Peru’s problems run deeper than Rolexes

Three Rolex watches, a $56,000 Cartier bracelet and a $500,000 selection of jewellery have left Peru’s president lost for words. Dina Boluarte, a provincial lawyer from a modest background before taking high office, has been unable to explain to prosecutors where the lavish accoutrements came from.

Peru’s first female leader has instead questioned media interest in the costly watches and jewellery she has worn at official engagements, saying she hoped this was not “sexist or discriminatory” and that “being corrupt is not in my DNA”. Her lawyer helpfully added that “not all enrichment is illicit”. 

Prosecutors have not been impressed. They have widened their investigation to include unexplained payments of around $300,000 into Boluarte’s bank accounts. Police battered down the door of her family residence in Lima on Good Friday in a hunt for evidence.

Does this spell the end for one of the world’s most unpopular leaders, limping along on a 9 per cent approval rating? Not necessarily, according to Peru’s Congress. Legislators voted by a wide margin on Wednesday to confirm Boluarte’s new cabinet, hastily formed after the departure of six ministers on Monday and the earlier resignation of the prime minister over a separate scandal. On Thursday, they rejected two impeachment motions.

Why the improbable vote of confidence? Nearly two-thirds of legislators are under investigation for alleged misdeeds and Congress is as reviled as the president, so lawmakers fear early elections. A weak president also allows Congress to rewrite the constitution: this year, lawmakers have recreated the senate and allowed legislators to seek immediate re-election, thumbing their noses at referendum results showing the public wanted neither. 

Peruvians have watched with a mix of weariness, disgust and despair. They have seen six presidents in the past six years, four forced out over alleged improprieties. Boluarte fell into the top job in December 2022 when her predecessor Pedro Castillo was arrested after trying to shut down Congress. The impoverished south of Peru, the bedrock of Castillo’s support, erupted in protest and Boluarte sent in troops. At least 49 civilians were killed, triggering an international outcry and fatally wounding the credibility of her caretaker administration from the outset.

This turbulence in government has shaken the economy. Investors are fearful of committing to big projects, particularly in the key mining sector, a lost opportunity when global demand for critical minerals is high. The informal sector, employing more than 70 per cent of workers, has flourished. Illegal mining and logging are rampant; drug trafficking continues uninterrupted; private universities of dubious repute are everywhere. Instead of reining in such activity, lawmakers have encouraged it. Legislative initiatives have hobbled the crackdown on miners and loggers, and the fight against organised crime.

Will Freeman, fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, sees “concerning indications that organised crime could have significant influence over lawmakers”. With legitimate businesses unwilling to donate to Peru’s scandal-ridden political parties, dirty money fills the vacuum. Crime and violence are rising.

Unsurprisingly, few Peruvians are optimistic. A growing number are emigrating: more than 400,000 in the first half of last year alone. In Lima, opinion divides between those who see a steady degradation of politics and those who believe an authoritarian nationalist in the idiom of El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele will win elections, due in 2026. In the meantime, Boluarte staggers on. 

“The Rolexes sum up a political situation whose main characteristic is that there is no longer any politics,” says Alberto Vergara of Lima’s Universidad del Pacífico. “Dina and her government do not care in the least about the country. For them, politics is about plundering.”

michael.stott@ft.com