Peru: Elite Power and Political Capture

by John Crabtree, Francisco Durand

While leftist governments have been elected across Latin America, this Pink Tide, as it has been called, has so far failed to reach Peru. Instead, Peru represents a particularly stark example of state capture, in which an extreme concentration of wealth in the hands of a few corporations and pro-market technocrats has resulted in a monopoly on political power. In the wake of the 2016 general election, John Crabtree and Francisco Durand provide a close look at the ways in which Peruvian elites have been able to consolidate their position at the expense of genuine democracy.
 
In their timely analysis, Crabtree and Durand offer a particular focus on the role of mining and other extractive industries, where extensive privatization and deregulation have contributed to extreme disparities in wealth and power. In the process, they provide a unique case study of state development, by revealing the mechanisms used by elites to dominate political discussion and marginalize their opponents, as well as the role played by external factors such as international financial institutions and foreign investors. The significance of their findings therefore extends far beyond Peru and illuminates the wider issue of why mineral-rich countries so often struggle to attain meaningful democracy.
 

256 pages, Hardcover

Published May 15, 2017

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Dr. John Crabtree is a Research Associate at the University of Oxford's Latin America Center. Crabtree specializes in the politics of the Andean countries, on which he has written widely. He holds an MA from Liverpool University and a PhD from Oxford Brookes University.

Reviews

[Momma · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly thorough and concise overview of the ways in which political and economic power has been relegated to a tiny minority in Peru. Will be useful in exploring how colonial power dynamics set the stage that continues to play out today. There is a great deal on Fujimori, the mining industry, entrenched corruption, inequality and the neoliberal turn starting with Fujimori's administration.