Peru is on the verge of the 2026 General Elections, to be held on April 12, and, as in different parts of the world, presents a bleak political landscape, with high fragmentation and corruption in all branches of government. This situation leaves the electorate with few options, but... are there ways out of this systemic crisis?
"Good governance is a right," concluded the entire Pressenza editorial team at their last annual meeting, held between November 6 and 9. This leads us to launch an information campaign across three continents (America, Europe, and Asia) to contribute to good governance through public debate, in-depth analysis, the inclusion of all voices, denunciation, and the reestablishment of the "common good" as our guiding principle.
From Peru, this campaign begins with an interview with Germán Altamirano Zúñiga, a long-time humanist and indigenous and grassroots leader who is now entering the political arena and will participate in the general elections. He proposes "Andean humanism" (based on universalist humanism and the principles of our ancestral Andean culture) to transform our politics. Here is his proposal:
Pressenza: Germán, you recently wrote the book Andean Humanist Utopia, which combines the universalist humanism developed by Silo and the ancestral Andean philosophy of the Andean countries, specifically in South America. What does your proposal consist of?
Germán Altamirano: Well, the utopia of Andean humanism is a dream that arises from struggle, from experience, because I have Andean origins, Chanca, and I'm from the countryside, from a community; so, over time I've settled more or less into struggle, as a social and political leader as well, and when I was almost 40 years old I began to dedicate myself to research, to traveling my routes, and not only the routes of the country, but also Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru of course, Colombia, Argentina, and part of Venezuela. And what I've been able to find is that in each of them there are still indigenous peoples with their dialects, with their languages, such as Quechua. But besides them, if it's not Quechua, there's Aymara, there are others ; but deep down, their thoughts are similar and coincide.
Simultaneously, I've had access to reading and connecting with the New Humanism of the Latin American current, from the work of Mario Rodríguez Cobos, Silo, who has discovered a vein that differs from the thought, philosophy, or approach of Western and Eastern humanism; although there are also points of convergence.
In Argentina, in Mendoza, which is part of the Andes, he delivered his message of Healing Suffering in 1969, specifically in Punta de Vacas, in one of the highest mountain ranges, part of the Andes. This signifies a fusion of the current of thought of humanism -- now universalist humanism -- with Andean humanism. This is because, moreover, a Russian researcher discovered it, and Silo himself revived it, dating back many years, and it characterizes both the Mayan culture -- or rather, the Aztec -- and the Inca and Pre-Inca civilizations, all of which possess humanistic characteristics.
Pressenza: How do universalist humanism and Andean humanism complement each other?
G.A.: What happens is that Andean humanism is more grounded in the political, programmatic, and governance framework, and it also operates with established populations, such as the more than 7,500 communities where a mixed economy exists; and humanism precisely proposes this mixed economy. Furthermore, we recognize that since this mixed economy is comprised of the state, private sector, community, cooperatives, and other diverse sectors, we have developed and synthesized, based on our experience, the principle of "giving without losing and receiving without taking."
This is one of the principles, simultaneously a strategy and a set of economic values that stands in contrast to capitalist economies or more hybrid economies, such as those in China, etc., and also to the socialism that collapsed in Europe. This is the element of capital accumulation on a global scale, which has generated 1% wealthy who control 90% of the world economy; the rest are excluded. That, precisely, is the crisis of the capitalist world.
So, why has this happened? According to what Marx established at that time, use value and exchange value. But this entire development strategy of capitalism, and also during the time of communism, was based on the market economy, which is based on exchange value, leading to mercantilism and cutthroat competition.
Therefore, to face this with an alternative in the world and in the country -- that is, on this continent or anywhere -- we need today to raise the value of use, which focuses on quality and durability.
The house we have built on the concept of exchange value is collapsing because exchange value involves competition, which is not only economic but also democratic, and Anglo-Saxon democracy has fallen; it is no longer viable.
Pressenza: Are you talking about representative democracy?
G.A.: Representative democracy has already collapsed everywhere -- in the United States, everywhere; it hardly works anymore. What arises at the political level? When this accumulation of capital is proposed on a global scale, which destroys the Earth and human beings -- part of our culture, our habitat -- right? And when you destroy these values, you dehumanize; as a result, human beings are dehumanized. There is destruction and violence; it affects everything.
So, that's why in this book we propose building a new house that is habitable, that is sustainable over time, and that is for life. And that has to be done by revaluing, recovering, and strengthening, giving primacy to use value, which allows us to satisfy people's needs and puts people first. And one of the central converging aspects is precisely the human being, isn't that right? The central concern above all, existing alongside values -- including God and everything else -- is the human being, but obviously respecting all beliefs, because the philosophy of Andean humanism states that ideas are not imposed; they are only presented.
In this new house, there must be values and principles, very profound thoughts, but at the same time, they must be validated.
Pressenza: So, where do we find validation for this thinking?
G.A.: Our ancestors, in the millennia-old existence of this Andean world, were not primarily concerned with making gunpowder or weapons; their central concern was the human being. This has been validated in their forms of organization, in their forms of collective labor, in their relationships, even in the yanantin -- the couple, representing complementarity. That's why there was the servinacuy: a two-year test of love, and if the couple didn't get along during those two years, the community would separate them peacefully, without major problems. But today, in the rural world, in Western Christian customs or thought, this is not considered. So, those are the central contributions.
But besides them, there's also our philosophy: the whole within us and we within the whole. That's the ecological and environmental approach -- that is, nature. We are part of nature, part of those living conditions that allow us to live. There has to be a balance. And that's an inclusive, not an exclusive, way of thinking. So we have this philosophy of life, which we also contribute to this current of thought that is circulating around the world. And we believe that, in this way, other peoples, other scholars, and other activists will contribute and continue to enrich it. For us, it's about building the new house.
The new world cannot be built on the global accumulation of capital, on the basis of the destruction of nature, on the basis of plunder, of the expropriation of everything, on the basis of appropriating surpluses in a way that enriches only a select few and excludes the vast majority. We cannot live with violence, with so much extortion and criminal gangs; we cannot live with criminalized politics, can we? Political parties are transformed into electoral enterprises, into criminal enterprises. That world is collapsing.
So we have two paths: either we wait to be crushed when that world collapses and ends with us -- which means nuclear war or global warming, an environmental holocaust, right? The other path is to build a new world.
I'm not saying that exchange value should disappear. But there has to be a balance between exchange value and use value. Everything in equilibrium.
Pressenza: Do you think Andean humanism can be implemented in the current global context?
Consider the resurgence of the far right, the high polarization of societies, corruption, discrimination, the loss of meaning in life, and above all, the loss of the value of life.
G.A.: It is possible, and not only is it possible, it is necessary, urgent, and indispensable. The point is that we must be clear that it depends on us, it depends on the people. Because all these things that are happening have been generated by human beings. And human beings are capable of overcoming them. But what do we need? We need to re-educate and educate our people so that they recover the human values that exist already, which are wonderful. We have to change the situation with the values and concepts of humanism.
We have to cultivate our people, and for that, it is very important to reach government. Humanism has to reach the government; it has to reach the State. We cannot leave the government here in Peru in the hands of criminals, in the hands of mafiosos. That is why in this book we propose a programmatic alternative for a government plan.
Pressenza: A government plan for five years, ten years...?
G.A.: Look, it's designed for the short, medium, and long term. And humanism should have up to three stages. The first is the foundation, laying the groundwork for humanism, which means educational change, organizational change, strengthening the commons -- that is, strengthening collective enterprises, both in rural and urban areas, and so on. Recover our strategic resources so we have the money to build the necessary projects, the schools that are needed, a top-quality university.
Pressenza: The thing is, education has been weakened from its very foundations, from primary school to secondary school...
G.A.: That's right, so we have to reverse that situation. Education is the most important investment in human beings. If we don't have it, we can't do anything, which is why it depends on us. So, the first phase has to have a minimum training program. And the second phase is the implementation of policies like industrializing the country and a strong fight against violence. We have to end all violence, but that also has to be linked to education -- not only in the classroom; families have to be re-educated, because where does a child who becomes violent learn to be violent? At home.
And also, this violence that exists now, the extortionists, all these people, how old are they? Look, most of those who get caught are young people. How old are they? Thirty-five, forty ? That's the result of the internet we've had; the kids we had in past decades, it was all violent games. So that's the result we have.
Pressenza: And the third stage?
G.A.: The third stage is everything related to the implementation of the program, specifically at the level of humanization. At a macro level, because humanization cannot be limited to a single country, region, or regional or municipal government.
Pressenza: How do you connect different countries, with different policies and trends, for a project of this nature?
G.A.: Fortunately, the first thing we have is that humanists exist in all these countries. And the first thing we have to do is coordinate among ourselves as humanists. Humanists have the characteristic that we can converse, because we don't fight. We don't have time to fight, right? We have to take full advantage of the fact that, thanks to Silo, who is now in another space, in another dimension, and many people of his generation, this has been promoted, has been awakened.
But also thanks to our ancestors from 4,500 years ago... We have a millennia-old history that is intertwined. We are Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia, seven countries in all. So we need to work together. Because these seven countries hold the greatest amount of water, biodiversity, strategic zones, and mineral wealth of all kinds. And today, precisely that space is being contested between China and the United States.
That is why we propose the Andean Community of Nations, with a single currency, a single market based on use value, balanced with exchange value. It should establish total sovereignty and self-determination for all seven members. So to have self-government, self-development, and self-management, so that the organized people manage and develop the economy. Then corruption has no place, the mafias will disappear, because then, we can generate full employment and decent employment, which every human being deserves.
Those are some very concrete things, but there's also the path we need to take, right? That's why I want to reiterate that this book presents three levels of programs. A program of immediate struggles, like now, for example, where we're asking, "What kind of constitution do we want?" Propose reforms in key areas, because the people are saying, "A new constitution? What kind? What characteristics should it have?" To design a constitution, you first have to have an idea of what kind of country you want in the future, what kind of society and what kind of state you're designing.
So, here we are designing a humanist state, a new humanist republic, based on humanist principles and values. In that sense, we are proposing a new humanist constitution, a new historical pact for the Peruvian people, but not only for the Peruvian people, for all peoples.
Pressenza: By the way, what do you think of Generation Z's response to the current political context, not only in Peru but in the world?
G.A.: I think Generation Z's reaction is positive; it's an expression of weariness, of being fed up with so much violence and crime that has affected even the poorest segments of the population: community kitchens, micro and small business owners, and transportation workers, both from large companies and informal taxi drivers. If only this reaction had happened two or three years ago, it would surely have changed the landscape, because we certainly wouldn't have had the government of Dina Boluarte and the current president, Jeri.
The thing is, this reaction is also against the mafia coalition. Peru has been captured by a mafia coalition of the black economy, drug trafficking, illegal mining, and the informal casino industry... All these criminals have organized themselves into eight parties, and these parties have captured Congress and changed all the laws, reformed the entire Constitution -- some 60 articles -- and transformed the government of Congress into a presidential system. From there, with Jeri, Rospigliosi, and the Armed Forces, they have controlled all the branches of government.
Now there's a dispute over what little remains in the Attorney General's Office and the Judiciary; they're in conflict and fighting. So the young people have come out and presented their platform: "They all have to go." I think that's important; it's a response, and they've responded very spontaneously, being self-organized. Today in Peru there is no strong, centralized civil society organization. Unions are weakened because, unfortunately, there is no formal employment; 82% of the workforce is informal, and this informality has become a structure that basically serves big business, monopolies, etc.
Pressenza: But how can we proceed if Generation Z currently lacks support and direction?
G.A.: The problem is that we live in a completely fragmented society, both politically and socially, and in a tremendously fragmented country, it's difficult. Furthermore, there's an enormous amount of distrust; everyone distrusts everyone else. There's also a lack of leadership. What kind of crisis is this? A crisis of thought, politics, programmatic issues, and leadership. That's why some call it "the crisis of the regime." But of course. Look at what's happening. There's a different version of the development of popular, populist neoliberalism in Peru.
I think young people are disorganized because of their nature; they're not aware of the situation, they don't have the leadership skills to organize themselves into a broad front. That's why the first marches went very well, the second one too, but the third one lost a lot of momentum. There's simply no sustainability in a situation like this.
They too are in a state of tremendous confusion and anarchy, chaos, and they express that. They repudiate all of it, but they are also part of this society. The issue is that politics has become so discredited in the country that they don't want to get involved with politicians, neither left nor right. "They should all leave." But if they all leave, who will govern?
Pressenza: So, what's the outlook for young people?
G.A.: It's uncertain. There aren't many prospects for their struggle, because it's short-term. It won't last much longer. Today we're entering an electoral process.
Pressenza: So, what is Andean Humanism's proposal at the political level?
G.A.: Andean Humanism proposes participating in this electoral process. We held our first conference, which you also attended, after 40 years of work, or a little more. We've organized ourselves at the national level, we've made a political agreement with the Venceremos electoral alliance, which includes two parties, but the political agreement includes three or four more organizations. Among them is Andean Humanism, and we're going to participate with five members: three for the Chamber of Deputies, one for the Andean Parliament, and one for the Senate; in my case, they're proposing me for the Senate.
Pressenza: And with whom would the other alliances be?
G.A.: We Will Win, two parties that are allied, like Nuevo Perú and Todas las Voces, and then there's Unidad Popular, Patria Roja, Dignidad Nacional, and Andean Humanism.
Pressenza: Were you able to reach an agreement ? Because in previous campaigns...
G.A.: Yes. Something very interesting happened. On the 15th and 16th, Venceremos held its first meeting, and that's where the presidential ticket was finalized. There were two pre-candidates. The first was headed by Ronald Atencio, a lawyer from Huánuco and general secretary of the Todas las Voces party. He was accompanied by a female colleague and another male colleague. The other list was headed by Vicente La Roca, of Aymara origin, from Puno, who holds two doctorates and has a high level of academic and scientific training, along with other female colleagues from Arequipa.
The election was democratic, with direct voting. More than 70 delegates voted, having previously participated in internal elections in which various people who wanted to express their opinions participated. In other words, all the rules were followed. The winning ticket is that of Ronald Atencio, who is 42 years old, relatively young, and has political experience...
Pressenza: Precisely on that subject... I want to ask you the questions that most people have in mind and that would help them decide how to vote. For example, do these candidates have criminal records? Have you verified that they have no police or criminal records?
G.A.: Yes, they have no criminal record. This candidate they've chosen has a solid political background, a clear vision of politics, and clarity in his proposals, in terms of policy, and in what to do as a government. I don't entirely agree with them, but ultimately there's a clear conscience; they come from a socialist left.
Pressenza: Is his political trajectory consistent? Or has he switched parties? Because of the possibility of defection, for example...
G.A.: No, he comes from a single political affiliation. He hasn't been a candidate before or anything like that. We're talking about Ronald Atencio. And likewise, the one who lost the election also has a very clean record. I think it's the only slate that presents everything clearly, and it's also the only left-wing and humanist one, because we're on it. It's shaping up to be left-wing and humanist.
Pressenza: And in that sense, is the humanist left, as you call it, prepared to assume the presidency? Because we've already had previous experiences like Susana Villarán and Pedro Castillo, in which there was little political leadership, the programs weren't implemented, and because of that, people became disillusioned. Are they prepared to assume the government of the country, should the need arise?
G.A.: I have to tell you that yes. At least, I am prepared. But besides that, there are about 150 trained professionals who are developing the government plan; some have already held positions and performed well. But there's also an important fact: most of them have a different political background than Castillo, who, as they say, "got the presidency by chance" because he was just a union leader, and we saw that he wasn't prepared. And a union leader who was completely inexperienced in politics.
That's why we're being very careful about that here. At the event, I saw people I've known for 40 or 50 years, people involved not only in grassroots organizations but also in political organizations. They haven't run for office, but they are well-prepared, so I have confidence in them. Nevertheless, we need to reach out to more people, and that's becoming clear; there's still a long way to go.
The question is interesting because I observe that within this whole process of discontent, with people fighting for the closure of Congress, for everyone to leave, and with so many deaths -- approximately 70 -- and then more than five thousand due to criminal violence... First, the Macro-South bloc against Dina Boluarte for the coup that took place here; a second wave of protests by transport workers against extortion; a third wave by Generation Z students, all of them demanding that everyone leave. So that hasn't happened because the mafia coalition is very strong, because it has taken over all the state institutions.
So what's left? I think there will be an insurrection at the ballot box. Look at what's happening in Chile, what's happening in Ecuador. In Ecuador, Noboa, after having maneuvered, tried to impose a referendum, and the people have said no. Because he wanted to modify the Constitution and also because he wanted to establish military bases, so the people have said no. The people are seeing the case of Venezuela, which is a great abuse by the United States. In reality, there's no drug trafficking there; what there is is oil and gold -- it's the most important reserve. So people aren't stupid; they have more information.
In Chile, it was said that the right wing would win everything in the first round, but Janet Jara made it to the second round, and she's a left-wing candidate in which the humanists ran as a bloc. So, it's something similar, a humanist left. And I think that surprise could happen here. But it all depends on the campaign strategy, on the narrative that's constructed, because there's going to be a strong offensive from the powers that be. This campaign might suddenly become very violent, not on our side or the people's side, but on the side of the mafias, who don't want to lose, which is why they're preparing for fraud. Keiko Fujimori has run for the fourth time; what are these people up to?
Our outlook isn't pretty, but it's interesting. Great crises require great solutions. And we humanists aren't afraid, because we don't harm anyone; we humanists aren't violent. Not from our side, but logically, as humanism grows, it will clash with the interests of mafia-like coalitions, these violent groups, which are likely to attack us. But we, too, if they attack us, will not respond, because our conviction is nonviolence, and if you're not going to harm anyone, you shouldn't fear anyone.
But in a society of interests, as I mentioned before, in this logic of capital accumulation at a large scale, which is being contested by China and the United States, the geopolitical issue plays a significant role in this electoral process. That's why the United States has been hit hard in both Ecuador and Chile, because the U.S. is trying to bring it down, then Colombia, then capture it here. There are two important elections left in this dispute: Colombia -- will they bring them down? How will it happen? But in Peru, there could be a surprise.