Political and Economic Outlook of Peru

The Georgetown Americas Institute is pleased to host a conversation on the political and economic outlook of Peru with former Minister of Economy and Finance Alfredo Thorne, moderated by GAI Founding Director Alejandro Werner.

For more than two decades, despite repeated presidential crises, cabinet turnover, and confrontation between the executive and Congress, Peru maintained prudent fiscal policy, low public debt, and an independent central bank. Supported by mining investment and expanding exports, Peru achieved sustained growth, reduced poverty, and built a reputation for economic credibility and resilience. This record is particularly unusual in the regional context: on February 17, 2026, Congress removed President José Jerí from office—continuing a cycle that has produced roughly eight presidents since 2016—yet Peru’s macroeconomic policy framework have remained largely intact despite the persistent political turmoil. In recent years, however, economic growth slowed amid social unrest and declining business confidence. Investment remains fragile, fiscal space has narrowed, and structural challenges continue to weigh on the outlook. Persistent fragmentation of political parties, low public trust in institutions, and recurring tensions between branches of government complicate policymaking and reform.

Join us for a timely discussion on the challenges and opportunities facing one of Latin America’s most stable economies, and on the policy priorities for Peru to return to a path of sustained growth and institutional stability.

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Alfredo Thorne is principal director at Thorne & Associates, a Lima-based advisory firm. He was Peru’s finance and economy minister from 2016 to 2017, and prior to that Thorne was governor of Peru at the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. He previously served as independent director of the Lima Stock Exchange and a managing director at the Global Research Department in JPMorgan Chase Bank, where he was responsible for conducting economic research on Mexico and Latin America. Thorne holds a Ph.D. in economics from St Anthony's College, Oxford.

Alejandro Werner is the founding director of the Georgetown Americas Institute and a non-resident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute. He recently completed almost nine years as director of the Western Hemisphere Department at the International Monetary Fund. Prior to that appointment, he was undersecretary of finance and public credit in Mexico’s Finance Ministry and held several positions in that ministry and the Central Bank. He also taught at leading universities in Mexico, Spain, and the United States. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.A. in economics from ITAM.

Political and Economic Outlook of Peru

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