Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“The South American nation of Peru is approaching a record that few countries would want: When it completes this year’s elections (scheduled for April, with an expected June runoff), it will have had 10 presidents in 10 years. This week, its Congress named No. 9, José Balcázar, as interim president, after his predecessor (in office for only four months) was ousted for holding clandestine meetings with a Chinese businessman. The country’s constant carousel of leaders underscores complex factors at play across much of Latin America today: increasing crime and corruption; uneven economic progress; declining trust in governing institutions; and geopolitical rivalry between China and the United States. Despite these pressures, according to regional analyst Sara Benítez-Mongelós, 78% of Latin American countries score high on fair election processes. Even with a long history of multiple coups and repressive military rule in the 20th century, the region’s armed forces have not directly stepped back into politics.” (02/19/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0219/Peru-s-pillars-for-a-civic-rebuild