Peruvian President Dina Boluarte is one of the least popular leaders in the world, with just a 5 percent approval rate and 92 percent disapproval in one recent poll. Peruvians remain angry about rampant corruption among the political class, but also about the repression by security forces that killed dozens of protesters in late 2022 and early 2023 after the coup attempt by former President Pedro Castillo.
Economic challenges have also finally caught up with the country’s political instability, with Peru having faced economic contraction or stifling low growth for two years now, after enjoying a commodity-driven economic boom in recent decades. The low economic growth has in turn contributed to rising crime rates: Homicides have nearly doubled compared to six years ago, and over half of Peruvians say they or their families have been victims of crime in the past six months. Amid the rising crime, transportation networks have been a particular target, with taxi and bus drivers facing regular extortion threats by violent gangs.
Instead of resolving all these concerns, Boluarte and many members of her government remain embroiled in one scandal after another, even as Congress has gutted various independent governmental institutions to prevent anti-corruption efforts from removing those in power. This is not a problem that started under the current government. Peru has had six presidents in the past decade alone. Nearly every living former president faces a corruption investigation or has been convicted as a result of one; another took his own life to avoid being arrested on corruption charges. Boluarte herself faces several investigations, including one concerning how she obtained the many high-priced watches she wears, given her modest salary as a lifelong government employee.