Economic history of Peru

[2] From 2016 to 2017, mining output increased, helping Peru attain one of the highest GDP growth rates in Latin America.

People did collective community work in a system known as the minka, which involved construction, cleaning, or attending to other needs of the society at large.

Peru's precious mineral resources and large indigenous population placed it at the core of the South American colonies.

[clarification needed][4] Minerals from Peru and other South American colonies along with textiles and sugar were exported back to Europe.

Called "Creole patriots", the factions were originally marginalized to the periphery of the empire in places such as Venezuela; consequently, they experienced expanded trade opportunities.

[4] The introduction of free trade led to explosive growth throughout the empire; by the end of the century, Spain received ten times more imports.

[clarification needed] Despite the overall growth of the colonies, Peru's economy stagnated in the period that lasted about 150 years after the Peruvian War of Independence.

The regional socioeconomic hierarchy inverted itself because core territories where liberals were absent experienced much lower levels of economic development.

Entrepreneur Henry Meiggs built a standard gauge line from Callao, a seaside city, across the Andes to the Huancayo in the highlands.

The territorial loss, extensive looting of Peruvian cities by Chilean troops, and other effects of the war led to tense diplomatic relations between the two countries, which have not since fully subsided.

Before the start of World War I, Peru had enjoyed years of economic growth bolstered by sugar, mining and cotton exports.

Due to a thriving economy, Odría implemented expensive, populist social reconstruction, whose programs included housing projects, hospitals, and schools.

Belaúnde continued many of the projects that were planned during his 1963–1968 term, including the completion of the Carretera Marginal de la Selva, a roadway linking Chiclayo on the Pacific coast with the then-isolated northern regions of Amazonas and San Martín.

[6] With a parliamentary majority for the first time in the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance's history, García's administration showed economic promise, much as Belaúnde's had.

Critics of García's presidency claim that his many poor decisions in office created an environment that led to the rise of the authoritarian leader Alberto Fujimori, who came to power in 1990.

Undertaking a process of economic liberalization, he ended price controls, discarded protectionism, eliminated restrictions on foreign direct investment, and privatized most state companies.

Since 1990, the Peruvian economy has undergone free-market reforms, legalizing parts of the informal sector, and privatizing the mining, electricity, and telecommunications industries.

In 1998, El Niño's impact on agriculture, the financial crisis in Asia, and instability in Brazilian markets undercut growth.