Peru: end of the party

By: Beatrice E. Rangel - 10/06/2026

Peru faces the same dilemma it did five years ago: the electoral authority's inability to organize the electoral process effectively and efficiently in the most remote areas of the country. As a result, many polling stations lack adequate materials or complete staffing on election day, making it difficult to determine with certainty whether the process was carried out in accordance with the procedures established by law.

When the margin between candidates is wide, these systemic flaws may seem irrelevant. However, in an election marked by intense political polarization and extremely narrow margins, such shortcomings can jeopardize the very legitimacy of the democratic system. Neither side will accept results other than those that confirm their own victory. This is how any democracy whose fundamental pillar is popular sovereignty expressed through the election of its leaders begins to erode.

The acute polarization affecting Peruvian democracy has several roots. One of them is the economy's inability to absorb the workforce the country generates each year. As a result, approximately 72% of the economically active population works in the informal sector. Nevertheless, this sector represents roughly 43% of economic activity and has played a crucial role in the expansion of agricultural exports.

The second cause is undoubtedly the educational crisis. Education in Peru is marked by serious structural problems, profound disparities between urban and rural areas, and alarming learning gaps. Added to this are the low quality of public services and significant infrastructure deficiencies.

All of this leads to the conclusion that Peruvian democracy carries too many liabilities to easily overcome the polarization that pits representatives of the informal sector against those of the formal, organized, and dynamic economy. Both groups represent approximately half the country and seem to view political competition as a zero-sum game.

Therefore, the most urgent task for any of the actors in the conflict is to transform this zero-sum game into a variable-sum one, in which both sides perceive benefits derived from civic interaction. Instead of constantly confronting each other, they should find incentives to cooperate.

However, to achieve this, it is essential to begin by stabilizing the political system. The fundamental ingredient for change is sustained investment in infrastructure, health, and education. In a country where leaders barely manage to remain in power for around twenty-four months, it is virtually impossible to develop the infrastructure necessary to drive growth. Airports, highways, bridges, and dams require years of planning, construction, and financing.

Furthermore, this entire process requires mobilizing substantial investment resources. If this situation does not change soon, Peru could lose the stable economic status it has enjoyed for the past two decades. In other words, the party will be over: the end of the decoupling between a relatively solid economy and an increasingly dysfunctional political system.

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