Country Profile
From The Report: Peru 2015
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Over the past four decades Peru’s political and social forces have been seeking a magic formula: an optimum combination of good governance, strong economic growth and poverty alleviation. Despite the occasional swings of the policy pendulum, the past decade has seen real signs of progress. In the post-Fujimori period a succession of presidents have maintained broadly market-friendly economic policies, benefitted from the commodities boom and achieved consistently strong growth rates, although they have struggled to satisfy rising social expectations. Partly due to its sometimes volatile history, social structure, and economic and cultural traditions, Peru has uneven living standards and some enduring pockets of poverty and social exclusion. With economic growth slowing in 2014, Peru’s fragmented political parties will be seeking to realign themselves ahead of the upcoming 2016 national elections.

This chapter includes interviews with President Ollanta Moisés Humala Tasso; Enrique García Rodríguez, Executive President, CAF development bank of Latin America; Gonzalo Gutiérrez Reinel, Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Jaime Reusche, Sovereign Risk Analyst for Latin America, Moody’s.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Signs of progress in achieving both strong economic development and poverty reduction
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Over the past four decades Peru’s political and social forces have been seeking a magic formula: an optimum combination of good governance, strong economic growth and poverty alleviation. As is the case in many Latin American countries, different policies have been pursued; there have been both hits and misses, and some U-turns along the way. But despite these swings of the policy pendulum, there are real signs of progress, particularly in the past 10 years. Partly due to its diverse history,…

Interview

President Ollanta Moisés Humala Tasso: Interview
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Interview:President Ollanta Moisés Humala Tasso How is your administration striking a balance between broad social inclusion, on the one hand, and wealth creation policies, on the other? OLLANTA MOISÉS HUMALA TASSO: In order to reduce poverty in the country it is necessary to have complementary policies. Over the past 10 years, average GDP growth has been 6.4%, which has had the effect of reducing the poverty level from 59% in 2004 to 24% 2013, which is below the 28% average for Latin America. Economic…

Interview

Enrique García Rodríguez, Executive President, CAF development bank of Latin America: Interview
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Interview: EnriqueGarcía Rodríguez What can Latin America learn about economic integration from the EU’s history? ENRIQUE GARCÍA RODRÍGUEZ: The project of European integration offers important lessons for Latin America. Europe has made a huge political effort for years, a continuity that is one factor in its success. By contrast, Latin America’s efforts toward integration, which have been going on since the late 1950s, have not been fully sustained. The EU has managed to establish…

Overview

Andean gem: Peru is poised to prove itself on the international stage
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Bouncing back from political instability and hyperinflation in the 1970s and 1980s, Peru has sustained average GDP growth above 6% since 2004. A major metals and minerals exporter, Peru’s growth has been fuelled in large part by high commodity prices and stable demand from China. This has allowed the country to become an important world player in copper, gold and silver, and a rapidly growing producer of zinc and lead. The expanding agriculture, fisheries and industry sectors are other pillars…

Interview

Gonzalo Gutiérrez Reinel, Minister of Foreign Affairs: Interview
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Interview: Gonzalo Gutierrez Rienel What role can diplomatic missions play in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI)? GONZALO GUTIÉRREZ REINEL: There has been a deceleration of the Peruvian economy, partly due to the decrease in commodity prices. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is one of the country’s most important tools for attracting FDI; thus, we have to support and complement the Ministry of Foreign Trade and work closely with its offices abroad. We recently signed an agreement with…

Interview

Jaime Reusche, Sovereign Risk Analyst for Latin America, Moody’s: Interview
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Interview: Jaime Reusche What does Peru need to do in order to maintain its two-point ratings upgrade? JAIME REUSCHE: There is a large infrastructure gap in Peru. The country has not been investing as much as Asian economies and has not been committing to modernising infrastructure. However, recently the authorities have been trying to invigorate infrastructure through public-private partnerships and by increasing government fiscal investment in development. It is a recent phenomenon that the scale…