Oxfam Report Shows Peru’s Wealthiest Captured 42% of New Wealth
The nonprofit organization Oxfam has found that the richest 1 percent of Peruvians took 42 percent of all wealth created between 2019 and 2025. The study, released on Tuesday, underscores a widening gap between rich and poor in the South American nation and raises questions about the government’s response to deepening social divides.
Alejandra Alayza, Oxfam’s executive director in Peru, warned that “economic inequality in Peru has remained stubbornly high for decades. When people feel that the same people always win, that nothing changes and nothing can change, inequality starts to look less like an injustice and more like the natural order of things.” She called this fatalistic view “dangerous” and urged that it be dismantled.
According to Oxfam, the 42 percent share marks an increase from the 2000‑2019 period, when the top 1 percent captured about 39 percent of new wealth. By contrast, only 1.4 percent of the wealth generated from 2019 to 2025 went to the poorest half of the population.
The report was produced with the Institute for Peruvian Studies, a Lima‑based think tank, and included a survey of public attitudes toward inequality. Eighty‑four percent of respondents said they believed powerful interests dominate politics, while more than 75 percent felt that wealthy corporations and individuals evade their fair share of taxes. About 70 percent said the government should do more to reduce inequality, noting that many Peruvians experience limited access to health care, jobs, education and justice. “The undeniable scale of public support for action to reduce inequality leaves no room for complacency,” Alayza said. “Inequality is not a force of nature; it is made by political choices. Different choices can build a different Peru.”
The surge in inequality has unfolded alongside a decade of political turbulence. Peru has had nine presidents in the last ten years, a succession of scandals, investigations and impeachments that have eroded confidence in democratic institutions. The current president, right‑wing leader Keiko Fujimori, took office in July after a tightly contested election marked by voting delays and sharp recriminations among candidates.
Will Freeman, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, told Al Jazeera that “it’s a paradox. You have a rotation among elites but still a relatively narrow political‑criminal‑business elite that holds a lot of power.” He noted that clashes between the presidency and a powerful Congress, which can remove leaders on the vague grounds of “moral incapacity,” have contributed to the instability.
The political upheaval intensified in December 2022 when then‑president Pedro Castillo attempted to dissolve Congress, a move that was deemed illegal. Castillo’s removal and arrest sparked nationwide protests, which were met with a harsh crackdown by his successor, Dina Boluarte. Human‑rights groups have documented widespread abuses during the crackdown, with little accountability.
In subsequent years, the government has weakened judicial oversight and undermined anti‑corruption agencies. Freedom House, which rates political freedoms worldwide, classified Peru as “free” in 2022 but lowered the rating to “partly free” in 2023 after deadly confrontations between security forces and demonstrators. Its 2026 assessment still lists Peru as “partly free,” citing restrictions on political rights for groups such as Indigenous peoples. The organization said high‑profile corruption scandals have eroded trust in government, and the curtailing of judicial independence has further weakened governing bodies.
Freeman added that both legal and illegal powerful interests have exploited these changes, noting that “the groups themselves are unstable and fluid, yet Peruvians are right to conclude that, generally, they are wielding outsized influence in defence of their own commercial interests or political power rather than in service of any general welfare.”