FUJIMORI's election in 1990 ushered in a decade that saw a dramatic turnaround in the economy and significant progress in curtailing guerrilla activity. Nevertheless, the president's increasing reliance on authoritarian measures and an economic slump in the late 1990s generated mounting dissatisfaction with his regime. FUJIMORI won reelection to a third term in the spring of 2000, but international pressure and corruption scandals led to his ouster by Congress in November of that year. A caretaker government oversaw new elections in the spring of 2001, which ushered in Alejandro TOLEDO as the new head of government. Geography Peru
Location: Western South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Chile and Ecuador
Geographic coordinates: 10 00 S, 76 00 W
Map references: South America
Area: total: 1,285,220 sq km water: 5,220 sq km land: 1.28 million sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Alaska
Land boundaries: total: 5,536 km border countries: Bolivia 900 km, Brazil 1,560 km, Chile 160 km, Colombia 1,496 km (est.), Ecuador 1,420 km
Coastline: 2,414 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200 NM territorial sea: 200 NM
Climate: varies from tropical in east to dry desert in west; temperate to frigid in Andes
Terrain: western coastal plain (costa), high and rugged Andes in center (sierra), eastern lowland jungle of Amazon Basin (selva)
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Nevado Huascaran 6,768 m
Natural resources: copper, silver, gold, petroleum, timber, fish, iron ore, coal, phosphate, potash, hydropower, natural gas
Land use: arable land: 2.85% permanent crops: 0.38% other: 96.77% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 11,950 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, landslides, mild volcanic activity Environment - current issues: deforestation (some the result of illegal logging); overgrazing of the slopes of the costa and sierra leading to soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Lima; pollution of rivers and coastal waters from municipal and mining wastes Environment - international party to: Antarctic-Environmental
agreements: Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography - note: shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake, with Bolivia; remote Lake McIntyre is the ultimate source of the Amazon River People Peru -
Population: 27,949,639 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 34% (male 4,820,892; female 4,671,205) 15-64 years: 61.1% (male 8,598,328; female 8,492,830) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 627,601; female 738,783) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.66% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 23.36 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 5.74 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/ female total population: 1.01 male(s)/ female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 38.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 70.59 years female: 73.12 years (2002 est.) male: 68.18 years
Total fertility rate: 2.89 children born/woman (2002 est.) HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.35% (1999 est.) HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/ 48,000 (1999 est.)
AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 4,100 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Peruvian(s) adjective: Peruvian
Ethnic groups: Amerindian 45%, mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 37%, white 15%, black, Japanese, Chinese, and other 3%
Religions: Roman Catholic 90%
Languages: Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 88.3% male: 94.5% female: 83% (1995 est.) Government Peru -
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Peru conventional short form: Peru local long form: Republica del Peru local short form: Peru
Government type: constitutional republic
Capital: Lima Administrative divisions: 24 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 1 constitutional province* (provincia constitucional); Amazonas, Ancash, Apurimac, Arequipa, Ayacucho, Cajamarca, Callao*, Cusco, Huancavelica, Huanuco, Ica, Junin, La Libertad, Lambayeque, Lima, Loreto, Madre de Dios, Moquegua, Pasco, Piura, Puno, San Martin, Tacna, Tumbes, Ucayali note: the 1979 constitution mandated the creation of regions (regiones, singular - region) to function eventually as autonomous economic and administrative entities; so far, 12 regions have been constituted from 23 of the 24 departments - Amazonas (from Loreto), Andres Avelino Caceres (from Huanuco, Pasco, Junin), Arequipa (from Arequipa), Chavin (from Ancash), Grau (from Tumbes, Piura), Inca (from Cusco, Madre de Dios, Apurimac), La Libertad (from La Libertad), Los Libertadores-Huari (from Ica, Ayacucho, Huancavelica), Mariategui (from Moquegua, Tacna, Puno), Nor Oriental del Maranon (from Lambayeque, Cajamarca, Amazonas), San Martin (from San Martin), Ucayali (from Ucayali); formation of another region has been delayed by the reluctance of the constitutional province of Callao to merge with the department of Lima; because of inadequate funding from the central government and organizational and political difficulties, the regions have yet to assume major responsibilities; the 1993 constitution retains the regions but limits their authority; the 1993 constitution also reaffirms the roles of departmental and municipal governments
Independence: 28 July 1821 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 28 July (1821)
Constitution: 31 December 1993
Legal system: based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Alejandro TOLEDO Manrique (since 28 July 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; additionally two vice presidents are provided for by the constitution, First Vice President Raul DIEZ Canseco (since 28 July 2001) and Second Vice President David WAISMAN (since 28 July 2001) head of government: President Alejandro TOLEDO Manrique (since 28 July 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; additionally two vice presidents are provided for by the constitution, First Vice President Raul DIEZ Canseco (since 28 July 2001) and Second Vice President David WAISMAN (since 28 July 2001) note: Prime Minister Roberto DANINO (since 28 July 2001) does not exercise executive power; this power is in the hands of the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; special presidential and congressional elections held 8 April 2001, with runoff election held 3 June 2001; next to be held 9 April 2006 election results: President Alejandro TOLEDO Manrique elected president in runoff election; percent of vote - Alejandro TOLEDO Manrique 53.1%, Alan GARCIA 46.9% cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral Congress of the Republic of Peru or Congresso de la Republica del Peru (120 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) election results: percent of vote by party - Peru Posible 26.3%, APRA 19.7%, Unidad Nacional 13.8%, FIM 11.0%, others 29.2%; seats by party - Peru Posible 47, APRA 28, Unidad Nacional 17, FIM 11, others 17 elections: last held 8 April 2001 (next to be held 9 April 2006)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are appointed by the National Council of the Judiciary) Political parties and leaders: American Popular Revolutionary Alliance or APRA [Alan GARCIA]; Independent Moralizing Front or FIM [Fernando OLIVERA Vega]; National Unity (Unidad Nacional) or UN [Lourdes FLORES Nano]; Peru Posible or PP [Luis SOLARI]; Popular Action or AP [Javier DIAZ Orihuela]; Solucion Popular [Carlos BOLANA]; Somos Peru or SP [Alberto ANDRADE]; Union for Peru or UPP [Roger GUERRA Garcia] Political pressure groups and leftist guerrilla groups include
leaders: Shining Path [Abimael GUZMAN Reynoso (imprisoned), Gabriel MACARIO (top leader at-large)]; Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement or MRTA [Victor POLAY (imprisoned), Hugo AVALLENEDA Valdez (top leader at- large)] International organization ABEDA, APEC, CAN, CCC, ECLAC, FAO,
participation: G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA, MONUC, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Allan WAGNER chancery: 1700 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Paterson (New Jersey), San Francisco, Washington (DC) FAX: [1] [phone] telephone: [1] [phone] through 9869 Diplomatic representation from the chief of mission: Ambassador John R.
US: HAMILTON embassy: Avenida La Encalada, Cuadra 17s/n, Surco, Lima 33 mailing address: P. O. Box 1995, Lima 1; American Embassy (Lima), APO AA 34031-5000 telephone: [51] (1) 434-3000 FAX: [51] (1) 434-3037
Flag description: three equal, vertical bands of red (hoist side), white, and red with the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a shield bearing a vicuna, cinchona tree (the source of quinine), and a yellow cornucopia spilling out gold coins, all framed by a green wreath Economy Peru
Economy - overview: Thanks to strong foreign investment and the cooperation between the government and the IMF and World Bank, growth was strong in 1994-97 and inflation was brought under control. In 1998, El Nino's impact on agriculture, the financial crisis in Asia, and instability in Brazilian markets undercut growth. And 1999 was another lean year for Peru, with the aftermath of El Nino and the Asian financial crisis working its way through the economy. Political instability resulting from the presidential election and FUJIMORI's subsequent departure from office limited growth in 2000. The downturn in the global economy further depressed growth in 2001. President TOLEDO, who assumed the presidency in July 2001, is working to reinvigorate the economy and reduce unemployment. Economic growth in 2002 is projected to be 3 to 3.5%.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $132 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: -0.3% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $4,800 (2001 est.) GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 10% industry: 35% services: 55% (2001 est.) Population below poverty line: 50% (2000 est.) Household income or consumption by lowest 10%: 1.6%
percentage share: highest 10%: 35.4% (1996) Distribution of family income - Gini 46.2 (1996)
index: Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.5% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 7.5 million (2000 est.) Labor force - by occupation: agriculture, mining and quarrying, manufacturing, construction, transport, services
Unemployment rate: 9%; widespread underemployment (2001 est.)
Budget: revenues: $10.4 billion expenditures: $10.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.)
Industries: mining of metals, petroleum, fishing, textiles, clothing, food processing, cement, auto assembly, steel, shipbuilding, metal fabrication Industrial production growth rate: 1.5% (2001 est.) Electricity - production: 19.679 billion kWh (2000) Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 17.89% hydro: 81.38% other: 0.73% (2000) nuclear: 0% Electricity - consumption: 18.301 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: coffee, cotton, sugarcane, rice, wheat, potatoes, corn, plantains, coca; poultry, beef, dairy products, wool; fish
Exports: $7.3 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: fish and fish products, gold, copper, zinc, crude petroleum and byproducts, lead, coffee, sugar, cotton
Exports - partners: US 28%, UK 8%, Switzerland 8%, China 6%, Japan, Chile, Brazil (2000)
Imports: $7.4 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum, iron and steel, chemicals, pharmaceuticals
Imports - partners: US 27%, Chile 8%, Spain 6%, Venezuela 4%, Colombia, Brazil, Japan (2000)
Debt - external: $33.1 billion (2001 est.) Economic aid - recipient: $895.1 million (1995)
Currency: nuevo sol (PEN)
Currency code: PEN
Exchange rates: nuevo sol per US dollar - 3.4400 (November 2001), 3.509 (2001), 3.4900 (2000), 3.3833 (1999), 2.9300 (1998), 2.6642 (1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year Communications Peru - Telephones - main lines in use: 1.509 million (1998) Telephones - mobile cellular: 504,995 (1998)
Telephone system: general assessment: adequate for most requirements domestic: nationwide microwave radio relay system and a domestic satellite system with 12 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); Pan American submarine cable Radio broadcast stations: AM 472, FM 198, shortwave 189 (1999)
Radios: 6.65 million (1997) Television broadcast stations: 13 (plus 112 repeaters) (1997)
Televisions: 3.06 million (1997)
Internet country code: .pe Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 10 (2000)
Internet users: 400,000 (2000) Transportation Peru -
Railways: total: 2,102 km standard gauge: 1,695 km 1.435- m gauge narrow gauge: 407 km 0.914-m gauge (2001)
Highways: total: 72,900 km paved: 8,700 km unpaved: 64,200 km (1999 est.)
Waterways: 8,808 km note: 8,600 km of navigable tributaries of Amazon system and 208 km of Lago Titicaca
Pipelines: crude oil 800 km; natural gas and natural gas liquids 64 km
Ports and harbors: Callao, Chimbote, Ilo, Matarani, Paita, Puerto Maldonado, Salaverry, San Martin, Talara, Iquitos, Pucallpa, Yurimaguas note: Iquitos, Pucallpa, and Yurimaguas are all on the upper reaches of the Amazon and its tributaries
Merchant marine: total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 29,470 GRT/45,451 DWT note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: United States 1 (2002 est.) ships by type: cargo 4, petroleum tanker 1
Airports: 239 (2001) Airports - with paved runways: total: 47 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 20 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 1 (2001) Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 192 1,524 to 2,437 m: 25 914 to 1,523 m: 65 under 914 m: 102 (2001) Military Peru -
Military branches: Army (Ejercito Peruano), Navy (Marina de Guerra del Peru; includes Naval Air, Marines, and Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea del Peru; FAP), National Police (includes General Police, Security Police, and Technical Police) Military manpower - military age: 17 years of age (2002 est.) Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 7,356,395 (2002 est.) Military manpower - fit for military males age 15-49: 4,944,952 (2002
service: est.) Military manpower - reaching males: 276,458 (2002 est.)
military age annually: Military expenditures - dollar $1 billion (FY01)
figure: Military expenditures - percent of 1.8% (FY01)
GDP: Transnational Issues Peru - Disputes - international: dispute with Chile over the economic zone delimited by the maritime boundary; Colombian drug activities penetrate Peruvian border area
Illicit drugs: until 1996 the world's largest coca leaf producer; emerging opium producer; Peru reduced the area of coca under cultivation by 64% to 34,000 hectares between 1996 and the end of 2001; much of the cocaine base is shipped to neighboring Colombia for processing into cocaine, while finished cocaine is shipped out from Pacific ports to the international drug market; increasing amounts of base and finished cocaine, however, are being moved to Brazil and Bolivia for use in the Southern Cone or transshipped to Europe and Africa

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officially Republic of Peru

Country, western South America.

Area: 496,225 sq mi (1,285,216 sq km). Population (2002 est.): 26,724,000. Capital: Lima. Almost half of the people are Quechua Indians, and nearly one-third are mestizos (mixed Indian and Spanish ancestry); the remainder are Aymara Indians and persons of Spanish ancestry. Languages: Spanish, Quechua, and Aymara (all official). Religions: Roman Catholicism (official), Protestantism. Currency: new sol. Peru is the third largest country in South America and may be divided into three geographic regions from west to east: the coast, which consists of a long, narrow belt of desert lowlands; the highlands, which is the Peruvian portion of the Andes Mountains; and the vast, forested eastern foothills and plains, consisting mainly of the tropical rainforests of the Amazon River basin. Peru has a developing mixed economy based largely on services, manufacturing, agriculture, and mining. Most industries, including the petroleum industry, were nationalized in the late 1960s and early '70s, but many were privatized again in the 1990s. Peru is a republic with one legislative house; its head of state and government is the president. Peru was the centre of the Inca empire, which was established с 1230 with its capital at Cuzco. In 1533 the region was conquered by Spanish adventurer Francisco Pizarro and thereafter was dominated by Spain for almost 300 years as the Viceroyalty of Peru. It declared its independence in 1821, and freedom was achieved in 1824. Peru was defeated by Chile in the War of the Pacific (1879–83). In 1941 a boundary dispute with Ecuador erupted into war, which gave Peru control over a larger part of the Amazon basin; further disputes ensued until the border was demarcated again in 1998. The government was overthrown by a military junta in 1968, and civilian rule was restored in 1980. The government of Alberto Fujimori dissolved the legislature in 1992 and promulgated a new constitution the following year. The government later successfully combated the Shining Path and Tupac Amarú rebel movements. Fujimori won a second term in 1995, but charges of fraud accompanied his election to a third term in 2000; his government crumbled later that year. In 2001 Alejandro Toledo became Peru's first democratically elected president of Quechuan ethnicity.

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▪ 2009

Area:

1,285,198 sq km (496,218 sq mi)

Population

(2008 est.): 28,534,000

Capital:

Lima

Head of state and government:

President Alan García

      The year 2008 saw Peru's economy advance strongly. The country reached 9% GDP growth, with significant increases across the board in mining, agriculture, construction, manufacturing, and the entire service sector. Accompanying this growth were high public expenditures (along with increased tax revenues), strong consumer credit growth, and expanding domestic and international investment. Indeed, one notable sign of overall economic well-being emerged during the year when Peru's debt was moved up to investment grade status by major international brokerage houses such as Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings.

      Despite these achievements, Pres. Alan García's approval ratings were at their lowest point since his inauguration in July 2006. They stood at just 19% overall in September, down from 35% in July 2007. Moreover, some deep and significant disparities existed in García's poll numbers. For example, while he received the approval of 24% of Lima's population, he registered an abysmal 7% in the southern highlands, Peru's poorest and most isolated region.

      This extraordinary disconnect between robust macroeconomic indicators and popular perception had several causes and as many repercussions. First, while some parts of the country were booming (especially Lima but also the coast in general and the northern coast in particular), many residents of southern and highland Peru, where many of the country's indigenous peoples lived, continued to see themselves as left out. Government claims that poverty had declined significantly over the past few years fell on deaf ears. Work in the informal sector often provided only part-time employment, poor wages, and no benefits. Many Peruvians, especially in the cities, were also alarmed at the emergence of inflation that—while still relatively moderate—rekindled memories of the late 1980s and its 7,600% hyperinflation. Thus, Peru's recent economic good fortune remained as much a challenge as a good thing. Maintaining the country's impressive economic performance while distributing its benefits more equitably was a clear and necessary goal; whether it could be achieved, and how quickly, remained very much in question.

      The general discontent felt in many parts of the country contributed to a large number of protests during the year. These included demands by workers in the southern region of Moquegua for the greater sharing of burgeoning mining royalties, numerous clashes between local communities and mining operations over environmental concerns, and a national strike by public-sector doctors over stalled wage increases. The inhabitants of Peru's central-southern coast around the towns of Pisco and Ica complained that reconstruction following the magnitude-8.0 earthquake that struck in August 2007 had proceeded too slowly. In addition, a variety of institutional shortcomings remained as challenges. For example, plans to decentralize Peru's unitary government and to devolve power to regional and local levels had been slowly and unevenly implemented and were plagued by claims of unpreparedness and corruption of local authorities.

      A major scandal developed in October when high-ranking government officials were accused of partaking in kickback schemes involving oil-exploration contracts. As a result, García's entire cabinet resigned, and Yehude Simon, a regional governor who was not a member of García's American Popular Revolutionary Alliance, was named head of a new cabinet. The scandal revelations only damaged García's public image further.

      On the international front, a maritime-boundary dispute with Chile continued to drag on with no resolution in sight, and work on the completion of a highway between Peru and Brazil was running behind schedule. More alarming, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime released a report in June confirming an increase in coca cultivation in Peru as well as in neighbouring Colombia and Bolivia. According to UN and Peruvian government estimates, plots of coca bushes covered some 51,000 ha (127,000 ac) in Peru, an increase of about a third since 1999.

      On April 15 the Supreme Court upheld former president Alberto Fujimori's December 2007 conviction of having once authorized an illegal search. Fujimori's trial on a variety of other charges, including alleged human rights abuses, continued.

Henry A. Dietz

▪ 2008

Area:

1,285,198 sq km (496,218 sq mi)

Population

(2007 est.): 27,903,000

Capital:

Lima

Head of state and government:

President Alan García

      Peruvian Pres. Alan García completed the first year of his second term in office in 2007, but his popularity continued to slide during the year (to about 35%) as citizens continued to voice concerns about the difficulty of finding good jobs, about personal security, and about persistent scandals involving questionable government purchasing practices. García's interior minister resigned after he was charged with corruption for having overpaid for police cars and other official vehicles.

      Former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori, who fled the country in 2001, was formally extradited to Lima in September 2007 to stand trial on several corruption and human rights abuse charges. Fujimori had been under house arrest in Santiago for some 22 months while the case made its way through the Chilean legal system, but because he maintained a sizable core of supporters in Peru and his party often sided with President García's American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA) in the Congress, the hearings represented a highly sensitive political issue. In December Fujimori was convicted of having authorized an illegal search in 2000 and was sentenced by Peru's Supreme Court to six years in prison. A separate trial on charges of murder and human rights abuse continued at year's end. Meanwhile, a long series of trials continued for Vladimiro Montesinos, Fujimori's former spy chief. Montesinos already had been found guilty on a number of charges involving his abuse of power while serving (1990–2000) in government.

 Probably the most notable event in Peru during the year was the magnitude 8.0 earthquake that on August 15 struck the southern Peruvian coast. The epicentre was near the city of Ica, and the surrounding towns of Pisco, Paracas, Cañete, and Chincha were hard hit. Pisco suffered widespread damage, but Lima, some 240 km (150 mi) north of Ica, emerged basically unscathed. The final death toll was about 600, with another 300 missing, and the damage to infrastructure and buildings was extensive.

      Macroeconomic indicators were strong and positive throughout the year; economic growth continued to surpass 7% and helped to generate substantial government revenues, significant trade surpluses, and large foreign reserves. Inflation stayed low (at about 2.5%). Nonetheless, extreme disparities remained between Peru's wealthy and its poor.

      One of Peru's economic mainstays— mining—showed signs of trouble. Numerous mining communities protested against low wages and such environmental ills as water pollution and mercury spills. Leakage from the Camisea natural gas pipeline also caused problems. The city of La Oroya, a mining town with a refinery in the central Andean highlands, was reportedly one of the 10 worst polluted places in the world; more than 90% of children in the area had high levels of lead in their blood.

      In foreign affairs Pres. Alan García demonstrated support for a free-trade agreement with the U.S. The Peru Trade Promotion Agreement was approved in November by the U.S. House of Representatives and in December by the U.S. Senate. The ratification of this bill represented a major coup for Peru and García.

Henry A. Dietz

▪ 2007

Area:

1,285,198 sq km (496,218 sq mi)

Population

(2006 est.): 27,515,000

Capital:

Lima

Head of state and government:

Presidents Alejandro Toledo and, from July 28, Alan García

      Presidential and congressional elections dominated life in Peru during the first half of 2006. At the beginning of the year, some 20 candidates declared themselves for the presidency, but as the first round approached in April, three stood out: Ollanta Humala, a former military officer and a radical populist with a large following in the provinces and the central and southern highlands; Alan García (Garcia, Alan ) (see Biographies), a former president (1985–90) and head of the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA) party; and Lourdes Flores Nano, a centre-right candidate with major support in Lima. As predicted, no one candidate carried the first round with the required 50% plus one required for election. Humala took a plurality with 31% of the vote, while García placed a close second over Flores Nano. In the June runoff election, García won 53% of the vote.

      García's victory was nothing less than astonishing. His first term was widely viewed as a failure; his policy mistakes had plunged the country into economic free fall, and the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) insurgent movement had grown increasingly strong. García and his party largely recovered, and García adroitly positioned himself as a moderate between Flores Nano, whose appeal was limited to middle- and upper-class Lima, and Humala, whose fiery rhetoric made many voters uneasy. During the campaign season Venezuelan Pres. Hugo Chávez made numerous highly public comments supporting Humala and disparaging García, a tactic that backfired with much of Peru's electorate, including some of Humala's supporters.

      Both before and after the election, García endeavoured to appear more mature and statesmanlike in an effort to counter unease that lingered from his first term. In addition to such moves on his part, Peru was in far better shape economically than it had been in 1985. GNP growth was over 6%, and inflation was virtually nonexistent. The country's exports were on line to approach $23 billion, a 30% increase over 2005, and to result in a record-level trade surplus. Peru's principal exports—copper, zinc, and gold—were in significant demand worldwide.

      García faced some major problems, however. Despite the rosy macroeconomic indicators, a significant disconnect still existed between those positive signs and job creation. The central and southern highlands were Peru's poorest regions, and bringing even modest prosperity to them would be a major challenge. García's APRA party also had a minority in the Congress and would need to form alliances and coalitions to pass legislation. Before García took office, Peru and the U.S. were in the process of negotiating a free-trade agreement that still had to be approved by the U.S. Congress; getting that legislation passed (a García priority) was by no means assured.

      Long-term social and political problems also needed to be addressed. The gaps between Lima and the provinces, between the Pacific coast and the Andean highlands, and between the nation's wealthy elite and the mass of society remained as daunting as ever; a much-publicized initiative to extend assistance to these segments of society would require long-term resources and diligence. Moreover, a movement emerged in the Congress to investigate irregularities that allegedly occurred during Alejandro Toledo's administration (García's predecessor).

      During García's official October visit to Washington, the administration of George W. Bush encouraged him to oppose Chávez's moves to stir up anti-U.S. sentiment in the Western Hemisphere. Although García seemed willing to cooperate, a move to side too readily with the U.S. might weaken APRA's traditionally social democratic stance. Nonetheless, García obtained what most politicians never get—a second chance to do better, both for themselves and their country.

Henry A. Dietz

▪ 2006

Area:

1,285,198 sq km (496,218 sq mi)

Population

(2005 est.): 27,968,000

Capital:

Lima

Head of state and government:

President Alejandro Toledo

 As 2005 unfolded, Peru increasingly looked ahead to presidential and congressional elections scheduled for April 2006. A great deal of posturing and negotiating occurred as candidates, parties, and various movements all sought to position themselves for these elections. Early presidential favourites included well-known politicians such as former president Alan García, former interim president Valentín Paniagua, and Popular Christian Party leader Lourdes Flores Nano, but all polls suggested that much of the electorate had yet to decide on their candidate. Former president Alberto Fujimori, who had been residing in Japan and resisting extradition to Peru on a variety of charges, surprised nearly everyone by traveling to Chile in November—apparently as a first step toward returning to Peru to challenge for the right to participate in the elections. His future remained uncertain, however, after Chilean authorities decided to detain him. By year's end the Peru-vian government was preparing a formal request for Chile to extradite Fujimori.

      In overall economic terms, Peru enjoyed a good year. GNP growth was nearly 5%; inflation was nil; exports as well as imports were up; and most financial indicators were favourable. Nevertheless, Pres. Alejandro Toledo continued to have very low levels of public support, with his approval rating hovering around 10% for much of the year. Problems arose for him in January when his sister was placed under house arrest for allegedly having masterminded the forgery of thousands of signatures to help get Toledo's party, Peru Posible, on the 2000 presidential ballot. Toledo denied his sister's involvement in the so-called signature scandal and that he had ever had knowledge of such a scheme. His credibility, however, was further eroded by the allegations and by the fact that several other members of his family had been linked to corruption cases.

      Toledo was also hurt by a cabinet crisis in August that threatened briefly to bring down the government. The crisis was precipitated when a key Toledo ally, Fernando Olivera, was appointed minister of foreign affairs. Olivera, who was known for taking controversial stands such as supporting the legalization of coca production in southern Peru, was seen as a divisive figure by many, and his appointment was widely criticized. Prime Minister Carlos Ferrero resigned in protest, a move that under Peruvian law required the rest of the cabinet, including Olivera, to resign as well. The situation was diffused when Toledo named Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, a former finance minister who enjoyed virtually unanimous support, as the country's new prime minister. A new cabinet was also named, with the foreign affairs portfolio going to Oscar Maurtua de Romana, a former Peruvian ambassador to Thailand.

      Peru also dealt with a variety of other political and social problems. A series of strikes and demonstrations by numerous groups—including rice growers, coca farmers and producers, and nurses—as well as a number of violent confrontations between mining companies and the inhabitants of mining communities contributed to unease throughout the year. Progress did occur on some fronts, however. The Camisea gas pipeline was operational and successful; a new transcontinental highway linking Peru with Brazil and other countries was inaugurated; and the country carried out its first nationwide population and housing census since 1993. In addition, a new government program was launched that would eventually provide monthly stipends to about 25% of Peru's lowest-income families.

Henry A. Dietz

▪ 2005

Area:

1,285,216 sq km (496,225 sq mi)

Population

(2004 est.): 27,544,000

Capital:

Lima

Head of state and government:

President Alejandro Toledo

      In 2004 Peru exemplified a classic case of a less-developed country where the macro-level economic picture was bright but day-to-day political life posed enormous problems for its president, Alejandro Toledo. Most of Peru's economic indicators attested that the country was doing well. The GNP had been growing steadily between 3.5% and 4% annually for more than three years. Inflation was nowhere in sight, tax revenues were growing steadily, foreign reserves were at or near an all-time high, and in general, foreign investors and international watchdogs, including the IMF, saw the country's prospects in a positive light overall. The long-awaited Camisea gas pipeline went on line in August, promising more revenues, and Peru was in the midst of multilateral discussions with the U.S. for a free-trade pact.

      In political and social terms, however, the country was under considerable strain. President Toledo, whose term was due to expire in 2006, was surrounded by rumours and accusations of misconduct, including having had knowledge of the alleged falsification of signatures needed for his political party, Peru Posible, to meet legal requirements to appear on the 2000 presidential ballot. Several of his siblings were also under investigation for a variety of alleged wrongdoings. Moreover, some high-ranking members of his party had either bolted from the party or were threatening to do so. Roughly half the population continued to live below the poverty line, and unemployment and underemployment were constant concerns for many more. As a result, Toledo's approval ratings were frequently in the single digits, and a variety of newspapers and media outlets debated his right to serve or called for him to resign. Several polls taken during the year showed former president Alberto Fujimori finishing first or second among voters looking toward the 2006 elections. That Fujimori was a fugitive from justice, wanted on serious charges and being sought for extradition from Japan to Peru, made his popularity all the more unsettling.

      The rule of law was also problematic in some areas. In April some Aymara residents of Ilave, a small city in the highland district of Puno near the Bolivian border, became outraged with the behaviour of their mayor and lynched him. At least partially as a result of this incident, Law 28222 was passed by the Peruvian Congress, allowing the military to take command over local police in cases of public disorder. The Ilave event was taken by some observers as evidence of the weakness of the Peruvian state and the inability to extend the rule of law into indigenous areas. Throughout much of the year, strikes and demonstrations took place, notably a march by coca farmers in early May, a strike by labour unions in July, and a prolonged strike by employees of the nation's judicial system.

      Peru also saw some difficulties and contretemps in its foreign relations. A major dispute over the construction of a gas pipeline from Bolivia through Chile to the Pacific coast brought about severe political disruptions in Bolivia and resulted in negotiations between Bolivia and Peru about building the pipeline through Peruvian territory. (See Bolivia .) Peru and Chile also had disagreements over maritime rights. In May Peru severed relations with Cuba after Cuban Pres. Fidel Castro criticized Lima for voting against Cuba's human rights record at the UN Human Rights Commission and for taking orders from the U.S. regarding its foreign policy.

Henry A. Dietz

▪ 2004

Area:

1,285,216 sq km (496,225 sq mi)

Population

(2003 est.): 27,148,000

Capital:

Lima

Head of state and government:

President Alejandro Toledo

      Although Peru's overall economic picture was healthy in 2003, with gross national product growth and minimal inflation, Pres. Alejandro Toledo's approval ratings ran between 10% and 15%. Contributing to his abysmal ratings were persistent low levels of job growth and the implementation in midyear of a state of emergency in response to farmer strikes, which resulted in a disruption in the flow of goods throughout the country.

      Toledo also had difficulties with the Peruvian Congress. A variety of issues produced wrangling between the two bodies of government, and Toledo found himself repeatedly forced to juggle his cabinet and replace ministers. Although cabinet reshuffles were not infrequent in Peru, Toledo was publicly embarrassed when in the run-up to the July 28 Independence Day celebrations (when the president delivered the state of the union address) he was turned down repeatedly after asking various individuals to take over as head of the cabinet. He eventually selected Beatriz Merino, Peru's first female head of cabinet, but on December 15 she resigned and was replaced by Carlos Ferrero Costa, a former congressional speaker.

      Another source of unrest emerged with the suspected reappearance of the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path), an insurgent group that had brought widespread damage and intimidation to Peru during the 1980s and early '90s. A group claiming to be a reborn Shining Path seized several dozen people working on a gas pipeline in June and in July ambushed a military patrol, killing five soldiers and two civilian guides. Though the incident was apparently an isolated one, the possibility of a reconstituted Shining Path aroused much alarm.

      The Truth and Reconciliation Commission—appointed in 2001 to inquire into the breadth and depth of killings, assassinations, and human rights abuses that occurred between 1980 and 2000 when the Shining Path was terrorizing the nation—released its nine-volume report. Most startlingly, the commission found that the number of dead was approximately 70,000—twice the figure usually quoted. The commission also cast wide blame when it noted that it had uncovered “murder, disappearance, and torture on a grand scale and indolence, ineptitude, and indifference on the part of those who might have stopped this human catastrophe but did not.” The Shining Path was blamed for more than half of the deaths, while security forces were culpable for about one-third. The sweeping magnitude of the report generated protest from all sides. Some saw the findings as sympathetic to the insurgents; others, especially military officers and politicians in office at that time, feared that they would be charged with human rights abuses. Jaime Zuniga (aka “Cirilo” and “Dalton”), a prominent leader of the Shining Path, was captured in November.

      Peru captured a degree of international attention because of a high-profile project to tap into immense natural-gas deposits in a jungle area known as Camisea. A multinational consortium headed by Argentina was building a pipeline from the jungle to the coast, and numerous environmental and indigenous watchdog groups protested that the project would do harm to local tribes living in the area and to the environment. Despite such protests, funding was approved (primarily from the Inter-American Development Bank), and the project moved ahead.

      Though President Toledo was scheduled to complete his term in 2006, his lack of popularity coupled with the inchoate state of Peru's political parties made the country's future unpredictable, a situation that was likely to persist.

Henry A. Dietz

▪ 2003

Area:

1,285,216 sq km (496,225 sq mi)

Population

(2002 est.): 26,749,000

Capital:

Lima

Head of state and government:

President Alejandro Toledo

      Peru went through 2002 with its rather fragile democracy intact under Pres. Alejandro Toledo, but the year had more than its share of disruptions and worries. Toledo had been inaugurated in July 2001 with probably unrealistic expectations. In the elections called to replace Alberto Fujimori—who had resigned in late 2000 in the wake of a corruption scandal—Toledo had campaigned as a champion of the poor, especially of the country's impoverished indigenous masses, and his pledges were taken seriously, since he had come from such a background. For some years Peru had been mired in a deep recession that had left more than half of the country's population in poverty and pushed many into the informal sector in Peru's major cities. Toledo had pledged that he would create a million new jobs, but such promises had not been kept, and his public approval ratings fell steadily after he took office, hovering around an abysmal 20% for much of 2002.

      Other factors contributed to the president's unpopularity. Although during his campaign he had consistently pledged not to privatize state enterprises, Toledo named a centrist cabinet that was inclined toward neoliberal economic policies, including downsizing of the state in general and privatization in particular. Such inconsistencies came to a head in June in the southern city of Arequipa, where a weeklong citywide strike against the sale of two regional power companies led to broad-scale public mobilizations that resulted in hundreds of casualties, including two fatalities. Nationwide regional and municipal elections were held on November 17. The opposition American Popular Revolutionary Alliance won 12 regional elections and finished far ahead of Toledo's party and all others, likely meaning that Toledo will face increased opposition during his next three years in office.

      In addition, Toledo had been pursued by a scandal that he was the father of an illegitimate 14-year-old girl; after denying the allegation for years—the girl's mother had filed a paternity suit in Peruvian courts a decade earlier—he admitted in October that he was indeed the girl's father and reportedly agreed to a financial settlement in the case. Toledo also was accused of leading a lavish personal lifestyle, and a series of intemperate remarks by his Belgian-born wife added fuel to the fire.

      The spectre of terrorism in Peru resurfaced during the year. A car bombing near the U.S. embassy in Lima on March 21 claimed the lives of 9 people and wounded at least 30 others. The blast came just days before a visit by U.S. Pres. George W. Bush—the first to Peru by a sitting American head of state. Although no one claimed responsibility for the attack, Interior Minister Fernando Rospigliosi maintained that the bombing was “connected to the events of September 11 and the presence of President Bush.” While in Lima, Bush met with Toledo to discuss cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking and terrorism. Bush also promised increased development assistance for Peru over the next three years. In his private meeting with Toledo, Bush reportedly raised the case of Lori Berenson, an American whose 20-year prison term for collaboration with a Marxist rebel group was upheld by Peru's Supreme Court in February. According to a White House spokesman, Bush called for humane treatment of Berenson but did not push for her release.

      Of worldwide interest was the announcement in March that a group of Peruvian and British scholars and explorers had discovered the ruins of a large Inca settlement atop a mountain peak in the Andes about 40 km (25 mi) from Machu Picchu. According to expedition leader Peter Frost, the site—in an area that served as a place of resistance against Spanish conquerors—could “yield a record of Inca civilization from the very beginning to the very end, undisturbed by European contact.”

Henry A. Dietz

▪ 2002

Area:

1,285,216 sq km (496,225 sq mi)

Population

(2001 est.): 26,090,000

Capital:

Lima

Head of state and government:

Presidents Valentín Paniagua (interim) and, from July 28, Alejandro Toledo

      The year 2001 finally brought some stability and order to Peru after a tumultuous period of political upheaval. In 2000 Pres. Alberto Fujimori had stood for a third election, in which he claimed victory despite universal outcries of fraud and ballot manipulation. Shortly after his apparent victory, however, a series of scandals involving him and Vladimiro Montesinos, his chief intelligence officer, brought about his downfall, which ended with Fujimori's faxing in his resignation as president from Japan, where he sought and received asylum.

      Following Fujimori's fall from power, the Peruvian Congress had named Valentín Paniagua as interim president. Paniagua, a constitutional scholar with no presidential ambitions of his own, was able to bring a certain calm to Peru, stabilize a chaotic political situation, and shepherd elections through a first round in May 2001 and then a second round some weeks later. The first round saw Alejandro Toledo, an independent candidate from Peru's highlands, and former president Alan García Pérez finish first and second, respectively, but neither won the required simple majority. In the second round Toledo won a close (52–48%) race and was inaugurated on July 28. (See Biographies (Toledo, Alejandro ).)

      In the meantime, Montesinos was finally captured after having fled Peru to Venezuela. He was returned to Lima, where he faced dozens of charges ranging from money laundering and drug smuggling to human rights abuses and murder. Several congressional committees as well as an independent investigator were overseeing the investigation, which was expected to take some years. Montesinos had made numerous videotapes that incriminated perhaps hundreds of high-ranking military officers, politicians, judges, businessmen, and others, and sorting through this unsavory record was bound to take much time and create constant disturbances in Peru's political waters. At the same time, Peru was attempting to persuade Japan to extradite Fujimori, a first-generation Peruvian of Japanese descent, so that he could also face numerous charges, including murder and embezzlement. Whether Japan would accede to such requests was open to question.

      As president, Toledo inherited a difficult political and economic situation. He did not have a majority in Congress, and since Peru's political party system was highly fluid, politics was largely a game of personalities—inherently unstable and dependent on shifting and uncertain coalitions. The centre-left American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA) was probably the best organized party in the country, although nowhere near as strong as it had been in its past. APRA showed restraint as the major opposition early in Toledo's term, but how long such a truce could last was anyone's guess. In addition, the presidency was Toledo's first elected position, meaning that he had to learn a great deal quickly in order to be able to govern successfully.

      In any case, Toledo's presidency promised to be a departure from his predecessors; his ethnic background as an indigenous non-European made him distinctive and gave him a certain popularity among Peru's poor. His cabinet was nevertheless composed of well-known individuals, for the most part from Peru's economic, financial, and political establishment. Following his first 100 days in office, critics began to scrutinize his work habits and private life unfavourably; as a result, Toledo slashed his pay by one-third—from $18,000 to $12,000 a month.

      Economically, Peru was in the midst of a significant recession; new investment was low, meaning that job creation was scarce and unemployment and poverty levels were high. To add to the misery, a severe earthquake struck southern Peru on June 23 in and around the city of Arequipa, causing widespread damage to houses, highways, and other infrastructure. On December 29 a demonstration that went awry at a Lima fireworks shop caused an explosion that killed at least 290 persons. (See Disasters .)

Henry A. Dietz

▪ 2001

Area:

1,285,216 sq km (496,225 sq mi)

Population

(2000 est.): 25,662,000

Capital:

Lima

Head of state and government:

President Alberto Fujimori, assisted by Prime Minister Alberto Bustamante Belaúnde and, from November 22, interim president Valentin Paniagua, assisted by Prime Minister Javier Pérez de Cuéllar

      Few nations in the world underwent as tumultuous and volatile a year as did Peru in 2000. A cascade of events threatened the very fabric of Peru's political system.

      In late 1999 Alberto Fujimori, the incumbent president who had been elected to two consecutive five-year terms, announced his decision to seek a third term. The decision provoked considerable controversy, since Peru's 1993 constitution allowed a sitting president to seek immediate reelection only once. In early 2000 Fujimori forced a favourable ruling on the matter through the Constitutional Court and then began his bid for reelection.

      Alejandro Toledo, an American-educated business school professor and former World Bank official, emerged as Fujimori's major opponent. During his campaign Toledo railed against Fujimori's strong-arm methods and his questionable search for a third term. On April 9, in the first round of elections, Fujimori finished on top with almost half the popular vote. There were, however, widespread allegations of voting fraud, and domestic and international pressures were sufficient to force a runoff a few weeks later. To protest the presence of fraud in the first round, Toledo announced that he would not participate in the second. The result was that Fujimori swept into office with minimal opposition; his party also won a plurality in the Congress, but not the outright majority the president sought.

      When inauguration day arrived on July 28, widespread demonstrations occurred in Lima, sparked largely by outrage at Fujimori's undemocratic actions and leading to much damage to the city's downtown. Nevertheless, Fujimori took office again—but this time only briefly.

      In September two scandals shook the Fujimori administration to its roots. The first involved a murky arms-smuggling scheme whereby Peruvian military officers purchased thousands of automatic weapons from Jordan and then sold them to Colombian guerrillas for a profit. The second concerned a videotape broadcast on Lima television; the tape seemed to show an opposition congressman accepting a $15,000 bribe to switch his vote to Fujimori. Both of these events implicated Vladimiro Montesinos, who had played a critical role in the Fujimori administration as head of Peru's intelligence service.

      These two events persuaded Fujimori to call for new presidential and congressional elections and to disband the nation's intelligence service. Montesinos, in the meantime, first fled Peru, then returned, and fled again. At the year's end he was still missing. In November Fujimori announced from Japan that he was resigning as president and that he would not return to Peru. In his absence Valentin Paniagua was named interim president until elections could be held in April 2001. Peru's national legislature opened several investigations into charges against both Fujimori and Montesinos.

      The uproar from these developments highlighted several weaknesses of Peru's political system. The nation's political parties were impotent; all potential candidates for the new elections ran on the strength of their personalities. The military was apparently in disarray; the navy and air force were reportedly against any sort of asylum or amnesty for Montesinos, while certain clusters of officers in the army (presumably those who owed their position to Montesinos) made it clear that they rigidly opposed Montesinos's arrest or trial. Nevertheless, the military showed no sign of seizing power. The U.S. as well as the Organization of American States exerted considerable pressure, first on Fujimori to restore democracy. Following his resignation, both supported Paniagua's interim government. Meanwhile, confidence in the economy weakened, as domestic and international investors showed unwillingness to invest new money, and a growing deficit meant that Peru might well have trouble in raising new international loans.

Henry A. Dietz

▪ 2000

Area:

1,285,216 sq km (496,225 sq mi)

Population

(1999 est.): 25,232,000

Capital:

Lima

Head of state and government:

President Alberto Fujimori, assisted by Prime Ministers Víctor Joy Way from January 3 and, from October 10, Alberto Bustamante Belaúnde

      The year 1999 saw Pres. Alberto Fujimori begin what many observers thought would ultimately be a successful campaign for a third term as president. His naming of a new Cabinet in January and his shift in focus away from foreign affairs toward domestic problems—in particular, high unemployment and low wages—were moves designed to boost his popularity. With power very much centralized in his hands, Fujimori was in a strong position to reverse his extremely low approval ratings (just 33% in January). Indeed, as 1999 progressed, so also did Fujimori's ratings, which rose to 44% by midyear. His popularity in Lima, the capital, had been traditionally lower than in the countryside, where his support remained strong.

      The fact that Fujimori's opposition was weak and divided was a major help to him. The two potential opponents, Alberto Andrade, the mayor of Lima, and Luis Castañeda Lossio, a former director of the Social Security Institute, had no strong party apparatus behind them. Municipal elections held on July 4 went badly for Andrade, whose party, We Are Peru, lost 9 of 10 races. Fujimori's party, Change 90–New Majority, won four; the others went to independents. Since most indicators and forecasts for the economy were optimistic for late 1999 and 2000, the president's chances for a third term were improving as 1999 drew to a close. Finally, the October 1998 signing of the Peru-Ecuador peace treaty resolving their border dispute and a similar agreement between Peru and Chile in November 1999 had opened the door for a surge of public and private investment in the region, as well as an increase in trade.

      The road to Fujimori's reelection, however, was by no means smooth. In addition to economic concerns (slow economic recovery from damage caused by El Niño, low export demand, and low state revenues), the president endured several political scandals during 1999. In the first, a military trial of four Chilean terrorists was deemed invalid by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Two other high-level issues, one dealing with free speech in the media and another with the legality of Fujimori's seeking a third term in office, also reached the court. As these cases were pending, the Fujimori government announced Peru's withdrawal from the jurisdiction of the court, a move that received international attention and condemnation but that appeared to hurt the president little at home, where toughness on terrorism was one of Fujimori's strong suits. A national strike on April 28 supported by many trade unions showed divided success.

      Fujimori formally declared his candidacy for reelection in December. An accomplished campaigner, he had been reluctant to commit himself to the race until he believed he could win. Since Peru's constitution required a runoff election if no candidate claimed a simple majority, the possibility existed that Fujimori's opponents could unite against him in a second round. The inability of the opposition parties to form such a coalition, however, coupled with Fujimori's bedrock strength in Peru's provinces, meant that in all likelihood he would continue as president for another term.

Henry A. Dietz

▪ 1999

      Area: 1,285,216 sq km (496,225 sq mi)

      Population (1998 est.): 24,801,000

      Capital: Lima

      Head of state and government: President Alberto Fujimori

      Following the disastrous effects of El Niño on Peru in 1997, Pres. Alberto Fujimori suffered another major crisis in July 1998 when the Shell Oil Co. and Mobil Corp. withdrew from the multimillion-dollar Camisea natural gas project. Signed in May 1996, the "contract of the century" was designed to alleviate Peru's energy shortage. Shell and Mobil, however, had been unable to agree with the government on the pricing of gas in Lima and the export of gas to Brazil. Fujimori, keen to assuage a public that had given him a popularity rating of only 22% in opinion polls, quickly stated that another company would be found to take over the Camisea project.

      Fujimori's unpopularity was further driven home by a more than 4,000-person protest march through Lima on July 16. A petition with 1.4 million signatures was presented to the National Electoral Authority, requesting a referendum on whether Fujimori should be allowed to run for a third term. In spite of the amendment to the constitution allowing presidents to run for only two successive terms, Fujimori had in 1996 pushed through Congress a law of "authentic interpretation" of the constitution, allowing him to run for election once more. The opposition grouping, Democratic Centre, submitted a draft bill repealing the "authentic interpretation" law, but the bill was defeated in Congress. During the vote on the bill, there were public demonstrations outside the Congress building and a fracas inside, during which Daniel Espichán of pro-government Change 90-New Majority was punched in the face by Javier Díaz Canselo of the Union for Peru.

      The opposition was further angered when, on September 15, the National Electoral Authority announced that the petition for a referendum contained only about 800,000 genuine names, many of them repeated dozens of times. The Democratic Centre denied that it had falsified the petition, complaining that rejection of the referendum was an infringement of Peruvians' human rights and claiming that the charges of falsification amounted to political persecution.

      Late in the year President Fujimori heightened pressure on Ecuador to resolve the continuing border dispute by refusing to attend the inauguration of the new Ecuadorian president, Jamil Mahuad, on August 10. This followed Fujimori's traditional patriotic speech on July 28, in which he said that Peru would not hesitate to defend its territorial sovereignty. Tension was further heightened by Ecuador's movement of troops 20 km (12.5 mi) into Peruvian territory in early August. The resignation of Peru's armed forces chief, Nicolás Hermoza Ríos, was seen by many commentators as part of the process to end the border dispute quickly. Hermoza had been a staunch opponent of withdrawal of troops from the disputed areas, and his removal was seen as part of an agreement between Fujimori and Mahuad, who also replaced his top military commander. The two chiefs of state finally signed the historic peace accord in Brasília, Braz., on October 26.

ALAN MURPHY

▪ 1998

      Area: 1,285,216 sq km (496,225 sq mi)

      Population (1997 est.): 24,371,000

      Capital: Lima

      Head of state and government: President Alberto Fujimori

      Early in 1997 Peru was dominated by the Lima hostage crisis, which thrust the country onto the international stage. The crisis had begun on Dec. 17, 1996, when 14 Túpac Amaru (MRTA) rebels gained entry to the Japanese ambassador's residence during a reception and took more than 600 hostages, including many foreign diplomats. The rebels demanded the release of some of their imprisoned comrades and improvements in prison conditions for others in exchange for the release of the hostages. Pres. Alberto Fujimori refused to accept the former demand, but he was under pressure from the international community—in particular Japan—to resolve the crisis peacefully. The rebels had released most of the hostages, and talks seemed to be making progress when Cuba and the Dominican Republic offered asylum to the rebels, but they were stalled when the rebel commander, Nestor Cerpa, accused the government of digging a tunnel under the residence.

      On April 22 the siege was ended in a dramatic attack by elite Peruvian commandos. The remaining 72 hostages were rescued, though one died later from heart failure. All 14 rebels and 2 soldiers were killed in the fighting.

      Though Fujimori's gamble had paid off, his tough, uncompromising style came under attack. The Japanese government, in particular, criticized his decision not to inform it of his plans for ending the siege. Despite the nation's initial relief at the ending of the 126-day ordeal, the president's approval rating sank to an all-time low in mid-July. One of the main reasons was the controversial dismissal of three judges of the Constitutional Tribunal, which decides on the constitutionality of laws. Public outrage prompted demonstrations in Lima and other major cities, as well as condemnation from the U.S. government.

      Fujimori's standing was further shaken when the armed forces accused Baruch Ivcher, the owner of the TV station Frecuencia Latina, of carrying out a campaign to discredit them. Ivcher, a naturalized Peruvian, was also accused of selling arms to Ecuador and of having obtained Peruvian citizenship illegally. Following the station's broadcast of a program alleging more violations by security forces, Ivcher's citizenship was revoked and control of Frecuencia Latina wrested from him. A storm of criticism ensued, but Fujimori did not intervene, which led to a further collapse of support for the president. The day after the Ivcher incident, the foreign minister, Francisco Tudela, resigned for "reasons of conscience." Soon afterward it was announced that the defense minister, Tomas Castillo, would be replaced by Gen. César Saucedo, who was considered closely allied with Fujimori's discredited intelligence adviser, Vladimiro Montesinos. This was seen as evidence of the growing power of the army in relation to that of Fujimori.

      Opposition parties began campaigning for a referendum on whether Fujimori should be allowed to run for a third term of office in 2000, but opposition remained fragmented. The most popular alternative candidate, Lima Mayor Alberto Andrade, had already signaled his desire to campaign for mayor again in 1998.

      In autumn the weather also conspired against Fujimori's hopes for reelection to a third term. The catastrophic climatic effects of possibly the worst El Niño of the century caused the failure of the fish harvest and a severe drought. This made a reversal of the downturn in economic growth of the last two years very unlikely.

ALAN MURPHY

▪ 1997

      The republic of Peru is located in western South America, on the Pacific Ocean. Area: 1,285,216 sq km (496,225 sq mi). Pop. (1996 est.): 23,947,000. Cap.: Lima. Monetary unit: nuevo sol, with (Oct. 6, 1995) a free rate of 2.25 nuevos soles to U.S. $1 (3.56 nuevos soles = £1 sterling). President in 1996, Alberto Fujimori; prime minister, Danté Cordova.

      Peru suddenly became the focus of international attention on Dec. 17, 1996, when 20 or so heavily armed guerrillas invaded the Japanese embassy in Lima, the nation's capital. Hundreds of dignitaries who had been invited to celebrate the birthday of Japanese Emperor Akihito were taken hostage. The Marxist guerrillas, members of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA), demanded, among other things, the release of hundreds of MRTA associates imprisoned in Peru and other countries. By the end of the year, all but about 80 of the hostages had been released, but there was no sign that the crisis would end soon.

      Alberto Fujimori's decision to seek reelection in the year 2000, despite declining popularity, was welcomed by the business community because it believed he could introduce reforms while maintaining economic and political stability. Some Peruvians, however, were upset by Fujimori's decision to sell the nation's 29% interest in Telefonica de Peru, mainly because local investors were allowed only a limited interest in the enterprise.

      Following the discovery of 100 kg (220 lb) of coca paste (which could be converted into cocaine) on board two navy ships in July, Fujimori suspended all commercial transportation by the army and navy as of August 1. A Mexican newspaper later charged that Fujimori's brother and his intelligence adviser, Vladimiro Montesinos, had ties to Mexican drug traffickers. Convicted drug baron Demetrio Chávez Peñaherrera alleged that he had paid Montesinos $50,000 a month during 1990-91. The police and intelligence services quickly denied the charge and Chávez recanted, but it did not restore confidence in Montesinos.

      The Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) guerrillas continued their terrorist activity with bombings in Lima and the occupation of a village in a coca-growing region in the upper Huallaga valley. In May Amnesty International published a report claiming that the government had imprisoned thousands of suspected terrorists unfairly.

      Privatization measures continued amid growing protests, in particular against the selling of the government-owned Petroperu refinery. Spain's Repsol acquired control of the facility with a winning bid of $181 million. Yacimientos Petroleros Fiscales of Argentina and Mobil Corp. of the U.S. became minority partners in the consortium Refinadores de Peru.

      Oil production during the first six months of 1996 declined 3.9% compared with the same period in 1995, although there was a slight increase over 1995 in July. Inflation rose in the first half of 1996 to 11.8% in July, compared with 10.2% in December 1995. This was due to high food prices, which reflected poor harvests.

      (ALAN MURPHY)

▪ 1996

      The republic of Peru is located in western South America, on the Pacific Ocean. Area: 1,285,216 sq km (496,225 sq mi). Pop. (1995 est.): 23,489,000. Cap.: Lima. Monetary unit: nuevo sol, with (Oct. 6, 1995) a free rate of 2.25 nuevos soles to U.S. $1 (3.56 nuevos soles = £1 sterling). President in 1995, Alberto Fujimori; prime ministers, Efraín Godenberg Schreiber and, from July 28, Danté Cordova.

      In late January and February 1995 Peru and its northern neighbour, Ecuador, engaged in serious fighting over their shared border. Despite the Rio de Janeiro Protocol of 1942, which resolved earlier battles over Peruvian-Ecuadorean territory, one area in the Cordillera del Cóndor remained ill-defined. Skirmishes periodically occurred, but the 1995 military operations were the fiercest since 1981. Late in the year negotiations were in progress under the auspices of the Rio Protocol guarantors, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and the U.S.

      On April 9 Pres. Alberto Fujimori won a resounding victory in the presidential elections. His chief rival was Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, former secretary-general of the United Nations, whose campaign at the head of the Union for Peru alliance failed to attract sufficient support even to force a second ballot. Having secured the right in 1994 to run for a second term, Fujimori capitalized on his successes in reducing terrorism, engineering a return to economic growth, and ridding Peru of hyperinflation. In the 120-seat Congress, Fujimori's party, Change 90-New Majority, won an overall majority, while traditional political parties gained few seats. Fujimori's wife, Susana Higuchi, failed to win the right to campaign as a presidential candidate, despite a hunger strike. Her party, Harmony 21st Century, also failed to contest congressional seats, owing to irregularities in the party's candidate list. Relations between the president and his wife deteriorated, and they agreed in July to divorce.

      The electorate's confidence in Fujimori did not prompt a less autocratic style of government. Between his reelection and reinauguration (July 28), the autonomy of the San Marcos and La Cantuta universities was removed, the national electoral board was reorganized, and amnesty was granted to military and police personnel convicted of illegal actions undertaken during antiguerrilla operations since 1980. This applied to opponents as well as supporters of the administration, but critics at home and abroad expressed concerns about the law's implications for the respect of human rights.

      Though the operations of the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) terrorist group were restricted mainly to the Upper Huallaga valley, the María Angola Hotel and Casino in Miraflores, a suburb of Lima, was bombed in May, reviving fears of a renewal of urban terrorism. The policy of trying terrorists in courts where judges' faces were hidden had by the end of 1995 led to over 2,000 convictions since 1992.

      The decline in terrorist activity was a major spur to tourism; the number of foreign visitors had, by October, returned to the levels prior to the years of heaviest Sendero Luminoso attacks and the cholera epidemic of 1991. Tourism mirrored the buoyancy of the economy as a whole. Gross domestic product was forecast to grow by 8% in 1995, compared with more than 12% in 1994. Inflation was predicted to fall to between 10% and 12% for the year, compared with over 15% in 1994. A consequence of the expanding economy was an increase in both consumer debt and, as a result of consumer demand, rapidly growing imports. Their value outstripped receipts from exports, which caused an increase of approximately $300 million in the trade deficit, which totaled $1.1 billion in 1994. (BEN BOX)

▪ 1995

      The republic of Peru is located in western South America, on the Pacific Ocean. Area: 1,285,216 sq km (496,225 sq mi). Pop. (1994 est.): 23,383,000. Cap.: Lima. Monetary unit: nuevo sol, with (Oct. 7, 1994) a free rate of 2.25 nuevos soles to U.S. $1 (3.58 nuevos soles = £1 sterling). President in 1994, Alberto Fujimori; prime ministers, Alfonso Bustamente y Bustamente and, from February 17, Efrain Godenberg Schreiber.

      In mid-1994 it appeared that Pres. Alberto Fujimori's only serious rival for the April 1995 elections would be former UN secretary-general Javier Pérez de Cuéllar. In August, however, Fujimori's estranged wife, Susana Higuchi, declared her intention to run against her husband, with the backing of a political movement called Harmony 21st Century. Her announcement was in direct contradiction to a law, passed by Fujimori, preventing a president's close relatives from running for office. She stated that the law was unconstitutional, but despite support for her claim from the Organization of American States, she was not permitted to run for president. In response to Higuchi's accusations of corruption throughout the government and criticisms of his failure to address Peru's acute poverty, Fujimori called her disloyal and stripped her of her duties as first lady. She moved out of the presidential palace, set up headquarters in a school her family owned, and vowed that she would run for Congress—and perhaps, later, higher office.

      Fujimori himself delayed announcing his candidacy until October, a month after Pérez de Cuéllar launched his campaign. The latter allied himself to opposition figures who favoured the reestablishment of the democratic institutions that Fujimori had abolished. By October the list of candidates for the presidency was expected to exceed 20. They were drawn from a variety of new movements, reflecting the continuing mistrust (fostered by Fujimori) of the traditional parties, which would nevertheless be fielding their own candidates.

      All those lining up against Fujimori would have to contend with his successful handling of a number of issues. The military offensive against the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) guerrillas was concentrated on the banks of the Río Huallaga, some 500 km (300 mi) northeast of Lima. A propaganda campaign succeeded in persuading many sympathizers to profess that they had renounced the Sendero cause, but armed actions were inconclusive in this and other regions. While the level of violence throughout the country declined, human rights organizations alleged that government forces killed, raped, and tortured innocent civilians in the drive to destroy the guerrillas.

      The increased sense of security, especially in the Andean areas, allowed geologists and miners from other nations to investigate mineral deposits without interference. Joint ventures in gold and copper extraction and foreign investment in exploration revived the mining sector. Similar renewed interest in oil and gas promised to raise significantly the output of these fuels between 1994 and 2000. A program initiated in September gave Peruvian investors the opportunity to buy shares in companies that were to be privatized, the proceeds being used to finance the private pension fund system.

      Economic growth continued to be strong: 8.5% in the first half of 1994, compared with 7% in 1993. Other positive economic indicators included an inflation rate of about 20% and record levels of international reserves. Multilateral lending resumed in earnest, mainly for infrastructure projects, but the government's inability to handle large amounts of funding for alleviating poverty and providing employment formed the main basis for opposition to Fujimori. (BEN BOX)

▪ 1994

      The republic of Peru is located in western South America, on the Pacific Ocean. Area: 1,285,216 sq km (496,225 sq mi). Pop. (1993 est.): 22,916,000. Cap.: Lima. Monetary unit: nuevo sol, with (Oct. 4, 1993) a free rate of 2.10 nuevos soles to U.S. $1 (3.19 nuevos soles = £1 sterling). President in 1993, Alberto Fujimori; prime ministers, Oscar de la Puente Raygada and, from August 28, Alfonso Bustamente y Bustamente.

      In municipal elections on Jan. 29, 1993, independent candidates won the majority of council seats throughout the country. The results highlighted the general sense of mistrust of traditional parties and established institutions fostered by Pres. Alberto Fujimori since he seized power in April 1992.

      Throughout 1993 President Fujimori's attempts to end terrorism, eradicate corruption, and liberalize the economy met with a large measure of success but not unqualified support. Opinion polls suggested that over 60% of Peruvians thought Fujimori should be allowed to achieve his goals. A new constitution, drawn up by the Democratic Constituent Congress (CCD) in July and August, was approved in a referendum on October 31. The new constitution changed electoral rules to permit the president to stand for reelection, reduced the legislature to one 120-seat chamber, changed the judicial system, and introduced the death penalty for convicted terrorists. It also legitimized many of the economic reforms introduced by Fujimori, such as the cutting of import tariffs, privatization, and the institution of rules governing foreign investment.

      Foreign concern was expressed over the restriction of press freedom, while the local press association complained of harassment by politicians. President Fujimori defended his authoritarian measures as necessary for the restoration of state efficiency. Opponents claimed that the resulting extension of presidential power, reflected in the new constitution, weakened the country by not replacing the military, state, and judicial institutions eliminated.

      The capture of the leaders of Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path; Abimael Guzman) and the Movimiento Revolucionario Tupac Amaru (MRTA; Victor Polay) in 1992 did not halt terrorist violence. Shining Path car bombed the U.S. embassy in Lima in July, and its followers massacred 55 Ashaninka Indians in Junín department in August. Throughout the year there were many other bomb attacks and killings. Guzman was alleged by President Fujimori in September to have offered a peace plan; the president quoted the letter to the United Nations, and then Guzman read from the letter on television. Shining Path's operational leadership rejected the claim, saying that the guerrillas' opposition would continue and accusing President Fujimori of falsification. MRTA, badly affected by arrests and the surrender of important figures under the government's extended amnesty program, was thought by the military to be a spent force by October.

      Allegations that the murder of one professor and nine students from La Cantuta University in July 1992 had been carried out by a military death squad were studied by two commissions. A CCD human rights subcommittee laid the blame on the army; a government coalition report said that terrorists had perpetrated the crime. After President Fujimori had accepted the latter, the case was sent to a military tribunal. The CCD committee demanded the case's removal to civilian courts after the bodies of the victims were found in a grave near Lima in July.

      In February the U.S. administration linked financial aid to human rights and democracy, but Peru's economy and finance and justice ministers, on a visit to Washington, assured the U.S. that concerns about the treatment of political prisoners and harassment of human rights groups would be addressed. This freed a multilateral bridging loan, arranged by the U.S. and Japan, that allowed Peru to pay off arrears to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. These two agencies then activated credits valued at $1.4 billion over three years and $1,030,000,000, respectively, and the IMF also restored borrowing rights. In June Peru sought $100 million from international sources to help alleviate poverty, estimated to affect 60% of the population. While gross domestic product was forecast to grow by 3.5% in 1993, compared with a 2.8% fall in 1992, real GDP per capita continued to decline. Nevertheless, inflation was successfully reduced from 409.5% in 1991 to 72.5% in 1992 and an estimated 50% by mid-1993. (BEN BOX)

* * *

Introduction

Peru, flag of   country in western South America. Except for the Lake Titicaca (Titicaca, Lake) basin in the southeast, its borders lie in sparsely populated zones. The boundaries with Colombia to the northeast and Brazil to the east traverse lower ranges or tropical forests, whereas the borders with Bolivia to the southeast, Chile to the south, and Ecuador to the northwest run across the high Andes (Andes Mountains). To the west, territorial waters, reaching 200 miles (320 km) into the Pacific Ocean, are claimed by Peru.

      Peru is essentially a tropical country, with its northern tip nearly touching the Equator. Despite its tropical location, a great diversity of climate, of way of life, and of economic activity is brought about by the extremes of elevation and by the southwest winds that sweep in across the cold Peru Current (or Humboldt Current), which flows along its Pacific shoreline. The immense difficulties of travel posed by the Andes have long impeded national unity. Iquitos, on the upper Amazon (Amazon River), lies only about 600 miles (965 km) northeast of Lima, the capital, but, before the airplane, travelers between the cities often chose a 7,000-mile (11,250-km) trip via the Amazon, the Atlantic and Caribbean (Caribbean Sea), the Isthmus of Panama (Panama, Isthmus of), and the Pacific, rather than the shorter mountain route.

      The name Peru is derived from a Quechua Indian word implying land of abundance, a reference to the economic wealth produced by the rich and highly organized Inca civilization that ruled the region for centuries. The country's vast mineral, agricultural, and marine resources long have served as the economic foundation of the country, but by the late 20th century, tourism had also become a major element of Peru's economic development. Favourite destinations for international travelers include Machu Picchu, a site of ancient Inca ruins located about 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Cuzco, and museums housing artifacts excavated from ancient tombs in northern coastal Peru.

Land

Relief

  Peru is traditionally described in terms of three broad longitudinal regions: the arid Costa on the west; the rugged Sierra, or Andes, system in the centre; and the wet and forested Amazonia—the tropical Amazon Basin—on the east.

The Costa

      The coastal plain can be readily divided into three parts—north, central, and south—on the basis of the amount of level land and the distance between the Andean ranges and the sea. Generally speaking, the amount of level coastal land diminishes from north to south. In the northern region, from Ecuador to Chimbote, the plain is typically some 20 to 30 miles (30 to 50 km) wide, with a maximum width of more than 90 miles (140 km) in the Sechura Desert south of Piura. The central coastal region, which stretches from Chimbote to Nazca, is narrower than the northern region and is characterized by areas of rough hills that extend from the Andes to the shores of the ocean. From Nazca southward to the Chilean border the coast is for the most part lined by low mountains; the southern valleys are narrow, and only in scattered spots are level lands found near the ocean.

The Sierra, or Andean, region

      Along the western edge of South America, the Andes Mountains were created by tectonic activity in which the South American Plate overrode the Nazca Plate. The Peruvian Andes are typical of mountain regions of the Pacific Rim: they are young in geologic terms, and their continuing uplift is manifested by frequent earthquakes and much instability. Three main backbones protrude from the Peruvian Andes; they are commonly called the cordilleras Occidental, Central, and Oriental, although these designations are not used within Peru.

 Slopes are relatively gentle in northern Peru, and maximum elevations seldom exceed 16,000 feet (about 5,000 metres). The Andes in central Peru are higher and more rugged. The ranges of the central zone form particularly difficult barriers to movement. The main pass east of Lima, for instance, is at an elevation of more than 15,000 feet (4,500 metres)—higher than many of the peaks in the north. Many of the mountains of central Peru are snowcapped and are a popular attraction for climbers and tourists. Of particular fame is the Cordillera Blanca, with the country's highest peak, Mount Huascarán (Huascarán, Mount), at 22,205 feet (6,768 metres), and nearby Huascarán National Park (designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985). In southern Peru the character of the Andes changes to that of a high plateau region; this is the Puna, with vast tablelands and elevations between 13,000 and 16,000 feet (about 4,000 and 5,000 metres). Scattered peaks, with elevations of up to about 21,000 feet (6,400 metres), protrude above the broad southern plateaus. Beginning northwest of Arequipa, many of the southern peaks form a volcanic chain that stretches into northern Chile, including Ampato, Huacla Huacla, and Misti (Misti Volcano).

Amazonia

      The lower slopes of the western Andes merge with the heavily forested tropical lowlands of the Amazon Basin to form the region known as Amazonia, which occupies more than three-fifths of the area of Peru. An area of dense cloud forests is found in the zone immediately adjacent to the Andes. This area is referred to as the Montaña; the jungle areas in the eastern part of Amazonia are referred to as the Selva. The physiography of the region is characterized by rolling hills and level plains that extend eastward to the borders with Colombia, Brazil, and Bolivia. Elevations are uniformly low, ranging from about 3,300 feet (1,000 metres) at the eastern edge of the Andes to about 260 feet (80 metres) above sea level along the Amazon (Amazon River) River at the Peru–Brazil border.

Drainage

      Distinctive drainage patterns dissect the Costa, the Sierra, and Amazonia. Of the more than 50 rivers that flow west from the Andes across the Costa, most are short (usually less than 200 miles [325 km] long) and precipitous, with highly seasonal rates of flow. Most have a period of peak flow (usually during the December to March rainy season) followed by a long dry period; only the largest of the Costa rivers, such as the Santa (Santa River), have dependable year-round flows.

      The Sierra not only contains the headwaters of the streams that flow to both the Pacific and the Amazon but also has a large area of internal drainage. In the south several rivers cross the Altiplano in Peru to empty into Lake Titicaca (Titicaca, Lake), which is shared with Bolivia and is—at an elevation of 12,500 feet (3,810 metres)—the world's highest navigable body of water.

      Amazonia is characterized by great rivers. The Amazon (Amazon River), with the largest volume of flow of any river in the world, has headwaters that rise in several places in the Peruvian Andes; one of the main branches, the Ucayali (Ucayali River), originates in southern Peru some 1,700 miles (2,700 km) from its juncture with the main river. The Amazon is navigable, but such large tributaries as the Marañón (Marañón River), Huallaga (Huallaga River), and Ucayali can be navigated only for relatively short distances west of the port of Iquitos. These rivers flow northward in long deep valleys before turning east to join the Amazon, forming mostly hindrances to transportation rather than important trade routes.

Soils

 Peru has a paucity of fertile soil. In the Costa region most of the river valleys have rich soils, derived from silts carried to the coastal plain by rivers flowing out of the Andes. In some areas, however, improper use of the land has led to deposition of salts, thus reducing soil fertility. The soils between valleys, derived largely from windblown sands, are also poorly developed. Sierra soils are fertile in some of the highland basins, but soils on the mountain slopes are often thin and of poor quality. Soils of low fertility covered by heavy forest growth typify Amazonia.

Climate

      Three broad climatic regions can be readily distinguished in Peru paralleling the three main topographic regions: the Costa, the Sierra, and Amazonia.

Coastal desert

      From the Peruvian–Ecuadoran border south to northern Chile, the west coast of South America has one of the Earth's driest climates. This region is dry for three reasons: (1) the Andes block rain-bearing winds from the Amazon Basin; (2) air masses moving toward the coast out of the South Pacific high-pressure system produce little rainfall; and (3) northward-flowing cold water off the coast (the Peru Current, also known as the Humboldt Current) contributes little moisture to surface air masses. This is not a hot desert, however; average temperatures of the Costa range from 66 °F (19 °C) in winter to 72 °F (22 °C) in summer. Despite its dryness, some parts of the Costa receive sufficient moisture from winter fogs (locally known as garúa) to support some vegetation.

Mountain climates

      Within the Sierra are a wide range of climates that vary according to such factors as latitude, elevation, local winds, and rain shadow effects. In general, temperatures decrease as elevation increases, and rainfall decreases from north to south and from east to west. During the December–March rainy season, the heaviest precipitation is in the north and along the eastern flanks of the Andes. Temperatures vary little seasonally, but there is a tremendous diurnal range (between daily highs and lows). For example, in Cuzco, at an elevation of 11,152 feet (3,399 metres), the January average temperature is 52 °F (11 °C), and the July average 47 °F (8 °C). The diurnal range, however, is frequently more than 40 °F (22 °C) between the midday maximum and the predawn minimum. Snow falls in the Sierra at higher elevations, and many peaks have permanent snow.

Tropical forest climates

      Hot humid conditions characterize the Amazonia climate of eastern Peru. Rainfall throughout the region is high (Iquitos averages more than 90 inches [2,200 mm] annually), with precipitation common throughout the year, although it is somewhat heavier from December to March. There is little seasonal variation of temperatures, but the diurnal range again is relatively large. Daytime highs at Iquitos sometimes extend into the mid-90s °F (mid-30s °C), whereas at night temperatures may fall into the 60s °F (upwards of 15 °C).

El Niño

      The most severe variation in Peruvian weather patterns occurs irregularly, at intervals of about a decade or so. This change, usually called El Niño (“The Christ Child,” because it usually begins around Christmas time), is but a small part of what is known as the Southern Oscillation (ocean), a pan-Pacific reversal of atmospheric and sea conditions. Although the causes of this phenomenon are not completely understood, the effects in Peru are quite clear: (1) warm water replaces the cold water of the Peru Current; (2) heavy rains fall in the coastal desert; and (3) drought occurs in the southern highlands. Severe occurrences of El Niño—such as those that took place in 1925, 1982–83, and 1997–98—cause ecological disasters, including widespread loss of bird and fish life and tremendous damage to modern infrastructure such as roads, canals, and agricultural land.

Plant and animal life

      Peruvian plant and animal life can be classified according to the three main physiographic regions: the Costa, the Sierra, and Amazonia.

The Costa

      Evidence of plant life is relatively rare in the barren desert of coastal Peru. Where coastal fog is heavy, lomas (a mix of grasses and other herbaceous species) are common. In the north coast region, some parts of the desert are covered by epiphytes or by stands of sapote or algarroba (mesquite). The most important feature of the coast, however, is the enormous amount of bird, marine mammal, and fish life that abounds in the coastal waters. The biomass includes such small fish as anchovies and such larger types as corvina (sea bass), tuna, swordfish, and marlin. Sea lions thrive in isolated parts of the coast. Bird life is heavy on islands off the coast. Among the most important bird species are pelicans, cormorants, gannets, and various gulls. Humboldt penguins, an endangered species, are found as far north as the Ballestas Islands near the Paracas Peninsula.

The Sierra

      Two plant communities characterize the Peruvian highlands: puna grasslands at elevations from about 13,000 to 16,000 feet (about 4,000 to 5,000 metres) and, at lower elevations, a mixture of native and introduced species. The Puna has an abundance of forage grasses and is home to the llama, alpaca, vicuña, and guanaco, which are native to the region. At lower elevations grow such domesticates as potatoes, quinoa, and corn (maize). Several species of eucalyptus have replaced native tree species.

Amazonia

 The eastern slopes of the Andes and the Amazon plains are covered by a heavy growth of tropical forest. In its woods and waters live thousands of plant, insect, and animal species. Interesting mammals of this region include the jaguar, capybara, tapir, and several species of monkey. Of special note is the wide and colourful variety of bird and fish life. Reptiles and insects abound. The forests have a broad assortment of hardwood and softwood species that produce a variety of forest products. Manú National Park, designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987, is home to many examples of Amazonia's diverse plant and animal life. Scattered in isolated fields in the eastern foothills of the Andes, too, are plantations of coca, the plant from which cocaine is illegally produced.

The people

Pre-Hispanic groups

      Throughout the pre-Hispanic period, the peoples of Peru were largely isolated from one another by the rugged topography of the country. At least three times, however, a unifying culture spread across the Andes. Beginning c. 1000 BC, the Chavín culture permeated the region, emanating possibly from the northern ceremonial site of Chavín de Huántar. After about AD 600, the Huari civilization, based at a site of the same name near modern Ayacucho, dominated most of the central Andean region. Finally, the Inca empire developed, eventually to control all of the territory from northern Ecuador to central Chile.

Ethnic groups

      Quechua Indians constitute almost half of Peru's population; mestizos (mestizo) (persons of mixed Indian and European descent), slightly less than one-third; and people of European ancestry, about one-eighth. There are also small minority populations of Aymara Indians, Japanese, and others.

      Modern Peru's complex ethnic mosaic is rooted in its history. The Spanish conquerors dominated the indigenous Indians and colonial Peruvian society, including politics, religion, and economics. They brought their European culture, the Spanish language, and the Roman Catholic religion to the region. The Spaniards introduced some African slaves, but the number of slaves transported to this part of South America was not significant; their descendants are found mainly in Lima and a few central coastal valleys. Following independence (1824) and the prohibition of slavery (1854), Chinese arrived to work as farm labourers, and new groups of Spaniards, northern Europeans, and Japanese were among other arrivals. These diverse ethnic groups have tended to intermarry over time.

      Differences in lifestyles and attitudes are pronounced. Peruvians of Spanish descent and mestizos (mestizo) live mainly along the coast and control most of the country's wealth. Typically, a small group of people of European ancestry hold the main power in government and industry. Mestizo culture is a blend of Indian and European ways known as criollo. The Spanish-speaking mestizos make up the middle class of Peruvian society. They hold managerial, administrative, and professional jobs, but some are also small landowners and labourers. The Indians of the Sierra live in extreme poverty in a harsh environment; many remain both indifferent to and outside the mainstream affairs of the country. land reform acts in the 1960s and '70s have brought some improvement, such as the dismantling of haciendas (hacienda)—typically large estates with absentee owners—and reallocation of the land in smaller segments to individuals or cooperatives. However, many highland Indians still shepherd llama herds or work tiny plots of land to eke out a living. The lowland Indians of Amazonia occupy a social position similar to that of the highland Indians.

Languages

      During the pre-Hispanic period, the Inca spread their language, Quechua, across the highlands and along the coast, although some groups near Lake Titicaca spoke Aymara at the time of the Spanish conquest. Quechua and Aymara are still prevalent and have official usage, with Spanish, in regions where they are heavily spoken. Tropical forest areas were outside Incan influence, and the numerous languages and dialects now spoken in the Amazon region reflect the diverse linguistic heritage of the tropical forest peoples. Like their Inca ancestors, the overwhelming number of Indians read neither their own nor any other language. In major cities and tourist areas, however, English and other European languages are commonly spoken.

Religion

      Peru's constitution provides for freedom of religion. More than four-fifths of Peruvians are Roman Catholic; Protestants, other Christians, and followers of traditional beliefs form small religious minorities.

 Ancient Peru had various polytheistic and pantheistic religions. The most important gods were Viracocha (lord, creator, and father of men) and Pachamama (Earth mother). The Sun, Moon, and such phenomena as lightning and mountains were also worshipped. Each culture raised temples to honour its local divinity.

 The Hispanic conquest of the Incas brought new religious traditions to the Andean area. The Spanish indoctrinated the Indians and spread Roman Catholicism, built hundreds of churches, and held fiestas for patron saints in each village. The people were not strict in their practices, however. Protestant sects proliferated during the 20th century, and the Indians have mixed many pagan beliefs into the Roman Catholic rituals to produce a syncretic religion rich in traditions.

Settlement patterns

      The nature of Peruvian life, whether urban or rural, varies by physiographic region. Modern patterns of settlement also reflect three major influences: (1) pan-Andean cultures of pre-Hispanic Peru; (2) colonial settlement of the Costa and the Sierra; and (3) migration to the cities and colonization of Amazonia.

Pre-Hispanic patterns

      Diverse groups of indigenous Indians occupied Peru during the pre-Hispanic period. When the first migrants arrived in the Andean area, probably more than 13,000 years ago, they were at a hunting and gathering stage of cultural development. Over a long period of time, however, varied and more-sophisticated ways of life were developed. Along the coast, groups became specialized in fishing and shellfish collecting. In the Puna, hunting of vicuña and guanaco was replaced by herding of their related species, the llama and alpaca. Finally, in many parts of Peru agriculture was developed—including the domestication of numerous species of plants, such as beans, quinoa, and potatoes.

      At the time of the Spanish arrival, the population of Peru largely resided in rural areas, with society organized around village-level clans (called by the Incas ayllus). The most densely settled areas were the irrigated coastal river valleys and some fertile basins in the highlands—for example, those of Cajamarca, the Mantaro Valley near Huancayo, and Cuzco, as well as the region around Lake Titicaca. Some urban centres had developed as the capitals of kingdoms or empires—such as the Chimú's Chan Chán (Chan Chan) near Trujillo and the Inca' (Inca)s Cuzco—or as religious centres—such as the pre-Incan Pachacamac, south of Lima.

Colonial patterns

      The Spanish conquest of the Incas in 1532 was accompanied by several dramatic changes in Andean settlement patterns. First, the Spanish were oriented toward their European homeland. Thus, Spanish cities such as Piura (1532), Lima (1535), and Trujillo (1534) were established near ports that were the sea links to Spain. Second, Spanish settlements focused on the extraction of resources, leading to the establishment of mining centres in Huancavelica and at Potosí, in modern Bolivia. Third, after a period of rapid population decline caused mainly by the introduction of European diseases, the Spanish established new towns that brought together the remnants of the surviving rural population. Finally, the Spanish divided the rural agricultural zones into encomiendas (encomienda), which later formed the basis for haciendas (hacienda) and kept the best farmland in the hands of a few wealthy owners. They established feudal systems based on peasant labour that lasted until the sweeping land reforms of the mid-20th century.

Twentieth-century migrations

      In Peru, as in most Latin American countries, there was a mass migration to the cities during the 20th century, especially after the end of World War II. Lima was the principal destination during this rural exodus, but Trujillo in the north and Arequipa in the south also received large numbers of migrants. The lack of opportunity in rural regions is usually cited as a major reason for movement to the cities, where migrants seek better health care and educational opportunities, as well as jobs. Some migrants certainly do improve their lot, but others end up in city slums or in squatter settlements at the edges of the cities, where conditions may be little improved over those in the rural areas. Often the best hope for advancement has been in squatter settlements at the edges of the cities, where residents gradually invest in improved housing over a period of decades.

      A second focus of migration in Peru has been eastward into the Amazon Basin. At the end of the 19th century, the world rubber boom caused many people to move to the eastern lowlands. Decades later, during the administrations of Fernando Belaúnde (Belaúnde Terry, Fernando) (1963–68; 1980–85), the Peruvian government developed programs to improve the economy of Amazonia—a main purpose of which was to divert migrants away from the already crowded coastal urban centres. The completion of roads from Chiclayo on the north coast to Tarapoto in the Huallaga basin and from Lima to Pucallpa along the Ucayali River stimulated this eastward movement. Further development along the eastern side of the Andes was designed to open new settlements in this region. Nevertheless, Amazonia remains the least densely populated of the three regions.

Urban Peru

 The massive 20th-century migration from the countryside brought rapid growth to Peruvian urban centres. Lima became the urban giant, much larger than the next-largest city, but other cities, particularly Trujillo and Chimbote in the north and Arequipa in the south, have also grown rapidly. Since World War II, Peru has changed from a country with a predominantly rural population to one that has more than two-thirds of its people living in cities; more than one-fourth of the country's population lives within the greater Lima metropolitan area.

      Ornate colonial architecture contrasts with modern high-rise buildings in Lima, which is the heart of Peru's commerce and industry. Large factories are located in the city, but much of the industrial production takes place in the small workshops of the squatter settlements that surround the city. A difficult problem in Lima has been that of matching the urban infrastructure to the city's growth rate. Lima has only a few freeways and lacks an up-to-date mass transit system. Basic public services are, in many neighbourhoods, rudimentary at best.

       Arequipa in the Sierra and Trujillo in the Costa are other major urban centres. Arequipa is the largest city in southern Peru. Founded in 1540, it is often called the White City because most of the colonial-era buildings were constructed out of white volcanic rock (sillar); the historic city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000. Agriculture around Arequipa has improved with the completion of several important irrigation projects, and the area has become a major wool-processing and milk-producing region. Trujillo is a major centre in northern Peru but does not dominate the north as Arequipa does the south. That is because other cities, notably Chiclayo, Chimbote, and Piura, share power in the north, whereas Arequipa is rivaled only by Cuzco, which is in the mountains to the east. Trujillo is the historic power centre in northern Peru, however, and it has become an important commercial centre. Its industries include tractor and diesel motor factories as well as food-processing plants. Chavimochic, a massive irrigation scheme built in the 1990s, has greatly expanded agriculture in the Trujillo area. Chimbote, Peru's best harbour, has a steel mill and numerous fish-processing plants. Chiclayo and Piura mainly serve as regional political and commercial centres.

  Most highland cities are small. In the north the principal city, Cajamarca, has long been noted chiefly as the place where the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro (Pizarro, Francisco) captured and executed the Inca emperor Atahuallpa. The establishment of the Yanacocha gold mines, located about 30 miles (50 km) north of Cajamarca, led to much development in the city in the late 20th century. Huaraz, located near the spectacular peaks of the Cordillera Blanca, about 200 miles (320 km) north of Lima, is a rapidly growing tourist centre that was connected to Lima by a paved road in the mid-1970s. To the south, Cerro de Pasco, an important mining centre, is, at more than 14,200 feet (4,300 metres), one of the world's highest cities. Huancayo, about 100 miles (160 km) due east of Lima, is a farming centre famous for its colourful Sunday market, where Indians sell such handicrafts as llama-wool blankets, ponchos, and sweaters. The best-known Andean centre is the ancient city of Cuzco, once the capital of the Inca empire. Tourists from all parts of the world visit Inca remains in Cuzco and its environs, as well as its many colonial churches. The Inca past is apparent in many places. Inca walls topped by Spanish-style structures stand along many streets around Cuzco's main plaza. The most monumental Inca ruins are those of the fortress/sanctuary of Sacsahuamán, built on a hill overlooking the city. The bygone world of Spanish colonial power is evident in the tile-roofed houses and churches of Cuzco; among the most impressive is the cathedral, dating from around 1550. The city was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983 and serves as the starting point for visitors heading to Machu Picchu.

 The major cities of eastern Peru are Iquitos and Pucallpa. Iquitos, on the upper Amazon, was a small jungle outpost until the rubber boom of the 1880s. When the boom ended, lumber became the major product of the area. More recently oil and tourism have contributed to its growth. Pucallpa, on the Ucayali River, is connected to Lima by road and to Iquitos by river vessels. The area around Pucallpa was a major colonization zone in the 1960s.

Demographic trends

 The population of the Inca empire at the time of the Spanish conquest in 1532 is commonly estimated to have been around 12 million, although estimates vary. Not all of these people, of course, lived within the boundaries of modern Peru, but it is clear that Peru was the most densely settled area in pre-Hispanic South America. During the first century of Spanish domination, the Indian population declined by almost 80 percent—owing to overwork, malnutrition, and the introduction of such diseases as smallpox and measles. The country's first accurate census (1791) showed the impact of Hispanic dominance of the Inca: the population had declined to slightly more than one million (which included Europeans, people of mixed ancestry, and black slaves). After independence the population gradually increased, mainly as a result of high birth rates. By the mid-1960s the population of Peru was about the same as that of the Inca society at its height—in other words, it took more than 300 years to replace the population lost in the first century of Spanish domination.

      During the 20th century, the population of Peru grew rapidly, particularly in the middle decades, and became predominantly urban. The rapid population growth led to a surplus of population in many areas, particularly in the Andean highlands, and overpopulation of the rural areas was one root cause of the mass migration to the cities that occurred in Peru in the decades after World War II. There was a sharp decline in death rates in the period between 1940 and 1970, while, at the same time, birth rates remained very high. Growth rates peaked in the 1970s at more than 3 percent; since then, the spread of birth control (notwithstanding widespread opposition by the Peruvian Roman Catholic hierarchy) and the desire of urban dwellers for smaller families have slowed the rate of population growth. In the early 21st century, Peru's birth rate and life expectancy were close to the world average; its death rate, slightly lower.

Economy

 Peru is a less-developed country whose economy has long been dependent upon the export of raw materials to the more-developed countries of the Northern Hemisphere. It is one of the world's leading fishing countries and ranks among the largest producers of bismuth, silver, and copper. In recent decades, the country has struggled to modernize its economy by developing nontraditional export industries as well as the manufacture of consumer items to meet local needs. Serious economic problems persist, however, in several areas. Extensive destruction of transportation and agricultural systems occurs periodically from earthquakes, landslides, El Niño rains, and other natural disasters. The limited agricultural areas do not meet the needs of the rapidly expanding population, resulting in continually rising imports of foodstuffs and difficult attempts to alter the country's farming and dietary habits. To remedy these and other economic deficiencies, a military government nationalized the petroleum, mining, and other industries in the late 1960s and early 1970s and made extensive efforts at agrarian reform. Nationalization, however, created additional economic problems, including massive government debt, high rates of inflation, a large trade deficit, and strained relations with some of Peru's trading partners. This caused successive Peruvian governments to reassess the role of the state in the economy and to reopen some economic sectors to private entrepreneurs. These actions, along with structural reforms implemented by the government in the 1990s, contributed to rapid economic growth in the early 21st century.

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing

      Traditionally, the primary economic activity in Peru was agriculture, although the importance of this sector of the national economy declined sharply in the last half of the 20th century. Peru imports large amounts of grain (particularly wheat, rice, and maize [corn]), soy, vegetable oils, and dairy products to feed its population. Although ambitious development plans have been designed to improve output, the scarcity of arable land is an extremely limiting factor in Peru.

 The most productive agricultural areas are the irrigated valleys of the northern coastal region. Principal crops include sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, fruits, asparagus, soybeans, flowers, and pulses. In the Sierra, cropland is limited and soil fertility low. The main crops in the Sierra region are potatoes and grains, especially wheat, corn, and quinoa, an extremely high-protein cereal. There is little beyond subsistence agriculture in the Amazon region of Peru, although the lowland Indians have traditionally harvested the coca leaves for local use and for trade with the Sierra Indians.

      In the 1950s and '60s Peru's fishing industry expanded rapidly, based on the harvest of enormous schools of anchovy. These fish were converted into fish meal and oil for export as animal feed. By 1963 Peru was the world's leading fishing country, measured in terms of tonnage caught. Overfishing, combined with a severe occurrence of the El Niño current in 1971–72, sent the fishing industry into decline. Recovery took place during the late 1970s, although the catch did not approach earlier record levels. Increasing emphasis is put on fish for human consumption in the domestic and export markets. Forestry has been mainly concentrated in the eastern lowlands of Amazonia. Many varieties of commercial wood are found in the Amazon forests, but they are often inaccessible, and exploitation has been hampered by fears of ecological damage.

Resources and power

      Peru has a wealth of mineral resources. Copper, iron, lead, zinc, bismuth, phosphates, and manganese exist in great quantities of high-yield ores. Gold and silver are found extensively, as are other rare metals, and petroleum fields are located along the far north coast and the northeastern part of Amazonia.

      In spite of the country's potential mineral wealth, exploitation lagged in much of the last third of the 20th century for a number of reasons, including diminished foreign investment, world price fluctuations, lack of transportation facilities, a scarcity of processing plants, the depletion of deposits in many traditional mining areas, and the limitations of the centralized state mining administration. Beginning in the 1970s—and particularly during the 1990s—many of the nationalized mines and unexploited deposits were sold to private Peruvian and international investors. As a result, new mines have been opened, such as the Yanacocha gold-mine complex near Cajamarca, which is now one of the largest producers of gold in the world. Difficulties of geography have hindered developments, however, because some of the most-promising deposits are located at elevations above 12,000 feet (3,600 metres) or in the Amazonian forests.

      The hydroelectric (hydroelectric power) potential of Peru is great, especially on the rivers that flow eastward out of the Andes Mountains to the Amazon Basin. Large power plants have been built on the Santa and Mantaro rivers, and other locations have been selected for future development. Most existing plants, both thermal and hydroelectric, have been connected to a coordinated national electric grid. About three-fourths of the country's electrical energy is produced from hydroelectric sources; as a result, there are some shortages of power during times of drought. In the early 21st century, Peru pursued the development of natural gas as a more-accessible source of power. Much of the country's power production and demand are in the Lima metropolitan area, where there is a heavy concentration of industry.

Manufacturing

      Although the Peruvian government has tried to disperse industrial production, most Peruvian factories are located within the greater Lima area. To better utilize the country's natural resources to achieve self-sustained growth, a strong push has been given to industries such as those producing petroleum, textiles, processed food, steel, cement, fertilizer, and chemicals. Many of these industries either were nationalized or benefited from special tax incentives and trade-protectionist policies during the 1970s; many were reprivatized in the 1990s.

Finance

      The main institutions dealing with finance in Peru are the large state-owned banks, which control such areas as credit, currency regulation, bank regulation, and foreign exchange. Major financial institutions include the Central Reserve Bank of Peru, the National Bank, and the Development Finance Corporation. Peru's national currency is the nuevo sol.

      In the last decades of the 20th century, government monetary policies focused on inflation and foreign debt, which were serious problems in the 1970s and '80s. By the mid-1990s, Peru had almost completely controlled inflation, and the growth of the country's economy was among the fastest in the world. The Lima stock market now plays an important role in the national economy, particularly with the privatization of many former state-run industries.

Trade

      Foreign trade has been a mainstay of the Peruvian economy since colonial times. The country has historically depended on imported manufactured products, a situation that prompted the government to subsidize import-substitution industries. Peru's imports have consisted primarily of foodstuffs, consumer goods, transportation equipment, and machinery and component parts for Peruvian industries. Petroleum products formed an expensive share of Peru's imports in the early 1970s, but increased domestic production, particularly from the Amazon area, turned Peru into a net exporter of oil by 1980. Other important exports have been such primary commodities as ores and minerals (gold, copper, silver, lead, and zinc, for example) and such agricultural products as cotton, sugar, and coffee. Fish meal, a leading export since the 1960s, continued to be important into the 21st century, as did gold, copper, zinc, clothing and textiles, agricultural and livestock products, and petroleum.

      The United States is Peru's major trading partner. Other trading partners include China and South American countries such as Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, and Brazil. In 1969 Peru became a charter member of the Andean Common Market (now Andean Community), but economic problems during the 1980s and early '90s hampered implementation of trade policies, and Peru suspended its membership in 1992–97. Peru also belongs to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the World Trade Organization.

Services, labour, and taxation

      The leading employment sectors in Peru have long been agriculture and fishing, mining, and manufacturing, while the services sector was relatively undeveloped. As the population and economy grew in the latter half of the 20th century, the percentage of agricultural workers declined, the mining and manufacturing sectors were relatively stable, and the services sector grew rapidly, employing some three-quarters of the workforce by the early 21st century. However, between 1980 and 1990, wages in Peru fell dramatically; the average manufacturing wage, for example, dropped by almost two-thirds. Although wages did increase in the 1990s, they were still well below 1980 levels at the end of the 20th century. As a result, few workers earn above the official poverty line, and many must work multiple jobs to make ends meet. Unionized workers in the mining and government sectors have done better than those employed in other areas.

      A large percentage of Peruvian workers are employed in the “informal” economy, outside government regulation and taxation and without the protections offered by legal employment. Workers in the informal sector include street vendors, those employed in small workshops in squatter settlements, drivers of jitney taxis in larger urban areas, and women making tourist trinkets in their homes. Most informal workers are underemployed in jobs that provide only a limited amount of work (and income) per week.

      From the mid-1990s, significant investment in the tourism sector has led to improvements in the country's economy. Further growth of this sector is anticipated as the government promotes policies to develop tourist infrastructure in various parts of the country.

Transportation and telecommunications

      Peru's transportation system faces the challenge of the Andes (Andes Mountains) and of the complex Amazon River system. River traffic in Amazonia is underdeveloped because of the vast distances and low population density of that area. Roadways cross the country from north to south, or they form penetration roads that run east–west over the Andes. The most important road is the Pan American Highway, which parallels the coast from Ecuador to Chile. Other main roads include the trans-Andean, or Central Highway, which follows the Rimac River Valley east from Lima, crossing the Andes and connecting to the Mantaro Valley near Huancayo, and another main road that connects Arequipa to Bolivia through the Andes.

      The major Peruvian railroad, the Central Railway, rises from the coast at Callao near Lima to cross the continental divide at about 15,700 feet (4,800 metres). It connects with a branch line to Cerro de Pasco, making it of great importance to the mining industry of the central Andes. A longer line, the Southern Railway, serves Cuzco, Arequipa, and other cities and ports such as Puno on Lake Titicaca (Titicaca, Lake); some of its traffic originates in Bolivia. Callao, on the Pacific Ocean, is the largest of Peru's numerous ports. Iquitos, located on the Amazon some 2,300 miles (3,700 km) from the river's mouth, is the major river port of eastern Peru.

      The rough terrain of Peru compels the use of the airplane, but it also complicates flight. Air transport is especially important in hard-to-reach places of the heavily forested east. Commercial aviation began in 1928, and several domestic companies operate in addition to numerous foreign airlines. Jorge Chávez International Airport, which serves Lima, is the most important of Peru's airports. Arequipa, Cuzco, and Iquitos are served by international airports as well.

      Landline telephone service in Peru is generally of adequate quality, and usage continued to increase from the early 1990s into the 21st century. The use of mobile phones skyrocketed during that same period of time, and usage surpassed that of the traditional land telephone service. Internet service, although limited, began to expand steadily at the beginning of the 21st century.

Government and society

Constitutional framework

      Peru's political history has been punctuated by numerous military coups and changes of constitution. The 1993 Peruvian constitution, which has since been amended several times, decrees a government headed by a president who is popularly elected to a five-year term, renewable once, and who serves as chief of state and head of government. The president appoints and presides over the Council of Ministers (Cabinet) and is assisted by two vice presidents, also popularly elected. Legislative power is vested in the unicameral Congress, whose members are popularly elected to five-year terms.

Local government

 For administrative purposes, the country is divided into 25 regions, which are further divided into departments, provinces, and districts. The regional level of government encompasses regions and departments; provinces, districts, and smaller population centres constitute the levels of local government.

Justice

      The judiciary comprises the Supreme Court and lower courts and tribunals. The Supreme Court has nationwide jurisdiction and hears appeals from lower-court decisions; it also investigates the conduct of lower-court judges. All Supreme Court judges and some judges of lower courts are appointed by the National Council of the Magistracy. A Constitutional Court exists to review any challenges concerning the constitutionality of laws and acts of government. Members of the Constitutional Court are elected by Congress and serve five-year terms.

Political process

      Voting is compulsory for all citizens ages 18–70. A wide spectrum of political parties—ranging from right-wing conservative to left-wing socialist and communist—participate in the political process, including the Nationalist Party United Peru (left-wing), the Peruvian Aprista Party (formerly left-wing but now moderate centre), and National Unity (right-wing). Traditional parties have been supplanted in many elections by hastily formed coalitions. For example, the winner of the 1990 presidential contest, Alberto Fujimori (Fujimori, Alberto), created a new party expressly for that election. A law passed in 2003 requires that women constitute at least 30 percent of all candidates on party lists. In the early 21st century, women held slightly more than one-fourth of the seats in Congress.

Security

      Peru's military is composed of army, navy, air force, and marine contingents. Service is selective, and men 18 years of age and older are required to register with the government. Peruvian troops have served as United Nations Peacekeeping Forces on numerous missions.

Health and welfare

      Numerous public agencies in Peru are involved with national health and social security. The government has invested heavily in the construction and equipping of new hospitals and clinics throughout the country. Nevertheless, there is a shortage of doctors, nurses, and health care facilities, particularly outside the Lima urban area, and the country faces a difficult path to adequate health service for its population. Sanitation is another major problem, with most cities lacking adequate sewerage as well as street lighting and paving.

Housing

 Housing in Peru varies immensely, with single-family dwellings, high-rise apartment buildings, and informal squatter settlements all found within the country. The type of dwelling is dependent upon variables such as economic and social status of residents and location. Peru has a serious shortage of housing units, especially in the urban squatter settlements but also in the countryside. Large neighbourhoods of the country's poorer residents are found around the margins of Lima and other Peruvian cities. Often these areas begin as squatter settlements, with families invading vacant land on the periphery of urban areas. Over time, crude huts of cardboard or cane mats are replaced by adobe houses, which in turn are later replaced by two- and three-story homes made from brick and concrete. Such amenities as running water, sewers, electricity, sidewalks, and paved streets are added only gradually; it may take 20 to 30 years for a neighbourhood to become fully developed. Each family's dwelling also develops at its own pace, depending on individual financial situations and decisions. Thus, one house may remain at the initial stage of development while neighbours complete their homes with brick and concrete.

Education

      Peru's educational system is challenged by the steadily increasing percentage of young people in its population. Thus, the state must spend a disproportionate share of its resources on education, which is free and compulsory for all children between ages 6 and 15. Compulsory education is difficult to enforce, however, especially outside urban centres. Because of extremely large class sizes, inadequate facilities, and poorly trained teachers, the quality of education received by children in public schools is regarded as low. As a result, most middle- and upper-class parents send their children to private schools. Universities in Peru include such large, high-calibre institutions as the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, the University of Lima, and the National University of San Marcos, which was founded in 1551 and claims to be the oldest university in South America. There are also a number of provincial universities funded by the government, as well as many private institutions of higher education.

Cultural life

Cultural milieu

      The complex ethnic and cultural mixture of Peru presents an entwining of aboriginal pantheism, Spanish mysticism, and African religious practices, manifested in the country's music, literature, textiles, handicrafts, gold and silver work, and bounteous cuisine.

Daily life and social customs

      There are distinct differences in the pattern of daily life for Peruvians, depending on their social class and whether they live in rural or urban settings. Most people who live in rural areas are very dependent on the agricultural cycle. The planting and harvesting periods, for example, are times that require a significant amount of hard work (much of it communal), whereas other times of the year do not demand such intensive labour. Most work is done during daylight hours; people rise early and go to bed early. The herding of sheep, llamas, and alpacas takes place at elevations above the limits of agriculture; pastoralists follow a distinct annual cycle that in many ways is more difficult (and certainly more isolated) than that of rural farmers. Religious festivals, weddings, baptisms, and similar occasions are often the only disruptions to the rigours of rural life, and these events are communal, with entire villages sharing in a family's celebration.

      The daily life of the residents of Peru's cities varies with social class. Relatively few of the poorer residents have good jobs within the formal Peruvian economy; often they must work two or three jobs, and they have less leisure time than other Peruvians. Such people make up the majority of the population in squatter settlements that surround the major urban areas.

      The life of the upper-middle class and more-affluent residents of Peru's cities is much different from that of the urban poor. The most important meal is usually taken shortly after noon; most families assemble for this dinner. The early afternoon is reserved for the siesta (nap) hour, followed by a return to work for those who are employed; for those who are not, it is a time for relaxing, paying social visits, participating in sporting activities, or watching a favourite telenovela (soap opera). The evening meal is usually very late and often taken away from home—while visiting with friends or in a restaurant or neighbourhood bar. Extended families frequently get together for birthday parties, weddings, baptisms, and other social events.

      For people of higher economic and social status, most daily tasks, such as cooking, house cleaning, and gardening, are performed by servants. Many wealthy families in Lima have more than one home: the main house may be in one of the city's elite neighbourhoods; a second may be at the beach; and a third may be in the Andean foothills or overseas.

      Traditional Peruvian cuisine has much regional variation. In the highlands, most meals consist of potatoes along with other Andean tubers (oca and ulluco, for example), grains such as quinoa, and protein from the meat of llamas, guinea pigs, chickens, and fish. In coastal areas, traditional cooking is called criollo style, with lots of rice, cassava (yuca), tomatoes, onions, spicy peppers, and fresh seafood. Seviche (raw fish marinated in lemon or lime juice) is popular throughout Peru.

      In urban areas, people dress in typical Western-style clothing. In rural areas, however, traditional clothing styles date back to the colonial period. Each region in the Andes has distinctive hats, ponchos, blouses, skirts, and belts, often fabricated from homemade traditional textiles.

      Recreational activities vary as widely in Peru as do the social classes, but for everyone there are the fiestas, which are held by numerous communities across the country. These colourful events often celebrate religious themes, but some are held for secular holidays. Each village or town has at least one important annual festival that celebrates its patron saint; migrants to the cities often return home for these annual events. Several such celebrations have taken on national importance; the processions in Lima each October related to the Señor de los Milagros (“Lord of Miracles”; referring to a colonial-era image of Christ that survived an earthquake in 1655) are the most important. Other festivals—such as those that relate to the Cross of Motupe in northern coastal Peru, the Virgin of Copacabana near Lake Titicaca, Holy Week in Ayacucho, or the Lord of Coylluriti on Ocongate Mountain south of Cuzco —are still of great regional importance for the people of Peru. In Cuzco the winter solstice festival, Inti Raymi, is celebrated each year on June 24th but is now more of a tourist celebration than a native one. Corpus Christi, in honour of the Eucharist, is a movable celebration that is important throughout the country, particularly in Cuzco; it usually takes place in early June.

The arts

Folk culture

      Peruvian folk culture is deeply tinged with ancestral inheritance. In both town and countryside, notable examples of pre-Hispanic and mestizo lore abound in myths, songs, superstitions, and dances. Handicrafts, popular with tourists and collectors, provide a close link with such pre-Hispanic crafts as weaving, ceramics, and metalworking.

Fine arts

      The arts have long occupied a position of esteem among Peru's educated minority. Since the late 19th century, most writers have felt a ceaseless duty to analyze their society. Ricardo Palma (Palma, Ricardo) was among the first to utilize Peruvian themes in such works as Tradiciones peruanas (1872; “Peruvian Traditions”). Aves sin nido (1889; Birds Without a Nest), by Clorinda Matto de Turner, was the first of many books whose authors exposed the conditions of Indian life. César Vallejo (Vallejo, César) is often regarded as Peru's finest poet, and novelists José María Arguedas (Arguedas, José María) and Mario Vargas Llosa (Vargas Llosa, Mario) have received high critical acclaim in the post-World War II era. (See also Latin American literature.)

      Painting reached its zenith with the famous Cuzco school during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most of the thousands of paintings and sculptures are anonymous, and the works show resemblances both to Byzantine and to Asian forms. Modern Peruvian art has followed an abstract course, notably in the work of the painter Fernando de Szyszlo and the sculptor Joaquin Roca Rey. Numerous galleries in Lima regularly display the works of contemporary Peruvian artists. (See also Latin American art.)

      José María Valle-Riestra's opera Ollanta and Vicente Stea's Sinfonía autóctona (Aboriginal Symphony) were the major musical works of 19th-century Peru. Later, Luis Duncker Lavalle, who composed mainly for the piano, incorporated Peruvian motifs into Western forms. Lima is home to the National Symphony Orchestra and a philharmonic orchestra; both regularly perform the works of Peruvian as well as international composers. Indigenous music, descending from Inca roots, is often played on quenas (notched vertical flutes), zamponas (panpipes), charangos (small guitars with bodies commonly made from armadillo shells), harps, and drums. The sounds of this music can be heard today during festivals in rural areas, on street corners in tourist centres such as Cuzco, in the dining rooms of major hotels, and in penas (nightclubs) and chicherías (bars) throughout urban Peru. Peruvian panpipe ensembles have also performed throughout the world. Today indigenous forms of music have blended with Western forms to yield the huayno—an urbanized sound that emphasizes emotional lyrics and is a popular choice for dance music. A further mixing of huayno with other indigenous and Western musical styles results in chicha—Peruvian rock and roll.

      The theatre is a popular institution in Peru, with a strong tradition dating to colonial times. National professional companies perform in major productions at the Municipal Theatre, which was built in Lima at the site of a colonial theatre dating to 1604. The concerts of the National Symphony Orchestra are also presented there, as are the performances of the main national and touring ballet and folk dance companies. Filmmaking in Peru is not well developed; most films produced there are short—full-length features being mostly imports. A number of Peruvian television programs, particularly telenovelas, are distributed throughout Latin America.

Cultural institutions

      Much of the country's cultural development is overseen by the National Institute of Culture, which seeks to make cultural activities available to all. The Peruvian museums are especially rich in their archaeological collections representing Peru's pre-Hispanic past. The most noteworthy of these are in Lima and include such institutions as the National Museum, displaying a unique collection of archaeological objects, the National Museum of Art, the Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology, and the Larco Museum, which holds one of the most extensive collections of artifacts from the northern coastal region. Regional archaeological museums are found in many parts of the country; the Sican and Sipan museums in Lambayeque hold many objects recovered from the excavations of nearby river valleys. The main library collection is housed in the National Library in Lima and in the major university libraries.

      The ancient Peruvians were great builders of houses, temples, palaces, and fortresses, adapting their architecture to the landscape. Later, Spanish colonization resulted in the addition of the colonizers' own distinctive style of architecture. The historic centre of Lima (designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1988) contains a significant number of buildings that retain this colonial architecture, notably the cathedral, which was laid out on a site chosen by Francisco Pizarro (Pizarro, Francisco); the present building, however, has been rebuilt numerous times after earthquakes. Nearby is Lima's most important architectural jewel—the church and convent of San Francisco. Many fine colonial era mansions still exist, often converted to serve as modern-day businesses or museums. Contemporary architecture has been characterized by the so-called neo-Peruvian, or Peruvian Baroque, and by the introduction of modern concrete and steel structures.

  Perhaps the best-known examples of Peru's cultural past are the country's Inca remains, most notably Machu Picchu (designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983). Once a “lost city,” secluded at an elevation of 7,710 feet (2,350 metres) in the Andes Mountains northwest of Cuzco, Machu Picchu may have been visited in 1867 by the German adventurer Augusto Berns. The site was definitely visited in 1911 by American archaeologist Hiram Bingham (Bingham, Hiram), who initiated archaeological investigations there. Surrounded by lush green, forested hills, Machu Picchu comprises hundreds of well-built agricultural terraces, a multitude of small stone houses, and several ceremonial temples constructed of carved rock. Research suggests that Machu Picchu was a royal estate of the Inca emperor Pachacuti (Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui). Other remains of Inca sites found in the area around Cuzco include the region known as the Sacred Valley (Urubamba River valley). The Andes are also home to Chavín de Huántar, an impressive collection of pre-Colombian ruins of the Chavín culture, and Río Abiseo National Park, known for pre-Inca ruins as well as unique plant and animal life (both places were designated UNESCO World Heritage sites, in 1985 and 1990 respectively).

 Thousands of other archaeological ruins dot the Peruvian countryside. Near Trujillo, several sites have been the focus of much archaeological research, including Chan Chan (designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1986), the capital city of Chimú state, and the Moche River valley, which is dominated by the massive Temple of the Sun and Temple of the Moon structures and was a major centre of the Moche (Mochica) culture. The Nazca Lines (designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1994), giant geogylphs or drawings on the desert plains south of Lima, are more than 1,500 years old, and they remain an enigma. Archaeologists and grave robbers have uncovered thousands of decorated jugs and bowls and embroidered textiles throughout the Peruvian countryside; the weavings of the Paracas culture and the ceramics of the Moche are especially distinguished. The dryness of the coast has helped to preserve many pre-Incan remains.

Sports and recreation

      The most popular spectator sports, as in most other Latin American countries, are football (football (soccer)) (soccer) and bullfighting, the latter at the renowned Plaza de Acho bullring in Lima. Football is played in the National Stadium near downtown Lima, and there are a number of professional teams in Lima and the other major cities. Football games are also played throughout the country—any flat space large enough to accommodate two goals will be used by both children and adults. On a recreational level, a scaled-down version of football is regularly played on basketball courts, often by organized leagues of adults. Volleyball has become a popular sport, particularly for women; the Peruvian national team has had great success in international competition. Basketball, horse racing, and cockfighting are among other well-attended events.

      Swimming and surfing are popular activities along the Pacific coast, especially during the summer months (December–February), when thousands of residents of Lima, Trujillo, and Chiclayo flock to the beaches during the midday siesta period. Other sports, such as golf, tennis, and yachting, are almost exclusively the provenience of the affluent, with private clubs offering the only facilities in most large cities.

Media and publishing

      Although freedom of the press is guaranteed by the Peruvian constitution, the media have been periodically subjected to government control. The major dailies generally have a tradition of taking strong political stands in support of political parties of their choice. Most of the leading dailies, such as El Comercio, Expreso, and Ojo, are in Lima; others are published in Arequipa, Trujillo, and Chiclayo. Lima's El Peruano, one of the oldest dailies in the Americas, was founded in 1825. Many of these papers and several Peruvian newsweeklies are now also available on the Internet.

      The electronic media in particular have sometimes been subjected to political censorship, which became especially severe in the early 1970s when the national government assumed a majority ownership of all television stations and a significant stake in all radio stations. In the early 21st century, virtually all television and radio stations and newspapers were privately owned, and freedom of the press—guaranteed under the constitution—was generally respected by the national government. Lima has several television channels, and there are stations in all of the major cities. Cable and satellite providers offer international programming.

Javier Pulgar-Vidal James S. Kus

History

 Humans have probably lived in Peru for more than 13,000 years. Beginning about 1000 BC, several advanced cultures, such as the Chavín, Moche, Nazca, Tiwanaku, and Chimú, developed in different parts of Peru; however, the area was not unified politically until about 1400 AD, when the Inca set out from their base in the Cuzco Valley on a mission of conquest that, during the 15th century, brought under their control the area of present-day Peru (not including Amazonia), highland Bolivia, northern Argentina, central Chile, and highland Ecuador. Within this area, the Inca established a totalitarian state that enabled the tribal ruler and a small minority of nobles to dominate a passive population.

The Inca

      Like the Aztec, the Inca came late upon the historical scene; even their legends do not predate AD 1200, with the supposed arrival in Cuzco of the first emperor, Manco Capac. Like Old World peoples, and unlike other aboriginal Americans, the Inca recounted their history by kingly reigns. Most of the accounts agree on 13 emperors (see pre-Columbian civilizations: The Inca (pre-Columbian civilizations)). The first seven emperors were legendary, local, and of slight importance; their traditions are full of impossible or improbable events, especially those of Manco Capac, the founder of the dynasty. In this period the Inca were a small tribe, one of many, whose domain did not extend many miles beyond their capital, Cuzco. They were almost constantly at war with neighbouring tribes.

      The incredibly rapid expansion of the Inca empire began with Viracocha's son Pachacuti (Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui), one of the great conquerors—and one of the great individuals—in the history of the Americas. With his accession in 1438, reliable history also began, almost all the chroniclers being in practical agreement. Pachacuti was called by the British geographer-historian Sir Clements Markham “the greatest man that the aboriginal race of America has produced.” He and his son Topa Inca Yupanqui may be aptly compared to Philip (Philip II) and Alexander (Alexander the Great) of Macedon. Pachacuti was evidently a great civic planner as well; tradition ascribes to him the city plan of Cuzco as well as the erection of many of the massive masonry buildings that still awe visitors to that ancient capital.

      The sudden expansion of the Inca empire was one of the most extraordinary events of history. It covered a little less than a century, from the accession of Pachacuti in 1438 to the conquest by Francisco Pizarro (Pizarro, Francisco) in 1532, and most of it was apparently accomplished by Pachacuti and Topa Inca in the 30 years between 1463 and 1493. First the Aymara-speaking rivals in the region of Lake Titicaca, the Colla and Lupaca, were defeated, and then the Chanca to the west; the latter attacked and nearly captured Cuzco. After that there was little effective resistance. The peoples to the north were subjugated as far as Quito, Ecua., including the powerful and cultured “kingdom” of Chimú on the northern coast of Peru. Topa Inca then took over his father's role and turned southward, conquering all of northern Chile as far as the Maule River, the southernmost limit of the empire. His son, Huayna Capac, continued conquests in Ecuador to the Ancasmayo River, the present border between Ecuador and Colombia. At its maximum the empire extended from the present Colombia-Ecuador border to central Chile, a coastal distance of more than 2,500 miles (4,000 km), encompassing approximately 380,000 square miles (985,000 sq km), about equal in area to France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Italy combined.

Discovery and exploration by Europeans

      Spanish interest in the west coast of South America grew after Vasco Núñez de Balboa (Balboa, Vasco Núñez de) discovered the Pacific Ocean in 1513, but it was not until 1524 that Francisco Pizarro (Pizarro, Francisco), aided by another soldier, Diego de Almagro (Almagro, Diego de), and a priest, Hernando de Luque, undertook explorations that led to the conquest of Peru. By 1527 they were convinced of the wealth of the Inca empire. Failing to win further cooperation from Panama's governor, Pizarro returned to Spain, where he received authorization from Charles I to conquer and govern the area extending 600 miles (950 km) south from Panama. When Pizarro, accompanied by his brothers, returned to Panama, Almagro was outraged by the vast powers Pizarro had acquired for himself. Nevertheless, he continued to collaborate. Pizarro embarked for Peru in late 1530 or early 1531 with 180 men. Establishing a base at San Miguel de Piura in the Sechura Desert of northern coastal Peru, Pizarro rode into the mountains to make contact with the Inca Atahuallpa, who had recently been victorious in civil war against his half-brother Huascar and who was then encamped near Cajamarca with an army of about 30,000 soldiers. Atahuallpa, scornful of the tiny band of invaders, accepted Pizarro's invitation to meet in Cajamarca. The next day Atahuallpa was taken prisoner in the middle of the city square after he refused to accept Spanish suzerainty. After his agents had collected a large ransom for his promised release, Atahuallpa was executed for his presumed responsibility for the murder of Huascar. As a means of controlling the Indians, Pizarro then recognized Manco Capac II, Huascar's brother and namesake of the mythical first Inca king, as emperor. In November 1533 the Spaniards occupied Cuzco, the Inca capital.

Colonial period

      The consolidation of Spanish control proceeded. The city of Quito was subdued, and Almagro left to conquer his domain of Chile. Pizarro organized a Spanish-type municipal government for Cuzco and in 1535 established a new city, Lima, on the coast, to facilitate communications with Panama. Lands were allotted to the conquerors, who were provided with a labour force by grants of encomiendas (encomienda), which enabled them to collect tribute from the Indians in a specific area.

      Serious trouble then erupted. An unsuccessful Indian rebellion led by Manco Capac II in 1536 was followed by his retreat to the Vilcabamba (Vilcabamba, Cordillera de) region in the tropical forest north of Cuzco. The years after Manco's rebellion were followed by open conflict between the conquerors over the division of the spoils. Almagro, disillusioned by Chile's relative poverty, sought to seize Cuzco from the Pizarros. Almagro was defeated and executed in 1538, but his adherents continued to conspire with his son, and they succeeded in assassinating Francisco Pizarro in 1541. However, an agent of the Spanish crown, sent to establish order, refused to recognize the younger Almagro, who was captured and executed in 1542.

      Difficulties persisted nonetheless. The king of Spain, impelled by humanitarianism and by fear that the encomienda system might promote feudalism, promulgated in 1542 the New Laws, which threatened the existence of the encomiendas that were so important to the conquerors. When Viceroy Blasco Núñez Vela arrived in Peru (Peru, Viceroyalty of) in 1544 to enforce the New Laws, the conquerors, led by Gonzalo Pizarro (Pizarro, Gonzalo), revolted and executed the viceroy. Pizarro maintained control for two years until Pedro de la Gasca, a Spanish agent, undermined his power.

      It was nearly a decade before unruly conquerors were controlled under Viceroy Andrés Hurtado de Mendoza (1555–61), and not until the viceregal administration of Francisco de Toledo (1569–81) was systematic control of the huge Indian population attempted. Toledo adapted Indian institutions to the purposes of Spanish authority. He ordered Indian chieftains to administer local Indian affairs according to native customs and traditions and made them responsible for collecting tribute and providing forced labour. Spanish agents (corregidores) were appointed to protect the interests of both crown and Indian in the Indian communities. Fearing that Manco Capac II's son, Tupac Amaru, and the few remaining “free” Incans in Vilcabamba and the forests north of Cuzco might prove dangerous to Spanish authority, Toledo ordered Spanish troops to invade the area and capture Tupac Amaru, which led to Amaru's beheading in Cuzco in 1572.

      By the end of Toledo's administration, the Viceroyalty of Peru (Peru, Viceroyalty of) had assumed the form that it retained into the 18th century. Its territory included all of South America except Venezuela and Portuguese Brazil. Although ranching, agriculture, and commerce were carried on, the mining of precious metals, particularly silver, was the basic industry, making the colony the most important in the Spanish empire. The discovery of the fabulous Potosí mines in 1545 had been followed in 1563 by the opening of the Huancavelica mines, which produced the mercury essential to efficient processing of silver. Because the viceroyalty's mineral resources, except for the gold of New Granada (Colombia), were in Peru proper and Upper Peru (Bolivia), these areas became the most highly developed and richest.

      The centre of wealth and power for the entire region was the viceregal capital of Lima. There, during the 16th and 17th centuries, a series of viceroys ruled over most of Spanish South America. The elaborate viceregal court was the apex of a highly stratified society based upon forced Indian labour. It attracted not only the politically oriented but also the wealthy, the artistic, and the intellectual.

      Lima was also important as seat of the audiencia, which administered royal justice, and as a religious, cultural, and commercial centre. The archbishop of Lima was head of the church in Peru. Many religious orders established monasteries and convents there, and the tribunal of the inquisition worked to extirpate religious heresy. In Lima also was the capstone of the educational system—the University of San Marcos. Adding to the wealth and importance of Lima was the privileged position that its merchants enjoyed under the monopolistic Spanish trade system. Lima, with the nearby port of Callao, was the entrepôt for trade between Europe and the commercial centres of South America, ranging from Quito to Chile on the Pacific coast and to Buenos Aires on the Atlantic. Under the Spanish system the bulk of legitimate trade to and from these areas had to pass through merchants in Lima.

      During the later 17th century, Peru experienced difficulties. Some of these, such as increasing contraband trade with non-Spanish merchants, attacks by pirates, and the growth of venality among government officials, reflected the internal decay of Spain and the decline of its international power. Contributing to Peruvian difficulties was the decline of its production of precious metals.

 A series of governmental reforms complicated Peru's problems in the 18th century. The Bourbon (Bourbon, House of) dynasty, which in 1700 had replaced the Habsburgs (Habsburg, House of) as rulers of Spain, undertook a program of reform during the 18th century, seeking to promote the economic development of their colonies, improve colonial defenses, and provide more efficient government. The first to seriously affect Peru was the establishment of the new Viceroyalty of New Granada (New Granada, Viceroyalty of), ending Peru's control over northern South America and resulting in its loss to New Granada of the thriving port of Guayaquil (now in Ecuador). For the next few decades Bourbon reforms, together with overall expansion of the economy, improved conditions in Peru. In 1777–78, however, the Spanish government established another viceroyalty, that of Río de la Plata (Río de la Plata, Viceroyalty of the), this time depriving the Peruvian viceroy of authority over Upper Peru and the areas of present-day Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Chile was reconstituted as a virtually autonomous captaincy general. Following the disastrous loss of the silver mines of Upper Peru, the Viceroyalty of Peru was still more weakened by reforms in the trade system, which permitted merchants in ports on the Atlantic and the Pacific to trade directly with Spain.

      Internal strife created further complications. The Indians, who had from the time of the conquest suffered oppressive taxation and enforced labour, revolted in 1780 under Tupac Amaru II, a descendant of the last Inca emperor and a man of wealth and education. The revolt spread throughout Peru and into Upper Peru and Ecuador. Although Tupac Amaru II was captured and executed in 1781, the Indians continued to fight the Spaniards until 1783, causing considerable disruption.

      Nevertheless, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Peru experienced a period of intellectual development that was the result of the influence of the utilitarian ideas of the European Enlightenment, taken to Peru in books and by European participants in scientific expeditions in 1778 and 1793. Its chief manifestation was the establishment of a literary and scientific club in Lima, the Society of Friends of the Country.

Achievement of independence

      The Napoleonic invasion of Spain in 1808 sparked the Creoles (those of European descent born in America) in other Spanish colonies to struggle for independence between 1810 and 1821. But Peru remained loyal because of the conservative attitude of the Peruvian aristocracy, the presence of many Spaniards in Peru, the concentration of Spanish military power in Lima, and the effective suppression of Indian uprisings. Peru's independence was, consequently, achieved primarily by outsiders.

      Among them was Gen. José de San Martín (San Martín, José de) of Argentina, whose aims were to secure Argentine control of Upper Peru's silver from the Spanish forces that had occupied Upper Peru and to ensure Argentina's independence by destroying the remaining Spanish power in South America. Because Argentine forces had previously been defeated in Upper Peru, San Martín determined to surround the Spaniards by liberating Chile and using it as a base for a seaborne attack on Peru. Chile was freed in 1818 and a fleet was readied, which enabled San Martín to occupy the Peruvian port of Pisco in September 1820. When the viceroy withdrew his forces into the interior, San Martín entered Lima. Peruvian independence was declared on July 28, 1821.

      Lacking power to attack the strong Spanish forces in the interior, San Martín sought aid from Simón Bolívar (Bolívar, Simón), who had liberated northern South America, but Bolívar declined, refusing to share leadership. San Martín then withdrew, and Bolívar assumed power in Peru to carry on the struggle for liberation. At the battles of Junín (Aug. 6, 1824) and Ayacucho (Ayacucho, Battle of) (Dec. 9, 1824), Spanish power was broken and Peru's independence ensured.

Robert N. Burr Thomas M. Davies, Jr. James S. Kus

Peru from 1824 to 1884

      The end of Spanish rule did not, however, provide a solution to the many political, social, and economic problems facing the country. The transition from a colonial dependency to a modern state proved difficult.

Struggle for power

      At the outset of Peru's national existence, military leaders (caudillos) who had gained prominence in the struggle for independence sought to seize power. The departure of Bolívar in 1826 removed a stabilizing influence. The aims of the caudillos were furthered by the absence of a tradition of self-government, by the prevalence of a feudal society of Creoles and Indians, and by the reluctance of civilians to assume political responsibility. Despite military influences, a liberal constitution was adopted in 1828. This did not prevent Gen. Agustín Gamarra from taking government power by illegal means. He was succeeded in 1835 by another self-seeking caudillo, Gen. Felipe Salaverry.

      The ambitions of Gamarra and Salaverry were thwarted by Andrés de Santa Cruz, a military commander of Spanish-Indian descent who proposed a confederation of Peru and Bolivia. For three years Santa Cruz, though born in La Paz, was backed by influential groups in Peru and maintained the political union. But his hopes were shattered at the Battle of Yungay in 1839 by a joint force of nationalist-minded Peruvians and of Chileans fearing a threat to the balance of power in the Pacific.

Establishment of order

      During the initial period of statehood in Peru, liberal and conservative parties with ill-defined programs emerged. Their rivalry exacerbated the political instability of the country.

      Gen. Ramón Castilla (Castilla, Ramón) assumed the presidency in 1845. Castilla dominated the political scene from 1845 to 1851 and from 1855 to 1862, in spite of his mestizo background. His greatest accomplishment for the promotion of national wealth was the exploitation of the guano deposits along the coast and offshore islands. Taxes on this industry, which was controlled by foreign corporations, furnished the principal source of government revenue for several decades. Castilla appealed to liberals by abolishing the payment of tribute by Indians and by emancipating the black slaves. Landowners on the coastal plantations, however, were permitted to import thousands of Chinese workers in order to have a sufficient labour supply. As an additional concession to the liberals, Castilla established a system of state education at the primary and secondary levels. Through his influence, an assembly in 1860 adopted a constitution that lasted into the 1900s.

      In the second half of the 19th century, Peru's history was characterized by many setbacks. In 1864 Spain dispatched a naval force to the Pacific, ostensibly to protect the rights of Basque immigrants but in reality to attempt to reestablish domination over its former colony. In 1869, after meeting with the determined opposition of Peru and Chile, Spain withdrew and recognized Peru's independence for the first time, but the conflict was a heavy drain on Peru's treasury.

      Dissatisfaction with military rule resulted in 1871 in the formation of the Civilian Party, representing an oligarchy of landowners and merchants (see Civilista). This party, headed by Manuel Pardo (president, 1872–76), approved a costly program of internal development, which included the construction of railroads across the Andes. Corruption on the part of government officials and contractors characterized the work, which decreased the isolation of the Peruvian interior but increased enormously the national debt.

The War of the Pacific (Pacific, War of the) (1879–83)

      Another untoward event was the War of the Pacific (Pacific, War of the) with Chile, caused mainly by rivalry over the exploitation of rich nitrate deposits in the Atacama Desert (then part of Peru, now in Chile). Chile's superior resources and military discipline brought overwhelming defeat to Peru and its ally Bolivia.

      At the Battle of Iquique (then in Peru, now in Chile), on May 21, 1879, the Peruvians suffered the loss of one of their best warships, the Independencia; the Huáscar was then sunk on October 8, and this eventual surrender of control of the sea permitted a Chilean army to land on the Peruvian coast. On Jan. 17, 1881, Chilean forces captured the capital, Lima. Looting and pillaging followed, and the National Library was destroyed. According to the terms of the Treaty of Ancón (Oct. 20, 1883), Peru turned over to Chile full possession of the province of Tarapacá and the administration for 10 years of the provinces of Tacna and Arica, after which a plebiscite was to determine their future sovereignty.

Peru from 1884 to 1930

      Expenditures for the war, and the consequent loss of revenue from the nitrate fields, created the possibility of imminent bankruptcy. To avert this disaster, the Civilian regime accepted in 1889 a plan proposed by the bondholders for handling the debt. The Peruvian Corporation, representing the creditors, with headquarters in London, was to control the railroads for 66 years, to mine up to three million tons of guano, and to receive 33 annual payments of £80,000 each. The plan worked satisfactorily but was hated by the Peruvian people.

Social reforms and economic development

      The decline in national prestige created an atmosphere conducive to political change. The Democratic Party was formed, and in 1895, under the leadership of Nicolás de Piérola, it won the presidential election. Having a broad, popular base, it championed direct suffrage and the restoration of municipal elections. Public education was fostered, but schools for the children of the poor were lacking.

      An orderly political scene, marked by rivalry between the Democratic and Civilian groups, accelerated economic development. There was an increase in the production of minerals, notably copper, and of such agricultural commodities as cotton, sugar, and wool. In the mining of copper, U.S. capital acquired important interests.

 Augusto Bernardino Leguía y Salcedo (Leguía y Salcedo, Augusto Bernardino), chief spokesman for the Civilians, assumed the presidency in 1908. His first term in office (1908–12) was marked by the expansion of sugar and cotton production and the settlement of the boundary dispute with Brazil. During Leguía's second term (1919–30), he embarked upon expensive public works projects, financed by loans from U.S. banks. Rights to the oil fields of La Brea-Pariñas were given to the U.S.-owned International Petroleum Company, which built a refinery to supply the country with gasoline and oil.

      Leguía supported the adoption of a new constitution in 1920. Among its progressive provisions was Article 58, which protected the communal lands of the Indians (American Indian) from sale and seizure. Failure to implement this provision, however, gave rise to a significant development of Indianism. While most intellectuals urged gradual reforms, more radical measures were advocated by the Peruvian Communist Party and others.

Formation of the Aprista movement

      The American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA), known as the “Aprista movement,” was formed in 1924 in Mexico City by Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre (Haya de la Torre, Víctor Raúl), an intellectual then in exile. Internationally, it expressed the ideals of the unity of American Indians and the elimination of U.S. imperialism. Internally, it proclaimed the need to end the exploitation of the Peruvian masses through the institution of a planned economy and the nationalization of foreign-owned enterprises. Its anticapitalist and anti-imperialist stand appealed to intellectuals, to the Indians, and to the lower middle class.

      By 1930 Leguía had experienced a definite loss in popularity. Final settlement of the long-standing Tacna-Arica dispute with Chile, by which Peru ceded the province of Arica, angered the extreme nationalists, while the effects of worldwide economic depression (see Great Depression) cost Leguía the support of business groups.

Peru from 1930 to 1968

      In 1930 a military junta headed by Col. Luis Sánchez Cerro overthrew Leguía, and Sánchez Cerro defeated Haya de la Torre, the APRA candidate, in the presidential elections of 1931. APRA claimed that the elections were fraudulent and instigated a campaign to discredit the regime. The threat from the left led to the emergence of a fascist group, whose chief exponent was the historian José de la Riva Agüero. In July 1932 Apristas organized an uprising in Trujillo, on the northern coast, which included a bloody takeover of the Trujillo military garrison. In response, Sánchez Cerro ordered the bombing and recapture of the city, during which many Trujillo Apristas were killed; this ultimately led to the retaliatory assassination of Sánchez Cerro by an Aprista in 1933. These incidents created an enduring enmity between the military establishment and APRA that would last for more than 50 years.

Troubled democracy

      Sánchez Cerro's successor (1933–39) was Gen. Oscar Benavides, who restored confidence in the economy. He also settled a dangerous boundary controversy with Colombia over the port of Leticia on the upper Amazon (Amazon River) and a finger of land giving access to the river, both of which had been ceded to Colombia in a treaty of 1922. To avoid war Benavides returned the territory to Colombia. Benavides reduced the strength of APRA by declaring the party illegal, by a relentless persecution of its leaders, and by the adoption of social assistance projects. In the presidential election of 1939, the Apristas supported Manuel Prado, a banker and a member of an aristocratic family of Lima.

      During World War II, (World War II) Peru cooperated with the United States, authorized Allied use of airfields and ports, and arranged to sell the Allies petroleum, cotton, and minerals. In 1942 Peru severed diplomatic relations with the Axis powers, and in 1945 it declared war on them. During the war Peru succeeded, with U.S. support, in getting a favourable settlement of a boundary dispute with Ecuador, which it had invaded.

      World War II brought not only economic prosperity but also hope for real democracy. Prado, swayed by public opinion, approved the presidential candidacy in 1945 of José Luis Bustamante y Rivero, a lawyer from Arequipa with liberal leanings, who represented a coalition of middle- and upper-class elements. APRA, again a legal party, obtained a majority of seats in the lower house and half the seats in the Senate. Bustamante generally followed an independent course, and the Apristas withdrew their support. After Apristas staged an abortive insurrection in Callao, near Lima, the president outlawed the party.

The dictatorship of Manuel Odría (Odría, Manuel A.)

      In October 1948 Gen. Manuel Odría (Odría, Manuel A.) seized power, protesting the president's lack of firmness in dealing with the radicals, and extreme measures were taken to suppress the Apristas. Haya de la Torre found refuge in the Colombian embassy, where he stayed for five years before leaving Peru.

      Odría led an authoritarian regime in which political stability allowed the revival of prosperity. The Korean conflict of the early 1950s benefited foreign trade because of heavy U.S. demand for Peruvian minerals, and a friendly policy toward foreign capital prompted large-scale investments.

Return to elected government

      In the election of 1956, Manuel Prado, who was supported by Odría, won a second term, defeating Fernando Belaúnde Terry (Belaúnde Terry, Fernando). A surprising feature of the election was the decline of APRA, some of whose members joined Belaúnde's National Front Party.

      Prado countered the financial crisis inherited from Odría by appointing as minister of the treasury Pedro Beltrán (Beltrán, Pedro Gerado), whose policies contributed to a 4¹/₂ percent annual increase in the gross national product. The fishing industry based on the massive harvest of anchovies in the cold waters off the coast expanded. Beltrán's measures did not, however, lessen the pressure from the landless Indians and the underpaid urban proletariat.

      With political tension at a high level in 1962, none of the presidential candidates received the one-third vote necessary for election; the decision went to the congress, but the military forces seized the government. A new election called in 1963 by the junta permitted Belaúnde's party, now called Popular Action, to be victorious.

      Belaúnde promised solutions to the country's economic and social problems. An agrarian act of 1964 provided for expropriation of unused or misused agricultural properties; by 1966 more than 500,000 acres (200,000 hectares) had been distributed. Community development projects and irrigation schemes were instituted, and a network of roads was planned. Indians were encouraged to colonize land in the foothills east of the Andes. Education was promoted with the establishment of new universities and with attacks on illiteracy.

Military rule (1968–80)

      On Oct. 3, 1968, the military forced the resignation of Belaúnde. The junta, headed by Juan Velasco Alvarado (Velasco Alvarado, Juan), imprisoned opposing politicians and suspended constitutional liberties. On October 9 the government expropriated the holdings of the International Petroleum Company, straining relations with the United States.

Economic nationalism

      In 1969 the junta embarked on a program of economic nationalism that would affect U.S. capital investments totaling $600 million. In 13 months three basic reform measures were enacted: the Agrarian Law (June 24, 1969), the Mining Law (April 14, 1970), and the Industrial Law (July 30, 1970). Accordingly, on Aug. 22, 1969, the government seized the Paramonga sugar plantation, which belonged to W.R. Grace and Company, one of the largest U.S. interests in Peru. Other large plantations of the north coast were taken over as well. The military junta also sought to control essential industries and public services through outright ownership and by “Peruvianization”—insistence that a majority of the stock of a foreign company be held by Peruvian nationals. The occurrence on May 31, 1970, of a major earthquake in northern Peru—which killed between 70,000 and 80,000 people, left 140,00 injured and more than 500,000 homeless, and caused millions of dollars of damage—jeopardized the financial stability of the regime.

      The junta appealed to the highland peasants by expropriating many of the landed estates, which thereafter were operated by government-directed collectives or by individuals or Indian communes. The opening up of arid lands was part of the new agricultural program, and the junta signed a contract in July 1971 with a Yugoslav company for the construction of a canal in the Piura Valley to irrigate 330,000 additional acres (135,000 hectares). Two more major construction projects were subsequently initiated. Commercial fishing was to be encouraged, but the disappearance of the anchovies in 1972 because of El Niño brought about a suspension of fish exports and dealt a serious blow to the economy. In 1973 the government moved to nationalize the fish meal industry, valued at $500 million. With the organization of Petroperú, a state-owned company, the petroleum industry expanded.

      An education reform bill, promulgated in March 1972, was to put in force “a system of learning from the cradle to the grave.” Major features were recognition of the equality of women, the establishment of rural schools, the granting of autonomy to the universities, and the use of the Indian languages Quechua or Aymara in the schools in the Andes and east of the Sierra.

      To prevent criticism of its tight dictatorship, the junta censored the press, closed or confiscated some radio stations and newspapers, and acquired control of privately owned television stations. In foreign relations the junta initiated a two-China policy, hoping to arrange the sale of minerals and fish meal to the People's Republic of China. As part of an innovative trans-Pacific policy, Japanese investments and contacts were encouraged by the government. Friendship with the Soviet Union (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) led to the exchange of ambassadors with communist-bloc countries.

The second junta

      Economic factors fostered resentment among many groups toward the Velasco regime. The decline in fish meal exports and in copper prices ended the economic boom, while loans obtained abroad for agrarian reform and huge copper and petroleum projects increased foreign debt. On Aug. 29, 1975, a new junta was formed, headed by Gen. Francisco Morales Bermúdez Cerrutti (Morales Bermúdez, Francisco), former minister of finance and economy, and Peruvian policies were constantly altered as repeated changes in the cabinet took place. Morales shifted toward more moderate right-wing policies. The National Agrarian Confederation was dissolved in 1978; the state fishing enterprise was denationalized; mining projects were opened to private investors; and more foreign investment was encouraged.

Return to civilian rule

      The Morales government committed itself to reestablishing constitutional rule, and a popularly elected Constituent Assembly was summoned in June 1978 to draft a new constitution. The Apristas formed the largest bloc of the assembly, and Haya de la Torre was elected president. The new constitution was signed on July 12, 1979.

      Elections were scheduled for May 1980, with the expectation that Haya de la Torre and the Apristas would win. Prior to the election, however, Haya de la Torre died, and Belaúnde won the election with a plurality of votes, returning to the office he held before the 1968 military coup. His party, Popular Action, headed a majority coalition in the legislature. Belaúnde immediately returned newspapers that had been confiscated by the military junta to their previous owners. The new legislature issued a package of decrees designed to reorganize the economy with a view toward reducing government involvement and encouraging private enterprise, but these were insufficient to ameliorate the growing economic and political crisis. The economy was hurt by an increase in imports due to Belaúnde's free-market policies, lower world prices for Peru's major export commodities, high international interest rates on the country's burgeoning foreign debt, and a devastating El Niño in 1982–83. Aggravating the economic problems was the rise of the guerrilla movement, led by the neo-Maoist Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) and the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, which forced the government to commit ever-increasing resources to combating the guerrillas and to repairing the damages inflicted in the conflict. When the inflation rate rose a staggering 3,240 percent between July 1980 and June 1985, the economy almost collapsed. Moreover, the national currency, the sol, lost so much of its value that a new monetary unit, the inti, was created in 1986.

      In the 1985 elections APRA, capitalizing on the country's plight, had its presidential candidate elected for the first time in its history. The new leader—young, charismatic Alan García Pérez (García, Alan)—shocked the international community when he announced that Peru would pay no more than 10 percent of its export earnings toward a nearly $14 billion foreign debt. Adopting a populist stance domestically, García attempted to reactivate the economy, end human rights abuses in the war against the guerrillas, gain control over the drug traffickers, and rally the population, but the International Monetary Fund dealt a blow to the country when it declared Peru ineligible for future loans and credits until García adopted more orthodox economic and debt-repayment measures. Facing a deteriorating economic situation, the president moved to nationalize the banks in 1987, an act that eroded his personal popularity. The end of García's term was marked by runaway inflation, a series of crippling general strikes, and even rejection by his own party.

 With inflation, the guerrilla war, and the drug trade as major concerns, the 1990 presidential elections resulted in a runoff between Mario Vargas Llosa (Vargas Llosa, Mario) of the Democratic Front Movement, or Fredemo, and Alberto Fujimori (Fujimori, Alberto) of Change 90. Vargas Llosa, a distinguished novelist, advocated a drastic anti-inflation program that alarmed many of Peru's poor. His support among the European-descended coastal elite was not enough to defeat Fujimori, the son of Japanese immigrants and an agricultural engineer. Much of Fujimori's support was gained by decrying Vargas Llosa's plan and was drawn from the upwardly mobile lower-middle class, evangelical Christians, the residents of the squatter settlements around most of the large cities, and highland Indians. However, less than two weeks after taking office, Fujimori instituted austerity measures as harsh as those he had earlier decried, including suddenly raising the price of gasoline by 3,000 percent. The program wiped out inflation but caused immediate hardships, notably among the poor.

      In April 1992 the military assisted Fujimori in staging an autogolpe (“self-administered coup”), in which Congress was dissolved. Another legislature was soon elected, and a new constitution was promulgated the following year. Fujimori promoted neoliberal economic policies such as privatizing state-owned mines and utility companies; his policies led to a rapid recovery of the Peruvian economy. He also took credit for successful antiterrorism campaigns that included capturing Abimael Guzmán Reynoso, the leader of the Shining Path, in 1992 and storming the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima in 1996, where dozens of hostages had been held by Tupac Amaru members. Fujimori won a second term in 1995, but charges of fraud and unconstitutionality accompanied his election to a third term in 2000. His government crumbled later that year after Vladimiro Montesinos, the head of the secret police and one of his closest advisers, was found to have bribed a congressman. Amid growing allegations of corruption, Fujimori fled to Japan.

      The country was governed by a caretaker administration until Alejandro Toledo was elected president and took office in 2001. Toledo was Peru's first democratically elected Quechua president, and his ethnic background enhanced his popularity among Peru's poor. However, Toledo inherited challenging political and economic situations: he did not have majority support in Congress, and Peru was in the midst of a significant economic recession. Hampered by these conditions, the popularity he initially enjoyed plummeted during his term.

      Also in 2001, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established to determine the extent of the killings, assassinations, and human rights abuses that occurred between 1980 and 2000 when the Shining Path committed most of their acts of violence. The commission's investigation concluded in 2003, and its report was released later that year. Among the most alarming findings, the commission determined that the number of those killed by both Shining Path guerrillas and government forces was approximately 70,000—twice the number previously cited. The commission's report generated concern from all sides: some interpreted the findings as sympathetic to the guerrillas; others, especially military officers and politicians in office at the time, feared the findings might make them vulnerable to charges of human rights abuse.

 In November 2005 Fujimori left Japan and returned to South America, arriving in neighbouring Chile. He hoped to organize a campaign for president in the 2006 election, even though the Peruvian Congress had previously barred him from holding public office until 2011. Shortly after his arrival in Chile, Fujimori was taken into custody under outstanding warrants for corruption and human rights abuse; he was eventually released on bail in May 2006, but in September of the next year, he was extradited to Peru. During his detention Fujimori challenged the Peruvian ruling that barred him from standing in the presidential election, but it was upheld.

 With Fujimori not in the running, another former president, Alan García Pérez (García, Alan), was victorious in the 2006 election—despite criticism of his performance during his previous term (1985–90). The fact that his opponent, Ollanta Humala, was openly supported by Venezuela's high-profile but polarizing president, Hugo Chávez (Chávez, Hugo), ultimately helped García in his bid for a second term. García's second administration focused on addressing the social inequalities still in existence in the country and building on the economic progress Peru recently enjoyed.

John Preston Moore Thomas M. Davies, Jr. James S. Kus

Additional Reading

Geography

General guides to Peru include Orin Starn, Carlos Iván Degregori, and Robin Kirk, The Peru Reader: History, Culture, Politics, 2nd ed. (2005); Jane Holligan de Díaz-Limanco, Peru in Focus: A Guide to the People, Politics, and Culture (1998); and Country Review: Peru (annual). Travel guides that provide a good introduction to the country are Brian Bell (ed.), Peru, 4th ed. (2005), part of the “Insight Guides” series; Dilwyn Jenkins, The Rough Guide to Peru, 6th ed. (2006); Sara Benson, Paul Hellander, and Rafael Wlodarski, Lonely Planet Peru (2007); and Hilary Bradt, Peru and Bolivia: Backpacking and Trekking, 7th ed. (1999).Interesting works on the topic of rural Peru include Linda J. Seligmann, Between Reform & Revolution: Political Struggles in the Peruvian Andes, 1969–1991 (1995); Susan C. Bourque and Kay Barbara Warren, Women of the Andes: Patriarchy and Social Change in Two Peruvian Towns (1981); and Sabine MacCormack, Religion in the Andes: Vision and Imagination in Early Colonial Peru (1991). An unusual study of women's role in rural northern coastal Peru is Bonnie Glass-Coffin, The Gift of Life: Female Spirituality and Healing in Northern Peru (1998); and a unique view of rural and urban lower-class women is provided by Florence E. Babb, Between Field and Cooking Pot: The Political Economy of Marketwomen in Peru, rev. ed. (1998).A number of authors have analyzed contemporary Peru from political and economic perspectives. The best comprehensive political history is James D. Rudolph, Peru (1992). Other books that discuss key issues include Maxwell A. Cameron and Philip Mauceri (eds.), The Peruvian Labyrinth: Polity, Society, Economy (1997); Philip Mauceri, State Under Siege: Development and Policy Making in Peru (1996); Alfonso W. Quiroz, Domestic and Foreign Finance in Modern Peru, 1850–1950 (1993); and John Sheahan, Searching for a Better Society: The Peruvian Economy from 1950 (1999).Numerous works treat the rise of the Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) guerrilla movement and the role of narcoterrorism in modern Peru. Some examples are Edmundo Morales, Cocaine: White Gold Rush in Peru (1989); Steve J. Stern (ed.), Shining and Other Paths (1998); Martin Koppel, Peru's Shining Path (1993); Simon Strong, Shining Path (1992); and Orin Starn, Nightwatch: The Politics of Protest in the Andes (1999).Contemporary Peruvian literature is reviewed in Marvin A. Lewis, From Lima to Leticia: The Peruvian Novels of Mario Vargas Llosa (1983). An interesting ethnomusicological study of modern Peruvian music in both rural and urban areas is contained in Thomas Turino, Moving Away from Silence: Music of the Peruvian Altiplano and the Experience of Urban Migration (1993).

History

There is a very large corpus of works that treats the peoples of pre-Hispanic Peru. Standard references include Michael E. Moseley, The Incas and Their Ancestors: The Archaeology of Peru, rev. ed. (2001); Richard W. Keatinge, Peruvian Prehistory (1988); Nigel Davies, The Ancient Kingdoms of Peru (1997); and Federico Kauffmann-Doig, Ancestors of the Incas: The Lost Civilizations of Peru (1998). Among the more specialized works are Susan A. Niles, The Shape of Inca History: Narrative and Architecture in an Andean Empire (1999); Jean-Pierre Protzen, Inca Architecture and Construction at Ollantaytambo (1993); Keith Muscutt, Warriors of the Clouds: A Lost Civilization of the Upper Amazon of Peru (1998); Tony Morrison, Pathways to the Gods: The Mystery of the Andes Lines (1978, reprinted 1988); and Evan Hadingham, Lines to the Mountain Gods: Nazca and the Mysteries of Peru (1987). Important new discoveries in northern coastal Peru are covered in Walter Alva and Christopher B. Donnan, Royal Tombs of Sipán, 2nd ed. (1994); and Thor Heyerdahl, Daniel H. Sandwiess, and Alfredo Narváez, Pyramids of Túcume (1995).Classic accounts of early Peru by Spanish chroniclers are Pedro de Cieza de León, The Discovery and Conquest of Peru, ed. and trans. from Spanish by Alexandra Parma Cook and Noble David Cook (1998); and Bernabé Cobo, History of the Inca Empire, trans. from Spanish and ed. by Roland Hamilton (1979, reprinted 1996). The best 19th-century account of the Spanish conquest of Peru is by William H. Prescott, History of the Conquest of Peru, 2 vol. (1847, reissued 2005). A more modern account of the same events is in John Hemming, The Conquest of the Incas (1970, reissued 1993). Additional useful works include Rafael Varón Gabai, Francisco Pizarro and His Brothers, trans. from Spanish (1997); Susan Elizabeth Ramirez, The World Upside Down: Cross-Cultural Contact and Conflict in Sixteenth-Century Peru (1996); and Steve J. Stern, Peru's Indian Peoples and the Challenge of Spanish Conquest, 2nd ed. (1993). Finally, the years immediately after the Spanish conquest of the Inca are covered by James Lockhart, Spanish Peru, 1532–1560: A Colonial Society (1968, reissued 1974); and Noble David Cook, Demographic Collapse: Indian Peru, 1520–1620 (1981, reissued 2004), which details the devastating loss of Indian life due to European contact.James S. Kus

▪ Indiana, United States

      city, seat (1834) of Miami county, north-central Indiana, U.S. The city lies on the Wabash River near its juncture with the Mississinewa, midway between South Bend (70 miles [110 km] north) and Indianapolis. Founded in 1829 as Miamisport on the site of a Miami Indian village and renamed in 1834 for the South American country, Peru is now a transportation, industrial, and agricultural trading centre. Its manufactures include electrical and heating equipment, plastics, food, paper, and wood products. Pioneer, circus, and Indian relics are displayed in the Miami County Museum. Songwriter Cole Porter was born and is buried in Peru. The Circus City Festival Museum and the International Circus Hall of Fame commemorate Peru's former fame as one of the nation's foremost circus winter quarters. Grissom Air Reserve Base and Mississinewa Lake are nearby. Inc. town, 1848; city, 1867. Pop. (2000) 12,994; (2005 est.) 12,732.

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