The perception of an important group of the population about the country’s progress is quite pessimistic and this position even extends to the perception about the future. This is despite the growth of the economy last year that the government of Dina Boluarte and her ministers boast about and the recent increase in the minimum living wage by 10%.
According to an Ipsos survey carried out on behalf of SUPPORT Consulting63% of Peruvians perceive that the country is going backwards and only 7% consider that it is progressing. And although the percentage of Peruvians who believe that the country is going backwards is 12 points lower than in December 2023, the perception continues to be one of the most pessimistic since 1991. It even exceeds the levels observed during the pandemic.
The feeling of regression is more marked in the north of the country, among older adults and especially women, where 72% still perceive that the country is going backwards, with no improvements compared to 2023.
“What the population is saying as a whole is that Peru, not only in economic terms, but also in social terms, is not moving forward. This is one of the worst results since the 90s,” said José Carlos Saavedra, partner at APOYO Consultoría.
According to Saavedra, behind this highlight is the perception that politics is not contributing and working in favor of the interests of citizens. He explains that the decline indicator began to advance from 2017, a period in which the political crisis of several presidents began, which led to fights and vacancies.
Thus, as a result of the above, according to Saavedra, citizens observe that the political system and its representatives are not acting in favor of the common good or addressing citizen demands, but rather they are playing a separate game, in favor of their interests.
Implications
For the APOYO Consultoría partner, this perception of Peruvians about the country will have implications for their voting decisions in the next presidential elections in 2026.
“This has to do with the dissatisfaction that people have with democracy and generates a relatively favorable environment for candidates that promise radical and anti-system changes, because the current political system is not giving hope to 63% of the population,” he maintains. .
Also, he indicated that another implication of the negative attitude of the population is their decision to leave the country. He points out that a fact from recent years that is consistent with the results of the survey is the “significant” increase in the number of people who want to leave the country because they perceive that Peru is no longer progressing.
In addition, Saavedra mentioned as economic implications of this pessimism, the decisions that families are making about their investment. He said that in our country it was common for families with surpluses to invest in the real estate sector, but perhaps now it is more attractive to invest outside the country.
“(This negative perception about the country’s progress) has both political and social implications of emigration and immigration, but also economic ones. Nobody is going to invest their money long term in the country if they feel that it is not progressing,” he commented.
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