The first city in Peru is estimated to have been built in around 3,500 BCE at Huaricanga. From about 3,100 - 1,800 BCE, there is evidence of large-scale human settlement along three river valleys. This was roughly at the same time as the pyramids were being built in Egypt. Fast forward to independence in 1824 and the neighbouring countries didn't all perform as well economically. From 1879-1884, 'The War of The Pacific' saw Peru ally with Bolivia against Chile. Vague boundaries, differing prospects and competition for resources saw fights over what got dug up, and how it got where it had to go. Tax was the trigger for war. Not dissimilar to today's ambiguity over where 'value is added' and who it belongs to. Throughout the C20th, Peru flipped between periods of stability and growth, and periods of coups, social unrest and internal conflict. Today, it is a upper middle income country with GDP per capita similar to South Africa (92nd and 90th in the world), but lower inequality and less poverty. It is one of 'The Pacific Pumas', a term given to a group of four larger Latin American countries that are showing common signs of growth, stable institutions, improved governance and global integration. We can try do it on our own, in competition and far apart, or we can do it together.
Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru
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