The Politics of Driving in Lima Peru’s capital has a chaotic, and sometimes deadly, public transportation system. Critics say its mayor puts the brakes on reform.

The Politics of Driving in Lima Peru’s capital has a chaotic, and sometimes deadly, public transportation system. Critics say its mayor puts the brakes on reform.
IT SEEMED like an innovative, and potentially lifesaving, idea in a city renowned for its reckless driving where virtually no motorist stops at crosswalks. Painting angled stripes of pastel yellows, blues and reds over the zebra crossings in Lima's financial district seemed to be working, too. By all accounts, the "artistic intervention" had caught drivers' attention and many vehicles were, finally, respecting pedestrians' right-of-way. But all that came to an abrupt halt in June, when with no prior announcement the mayor of the Peruvian capital, Luis Castañeda, had the colorful crosswalks abruptly painted…Read more …

Corruption scandals have ensnared 3 Peruvian presidents. Now the whole political system could change.

Corruption scandals have ensnared 3 Peruvian presidents. Now the whole political system could change.
LIMA, Peru — When President Martín Vizcarra pledged in his inauguration speech in March to fight “at any cost” the corruption braking Peru’s economic growth and undermining faith in its democratic institutions, the response here was a collective shrug. For as long as most Peruvians can remember, incoming heads of state have made similar promises but then done little to actually tackle the cancer of systemic graft. Meanwhile, Vizcarra, who had been serving as vice president as well as ambassador to Canada before replacing disgraced leader Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, was widely viewed as an accidental…Read more …