The Real Reason Behind Peru’s Political Crisis It can be boiled down to a single historical factor: corruption.

Riot police clash with protesters in Puno, Peru, on Jan. 9. JUAN CARLOS CISNEROS/AFP VIA GETTY When Peru erupted in protests following the ousting of then-President Pedro Castillo in December, there was a broad understanding that the discontent had been festering for decades. Castillo’s impeachment, after his attempted self-coup, was just the final straw for his supporters—mainly the rural poor who believed the former teacher’s populist promises to eradicate poverty by confronting the Lima establishment that for decades had ignored and marginalized them. Since then, 55 Peruvians have died, most at the hands of…Read more …