, Columnist
President's Narrow Survival Is Good News for Peru
Weaponizing corruption is a dangerous political strategy.
Besieged on all sides.
Photographer: Guillermo Gutierrez/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesGiven the notoriously glacial pace of Latin American justice, Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski’s fall from grace and, almost, from power was dizzying. Barely a week after being accused of lying about taking money from a tainted contractor, he was hauled before congress and narrowly escaped impeachment late Thursday -- an inquisitorial zeal that might make the old school generalissimos look slack.
Kuczynski’s survival is good news for Peru, which thanks to its sensible policies and market-friendly rules has been one of the region’s best performing economies, outpacing Brazil, Argentina and even Chile. Hence the resurgent Peruvian sol, which corkscrewed through the political storm.
