Is Peru Next?

Adam Isacson, writing literally off his usual beat, makes an interesting argument that Peru may be next in line for civil unrest:

Though Peru's economy has been one of the fastest-growing in the hemisphere, poverty has hardly budged. Lay this on top of a de facto situation of apartheid excluding the indigenous population, and the result is a lot of angry Peruvians.

Look at the last poll from the Chile-based "Latinobarómetro" organization, which surveys public opinion in 18 Latin American countries. When asked whether they agreed with the statement "This country is governed by a few powerful interests for their own benefit," 85 percent of Peruvians answered yes - first in the region! When asked if they agreed with the statement "I wouldn't mind a non-democratic government, if it were able to solve our economic problems," 64 percent of Peruvians said yes (the regional average was 55 percent).

It underscores Robert Steinback's article I mentioned yesterday.  Washington ignores the threat of poverty to democracy at its own peril and it certainly appears that they still don't get it.