Exclusion through citizenship: civic deliberation and its limits in the Peruvian blogosphere

Research on the exclusionary nature of citizenship has concentrated on the state as the agent who defines the limits of citizenship, framing it as a legal status. Exclusionary discourses and practices resulting from everyday notions of ‘good citizenship’ have received less attention. A stronger focus on these can contribute to our understanding of the relationship between citizenship and exclusion by highlighting exclusion through citizenship. In other words, it emphasises the ways in which practices and discourses of ‘good citizenship’ simultaneously produce its limits, consisting of practices and discourses which are considered ‘not civic’. In this sense, exclusion happens because of, rather than in spite of, citizenship. The article examines notions of civic deliberation among Peruvian bloggers, arguing that these included clear limits, which, if violated, allowed for exclusion.     

The 2011 presidential election in Peru: a thorny moral and political dilemma

The 2011 presidential elections in Peru was the third one held in the post-Fujimori era. A perusal of the campaign's political dynamics reveals pervasive anti-democratic behaviours, attitudes and rhetoric on the part of key political actors, showcasing the degree to which Peru remains an unconsolidated, precarious democracy. The second round presented a moral and political dilemma insofar as two unsavoury candidates of highly dubious democratic credentials vied for the presidency: Ollanta Humala, a former army lieutenant burdened by accusations of human rights violations who, additionally, led or supported two military uprisings; and Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of a convicted and jailed dictator who unabashedly touted the legacy of her father's authoritarian regime and surrounded herself with tainted fujimoristas. The paradox of this undesirable electoral outcome, which can be read as a popular rebuke of the status quo, is that it took place in the Latin American country posting the fastest economic growth over the past decade.     

From Dignified Burial to ‘Terrorist Mausoleum’: Exhumations,Moral Panic and Mourning Policies in Peru

In this article, we examine mourning policies with respect to exhumations of mass graves from the Peruvian armed conflict. By reflecting on a case in which the exhumed dead, and their relatives, do not conform to the model of legitimate victims, we explore the limits of reparation policies and their effect on reconciliation. We investigate how the ‘terrorist mausoleum’ led to a significant episode of ‘moral panic’. We then analyse the normative perspective on mourning, as implemented in the public sphere, and how mourning, citizenship and nation are related when burying unwelcome dead associated with the figure of the ‘terrorist’.     

From the State to the Streets: The Debate over the Civil Union Bill and Conservative Strategic Change in Peru

The adoption of SOGI policies depends on the strategies activists choose to support or oppose them. Nevertheless, the conditions that explain why some strategies are prioritised over others are not evident. In Peru, the 2013 debate over civil unions prompted a strategic shift in which the conservative wing started to benefit from intensive street mobilisation strategies. Why did this change occur? We argue that a deeply divided electoral competition and the decay of the Catholic Church's moral authority favoured this outcome. This article analyses the trajectory of these strategies over time to identify the conditions that contributed to the shift.     

Politicians without Parties and Parties without Politicians: The Foibles of the Peruvian Political Class, 2000–2006*

Since the collapse of the Fujimori regime in November 2000, the Peruvian political system has experienced considerable turbulence, which has focused attention on the capabilities and comportment of the country’s elected politicians. While some analysts hold that ‘there is no political class in Peru’, others maintain that since Fujimori’s demise a ‘resurrection’ has occurred in the fortunes of both parties and politicians who occupied centre stage during the 1980s. This article examines these claims, arguing that despite appearances to the contrary, the core of Peru’s political class operates in a rational and responsible fashion.     

The Peruvian press under recent authoritarian regimes, with special reference to the autogolpe of President Fujimori

Among the many controversial actions of President Fujimori the autogolpe of April 1992 is one of the most widely known, appearing for a time to provide other beleaguered South American presidents with an alternative model as to a possible course of action. By means of textual analysis and interviews with the editors of newspapers and news magazines this paper examines the military and economic pressures exerted on the Peruvian printed media during Alberto Fujimori's first term in office, and relates them to the historical situation of the press in the country.     

The Collapse of Fujimorismo: Authoritarianism and its Limits

The resignation of Alberto Fujimori as president of Peru and the convening of fresh elections for 2001 invites a reassessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the Fujimorato . Fujimori's was a hybrid regime, an uneasy admixture of democratic and autocratic elements. While following prescribed election timetables and tolerating certain opposition, this was an authoritarian government. Grounded on a pact with the armed forces and involving a concentration of presidential power, its support was organised along populist lines that took advantage of the weakness of political parties. However, as the regime's demise suggests, the tension between democratic and autocratic elements could never be properly reconciled.     

Rondas Campesinas in the Peruvian Civil War: Peasant Self-defence Organisations in Ayacucho

Despite the fact that the Shining Path guerrilla movement in Peru enjoyed initial peasant support, the emergence and spread of rondas campesinas or self-defence committees in the Andean highlands of Ayacucho was principally a response against coercion and violence exerted by Shining Path against the very same peasantry. This article seeks to demonstrate that the ronda phenomenon must be understood as part of the complex changes brought about by the proliferation of violence in the Peruvian Andes. The spread of rondas campesinas cannot be reduced to a mere counterinsurgent strategy imposed by the security forces on the rural communities; communal initiative and peasant 'agency' were, at certain stages, at least as important. Only with the rise to power of Fujimori were the self-defence committees formally incorporated in the state's anti-guerrilla strategy. Subsequently, with the reduction in the level of violence, self-defence committees have been seeking new roles in relation to the challenges of re-civilianisation and reconstruction.     

Some determinants of internal judicial independence: A comparative study of the courts in Chile,Peru and Ecuador

This article explores the primary determinants of internal judicial independence in three Latin American countries. Considering the relative absence of research focused on this dimension of judicial life, this article is innovative in demonstrating how it is affected by two variables: the quality of judges' training and respect for their judicial careers as criteria for promotions or transfers. While these variables explain why some countries enjoy greater internal judicial independence than others, this article also shows – contrary to popular wisdom – that judicial activism does not have a strong influence on internal judicial independence. Conducting a comparison of the courts in Chile, Peru, and Ecuador using surveys and semi-structured interviews, this study also shows that judges' autonomy from politicians does not necessarily follow the same path as the lower-court judges' independence from their hierarchical superiors.     

Poner la cuerpa: The Body as a Site of Reproductive Rights Activism in Peru

The issue of the body is central to feminist theory and activism. This article draws on social movement and performance theory to analyse the role of the body as a site of activism in performances and as a site that is subject to patriarchal and racial oppression. Through embodied activism, feminists reclaim their bodies as a contested site of oppression to reframe the terms of the debate on abortion and demonstrate the possibility for embodied and creative politics to create new, more inclusive forms of activist practices.