ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the singularity of Peruvian politics in recent decades, a course which is clearly distinguishable from that of other countries in the region. It focuses on the study of the governments of former presidents Alan García and Alberto Fujimori. The chapter explores the way in which specific and unexpected decisions they made set the country on an unforeseen course that would distance it from trends that marked the region as a whole. It reviews the prevalent method of viewing the evolution of Peruvian politics in recent decades, which emphasizes structural factors in which political leaders 'reproduce', through their behaviors, certain 'balances of power' established in the economic and social spheres while appearing to lack initiative and impact. Fujimori could have tried to build a majority in Congress under strong presidential leadership, and he could have led a process of structural reforms around democracy despite 'delegative' tendencies, as occurred in countries such as Argentina/ Bolivia during the same years.
