ABSTRACT
The shift of US capital into manufacturing in Peru was not only the consequence of the dynamism of accumulation in that sector, but also because of declining profitability in the extractive industries. Accumulation in Peruvian manufacturing necessarily implies a large increase in imports, much greater than the rate of accumulation itself. Capitalist accumulation in Peru in the 1970s was riding an export boom in terms of foreign exchange earnings, and the balance of payments deficits reflected an unsustainable growth in the demand for imports. Backwardness in agriculture restricts the ability of capital to raise surplus value relatively, because the accumulation process does not directly cheapen major items in the consumption basket of workers. By 1980, the majority of Peruvian workers were proletarian, the dynamic of society was that of capitalist accumulation, and the industrial bourgoeisie held state power. The more important Peruvian partners in this alliance were the grand bourgeoisie, and its capital lay largely in plantations and finance.
