For years, Peru has defied gravity. The country has had eight presidents in ten years—a virtual power vacuum at the top of government—and yet the economy kept growing, the currency held strong, and the mining sector kept producing. That decoupling of politics and economics has kept Peru relatively stable and has prompted many in the private sector to argue that politics doesn’t really matter. But a first-round election marred by widespread logistical failures, fraud allegations, and a razor-thin race for second place—between leftist Roberto Sánchez, a former minister of the now-imprisoned Pedro Castillo, and right-wing populist Rafael López Aliaga—is now putting that resilience to its most serious test yet. Our guest is Luis Miguel Castilla, currently a Senior Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics and former Minister of Economy and Finance of Peru.
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Guest:
Luis Miguel Castilla is a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics and former finance minister of Peru.
Host:
Brian Winter is editor-in-chief of Americas Quarterly
If you would like to know more:
A New Test for Peru’s Economic Resilience by Luis Miguel Castilla
REACTION: Peru Braces for a Polarizing Fujimori-Sánchez Runoff by AQ Editors
Peru: Meet the Candidates 2026 by Rich Brown
